An Easy And Decadent Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe From Dominique Ansel
After spending all day basting the turkey and getting the stuffing just right, the last thing you want to do spend your Thanksgiving holiday struggling with uncooperative pie dough or an collapsed soufflé. So if you're feeling intimidated by baking, or just want a quick dessert recipe, try out this delicious flourless chocolate cookie recipe from New York's pastry wizard, Dominique Ansel. A decadent and deeply satisfying dessert to share with your entire family, these cookies will make your entire house smell like the most delicious bakery in the world.
Photo Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Flourless Chocolate Pecan Cookies
Time: 15 minutes one day before, rest overnight, 20 minutes day of
Yield: 20 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups (12 ounces) – Dark chocolate chips (over 60% cocoa content)
3 tablespoons (1 ounce) – Unsalted butter (preferably 84% butterfat)
1 cup (7 ounces) – Granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (1 ounce) – Cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon – Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon – Kosher salt
3 large Eggs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) – Pecans, coarsely chopped
Photo Credit Thomas Schauer
One Day Before:
1. Melt 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chips in a double boiler: Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Place the chips in the stainless-steel bowl and place the bowl over the water. Stir slowly with a spatula to ensure the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth before turning off the heat.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds on high). Mix it into the melted chocolate. Keep the mixture warm over the hot water.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated and the mixture resembles pancake batter. Use the spatula or a bowl scraper, if necessary, to make sure you incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled on the bottom or sides of the bowl.
4. Slowly whisk in the melted chocolate–butter mixture. (If it has cooled and begun to solidify, gently reheat it before incorporating.)
5. Gently fold in the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips and the pecans with the spatula.
6. Transfer the dough to the baking dish. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the dough. Set in the refrigerator to rest overnight.
Photo Credit Thomas Schauer
The Day Of:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and set a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Using your hands, break the dough into pieces the size of your palm (approximately 3 ½ tablespoons). Roll the dough into balls and place them on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart from one another. Press gently on the top of each ball with the palm of your hand to make a thick disk. This dough doesn't spread much, so the disk should be relatively close to the size of cookie you'd like.
3. Bake for about 8 minutes on the middle rack, rotating the baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. When the cookies are just beginning to crack on top but the dough is set on the edge and has a soft spot in the center (about the size of a quarter), remove from the oven.
4. Let the cookies cool in the baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes, to further set.
5. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, still on the wax paper, and set aside. Reline the sheet with clean wax paper and continue with the remaining dough.
The chef and owner of New York City's renowned Dominique Ansel Bakery, Dominique Ansel is arguably most widely know for creating the Cronut™, a croissant and doughnut hybrid that has been reported on throughout the world. His hotly anticipated debut cookbook, Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes, is out now from our sister company Simon & Schuster and available wherever books are sold.
