cocoa-powder | Pamela Toman

Toto Cookies

Made for Sarah's birthday in 2023. Makes 3½ dozen.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
3¼ c. flour 1½ c. sugar 1 T. baking powder ¼ c. cocoa powder 1¼ t. black pepper, fresh ground 1½ t. cinnamon ¼ t. clove ½ t. salt	Sift together.
¾ c. shortening	Work in the shortening (aim for coarse cornmeal texture).
½+ c. milk ⅔ c. walnuts, chopped	Add milk and nuts. Mix by hand until well-blended. If necessary, add a bit more milk so the dough holds together.
	Pinch off 1-inch pieces of dough and roll them into balls. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until firm.
1½ c. powdered sugar, sifted 3 T. milk 1 t. rum extract	Beat until smooth for a thin frosting (while the cookies bake). Add a wee bit more milk if necessary.
sprinkles	Let cookies cool on racks only until warm. Dip tops into icing, then sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Let the frosting dry completely, then layer the cookies between wax paper to store.

The huge chocolate chocolate chip cookies -- one of the food stars of my car's 18th birthday.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
1 c. butter, cold, cubed 1 c. brown sugar ½ c. white sugar	Cream in a mixer for at least 4 minutes (time it!).
2 eggs 1 t. vanilla	Mix in. Mix for at least 1 minute, scraping as needed.
½ c. (60 g) cocoa powder 1 c. (120 g) cake flour 1½ c. (180 g) AP flour 1 t. cornstarch 3/4 t. baking soda ½ t. salt	Combine in a large bowl. Then fold into the wet ingredients, leaving some streaks because there's more dough working to come.
1.75 c. chocolate chips 2 c. mini marshmallows 3/4 c. cashews, chopped	Stir in.
	Roll the dough into 5-6 oz. balls (roughly baseball size). Press a few extra chocolate chips and marshmallows into their tops.
	Bake 9-11 minutes at 410 degrees. After removing from oven, use a silicon spatula to press the edges to the center to make each cookie round again. Let them rest on the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan to cool fully on a rack.

Source: modernhoney.com from Levain Bakery

A higher quality Hershey's syrup equivalent. Best to use at room temperature.

Great in egg creams (couple tablespoons of syrup in a cup, milk to halfway, seltzer to finish it).

Ingredients	Step
3/4 c. white sugar 1/4 t. kosher salt 1/2 c. water	Combine in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking.
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed	Add cocoa powder while whisking. Whisk until smooth.
1 oz. (3 T) unsweetened chocolate, chopped	Remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted.
1 t. vanilla	Whisk in.
	Transfer to jar. Refrigerate.

Source: Genevieve Ko (NYT)