Bourbon Dark Chocolate Crack Cookies Recipe

There are cookies, and then there are bad-ass cookies. Ones that are nearly impossible to mindlessly eat. After the first bite, they stop you and make you take a look at what it was you just sunk your teeth into. These are one of those.

A deliciously, rich chocolate and bourbon rifted cookie. A chocolate cookie with a little swagger.

This little bad boy is originally inspired by a cookie from David Lebovitz’s amazing Ready for Dessert. We’ve been smitten with his recipe for quite a while now, posting another adaptation with dried cherries and Luxardo a couple years ago. As with most recipes that our hearts are fond of, we’ll tinker and tweak to suit our moods or particular cravings.

Those who know us will attest to our love of bourbon. For me in particular, I’d have to say it ranks number one amongst my favorite spirits. Give or take a day or two when a smooth rum or feisty tequila catches my tongue. The age of bourbon has never been so extraordinary, with so many exceptional craft distillers creating such a range of great bourbons to enjoy.

“Why not extend the smokey, subtly sweet pleasure of bourbon in a chocolate cookie?” I think to myself one day. Well, I didn’t think it in so many words, it was more like, “Bourbon… Chocolate… must have!” and soon this cookie was devised.

So for all of you bourbon lovers out there (BTW if you are in NYC in the flatiron district, there is a great bourbon bar on 26th called Maysville – tons of bourbons and good food – thanks Rachel for the recommendation- you rock!)… Sorry, “squirrel” moment. So for all of you bourbon lovers out there, please share your favorites. It is always a pleasure to find another great bourbon.

My favorite go-to is Buffalo Trace. Great character, smooth, goes great in cocktail, nice straight up, and is an incredible price for the quality.

I’d love to hear your favorites.

-Todd

Yield: 24-30 cookies

Total Time: 3 hours

Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. For a cherry version, we posted another adaptation previously here. We will often freeze the chocolate dough balls after they've been coated with the regular sugar, and when ready to use, thaw for about 30 minutes, coat in confectioners sugar and bake. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. These chocolate cookies are best eaten while still warm (aren't most cookies) or at least the same day.

3/4 cup (100g) all-purpose Flour1/2 teaspoon (3g) Baking Powder1/4 teaspoon (1g) Kosher or Sea Salt8 ounces (225g) Dark Chocolate, chopped3 Tablespoons (45g) unsalted Butter2 Tablespoons Bourbon2 large Eggs, room temp.1/3 cup (65g)  Sugar (+ extra for coating cookies)Confectioners Sugar (for coating cookies)In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. Set aside.Combine the dark chocolate, butter, and bourbon in a medium bowl over a pot of simmering water. Gently melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently. Remove the bowl from the simmering water.Whisk together the eggs and sugar on high until the mixture forms a well-defined ribbon when the whisk attachment is lifted out, about 5 minutes.  By hand, gently stir in the melted chocolate mixture until combined.Again by hand, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours).

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a couple baking pans with parchment paper.

Pour the granulated sugar and confectioners sugar into two separate small bowls. Form the chocolate cookies into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the regular sugar, and then roll in the confectioners sugar to coat.  Place on the baking sheets spaced about 1-inch apart.Bake for 8 minutes then rotate the cookies sheets and bake for another 6-8 minutes. Cookies should still be slightly firm on the edges and fairly soft in the centers. Don't overbake them.Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan until firm enough to handle then transfer to a cooling rack.

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Chocolate Bourbon Balls- Three Ways

Diane was initially going to write this post, but after 1 bourbon ball she quietly passed out on the couch. Silly Asian, they aren’t that alcoholic. Although I think she may be faking to get out of writing a post.

I’ve always loved a good rum ball. Actually, the love extends to just about any dessert with a hit of alcohol. I’ll macerate just about any dried fruit going into a dessert just to give it a little punch. Serving trifle, tiramisu… “Seconds Please.”

So often these little delights have rum to booze them up, and for good reason. Smooth, a touch of sweetness.  I’d have to say rum is my second favorite distilled spirit, bourbon being my main mistress.

So the other day after seeing a Pinterest share of a pumpkin bourbon ball, I was highly intrigued.  Taking a favorite winter treat and swapping out my second favorite spirit with a little Gentleman Jack sounded pretty good to me. I even had a bit of pumpkin puree still in the fridge from the last sugar pumpkin.

It took a whole 10 minutes to throw together and was beautiful. Since the pumpkin puree was dwindling towards the end of its existence, we decided to take the bourbon twist back to a classic rum ball. Nix the pumpkin puree, add some cocoa powder and corn syrup to bind it. And after seeing all the dark chocolate love, we added a bit more cocoa powder.  Roll ‘em in the pecan/cookie crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, or more cocoa powder and they were perfect.

The holidays just got a little happier.

-Todd

Yield: @ 24 - 1" Balls

Total Time: 15 min

These have a good hit of bourbon in them, so they are best reserved for the adults. Unless you need a little quiet time out of the kids. Just kidding.

Kind of.

For the finely ground wafers and pecans, they are best to grind separately in the food processor. The wafers need a good solid grinding to get them nice and fine, however for the pecans it is best to just pulse them until they are finely chopped. You don't want to create a paste out of them.

Adapted from Dessert for Two's pumpkin bourbon balls.

1 cup (140g) finely ground Nilla Wafers (about 40 regular wafers)1 cup (110g) finely chopped Pecans1 cup (120g) Confectioners Sugar1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger (or freshly grated Ginger)fresh grated Nutmeg, to taste1/4 cup (22g) Cocoa Powder1/4 cup (60ml) Bourbon2 Tablespoons (30ml) light Corn Syrupground Nilla Wafersfinely chopped PecansPecans and ground wafers togetherConfectioners' SugarCocoa Powdercrushed Candy CanesIn a bowl, whisk together ground Nilla wafers, pecans, confectioners' sugar, spices, and cocoa powder until well combined.Stir in bourbon and corn syrup. Form into even balls and coat in topping of choice.Chill for an hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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Bourbon Maple Ribs Recipe

It’s cold, unforgiving, and can bite to the bone sending shivers throughout the body. Sometimes you just want to wrap yourself up and hide from it. Somehow seeking warmth and comfort from its ugliness. Oh yeah, and the weather can be bad too.

Too much lately have we been reminded of the ugliness of life. We all approach life differently, savoring the sweetness and swallowing the bitterness in our own ways. For Diane and I, we struggle with the seeming pointlessness of writing about food on the heels of tragedy, yet this is where we find refuge, in the things we love.

Cooking. Going out to a movie. Going for a walk and holding the hand of someone you love. Watching or playing sports. Curling up to a book. These seemingly trivial acts are often places of comfort and help remind us of the pleasures in life.

Gather friends into our homes and allow ourselves to laugh and cheer. Stoking the fires of the soul to bring back its warmth. These things help bring back our smiles and carry on with life. That is what comfort and all of its trivialities does. That is why we share.

Here is one of our favorite comfort foods, ribs. To be specific, Bourbon-Maple glazed St. Louis cut spare ribs. Sweet from the maple, a tinge of smokiness from the bourbon, and cooked to nearly fall off the meat packed-bone tender. These are cooked using the same method we used for the Sriracha-Hoisin ribs, wrapping the ribs in foil with apple juice, baking them in the oven, and then partially through the cooking time adding a glaze and finishing until tender. And with the bourbon open, go ahead and pour yourself a little nip.

-Todd

Yield: Serves 4-6

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

The St. Louis cut spare rib is a great meaty cut, but this recipe will work equally well with baby back ribs. If you want to offer a bit of variance to your guests, make the Sriracha-Hoisin rib glaze as well and serve up a sweeter rib (this one) and a spicier rib (the sriracha-hoisin) to please the crowd.

two 3 pound (1360g) racks St. Louis cut Spare Ribs2 Tablespoons (30g) Kosher or Sea Saltfresh cracked Black Pepper to taste2 cups (480ml) Apple Juice1/2 cup (120ml) Apple Juice1/2 cup (120ml) Maple Syrup1/4 cup (60ml) Bourbon1/4 cup (60ml) Tomato Paste1 T (15ml) Apple Cider Vinegar1 t (5ml) Fish Sauce (optional but very tasty)2 T (28g) Brown Sugar1 t (5g) Kosher or Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Rinse ribs and pat dry. Cut each rack in half and season ribs with salt and pepper.Make 4 “boats” out of doubled up sheets of foil large enough to enclose each ribs section (*refer to sriracha-hoisin ribs photos for visual guide). Place ribs, meaty side up, in boats and pour 1/2 cup of apple juice in each of the boats.Seal foil boats closed around the ribs, trapping the juice in with the ribs and being careful not to break the foil. Place on sheet pans.Bake for one hour. Remove from oven, carefully open the foil, and brush with bourbon-maple glaze *recipe follows.Return to oven, leaving the foil open but with the foil sides standing up enough to keep the juices around the ribs. Bake for another 45 minutes. Glaze ribs again, then return to oven for another 45 minutes.Heat oven to broil and place oven rack 2 or 3 levels down from the top. Brush ribs with glaze again and broil for 2 minutes or until slightly singed.Slice ribs into sections and serve.Combine glaze ingredients in a saucepan. Over high heat bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside until ready to glaze ribs.

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