Disaster averted...barely.
I guess any home cook after a long stretch of good cooking and baking adventures is bound to have a bad one, but I have to say it was depressing when it happened to me.
It happened when I was baking, of course, and the recipe was chocolate chip zucchini mini muffins from a Gourmet magazine cookbook. I'm not sure if it was because I halved the recipe, or didn't cook them long enough, but they turned out more like gooey chocolate chip cookie tops over pockets of air and moist & sticky cake crumbs below. Not servable in any way as a muffin. Here is a picture of them:
I almost threw them away (sad, it was good Ghirardelli chocolate) when my dear friend Melanie came to the rescue with this idea. The dough was so moist and sticky even after baking so I rolled the crumbs into little dense balls, dipped them in melted chocolate and dusted them in powdered sugar for little truffle-like, snowball-resembling delights. Thanks Mel, you are brilliant!
Snowballs:
(makes about 36 small truffle-sized snowballs)
1/2 recipe zucchini chocolate chip muffin recipe (below), or any moist baked good such as fudge brownies
8 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler
1 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
Crumble up muffins/brownies and roll into compact little balls.
Dip in melted chocolate, and then place on parchment paper and chill for about 5 minutes.
Roll in powdered sugar, store refrigerated or serve immediately.
Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins:
(Half a recipe originally found in a Gourmet’s Fresh: From the Farmer’s Market to Your Kitchen cookbook, makes 24 mini muffins – Note: they probably won’t be usable as muffins if you make them per the recipe below)
1 c loosely packed grated zucchini
1 c AP flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 c sugar
½ c oil
2 tsp vanilla
½ c chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat over to 350. Sift together all dry ingredients. Meanwhile beat egg until frothy with mixer, then add sugar, oil and vanilla until the mixture is thick and pale and forms ribbons when stirred. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture, and then fold in chocolate chips. Pour into lightly greased mini muffin tins, bake for about 10 minutes, let cool to room temperature then proceed with directions for snowballs.
7 comments:
I love it! I've had my share of disasters and tried always to find a use for them. Recently, I included some dry cookies in a chocolate bread pudding and the result was fabulous. Very nice post!
There is something so comforting about not being the only who has the occasional disaster. I do SO love when it works out and the new recipe makes good on the lesser-than-perfect recipe. Thanks for supporting the non-glamorous world of recipe rescues. :)
Without a few disasters here and there, we'd never learn how to cook, because cooking is all about adjusting and working with what you have, and having the confidence to present your food with pride even if it didn't turn out exactly as you'd planned!
It was probably because you halved the recipe. When it comes to things like cakes and muffins you have to mess around with the recipe you can't just half it.
Keep trying.
Thanks Peabody...they tasted good enough that they are worth messing around with and getting it right. At least they didn't get entirely wasted. :)
I can say that I tried them myself and they were delicious! Happy to help...even happier to endulge! :) xoxo
These are so yummy and dangerous! You need to take them home! =) You've really inspired me to try this with different flavor combinations. I can't wait!
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