Monday, January 22, 2007

SHF #27 - Chocolate By Brand



Good chocolate is expensive. Or not?

I do think that the best chocolate might not necessarily be the priciest one. Many people might beg to differ but I stand by my statement. You see, sometimes we're so blinded by brand that we fail to recognise the underdogs.

Perhaps it's just my inclination to always support the underdog brands or my innate allergic reaction to conformity. When I try something, I don't judge it based on the brand - I'm fair.

That doesn't mean I don't like well-known brands such as Valrhona, Lindt or Green & Black's. Their chocolate rocks but I do fancy experimenting with other lesser-known brands. Seriously, I conclude that one can find good chocolate in the most unlikely places.

And I'm going to talk about it in this post since the theme for Sugar High Friday #27 is Chocolate by Brand. Hosted by David 'The Chocolate Guy' Lebovitz, I was really excited when I found out about the theme. Thanks David!

The chocolate in question is Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate. I know I know, the packaging looks simple and unassuming. But wait till you unwrap it:



Something mysterious lies within and it's 52% dark.



I suppose it's just me and my love affair with the dark. Dark chocolate soothes me, it heightens my senses and man, it's too good to be replaced with anything else. There's nothing like a good bar of dark chocolate.

Alot of times, when I bake cookies that call for chocolate chips, I immediately replace them with chocolate chunks. I always have a few bars of Carrefour Dessert Chocolate in my refridgerator because I always have the urge to bake these chocolate chunk cookies whenever I have the time. I've used Carrefour's chocolate to make fondue and truffles. They always turn out great and I've stuck to the Carrefour brand ever since.

I don't remember when I started using Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate. I think it was 3 years ago when I started to bake avidly. That was about the time Carrefour came to Singapore. There are currently two outlets here. I love Carrefour because of the French and international products the carry. Alot of times, they have stuff that I find hard to find at NTUC.

Usually people scoff at homebrands but truly, Carrefour's chocolates are a force to be reckoned with. Call me biased if you wish, but I am a firm believer of quality and am not blinded by brands. Yes, it might be cheaper than branded chocolates (SGD$4.90 for two 200g bars) but it suits me fine. I think it gives my cookies that extra omph.



That's how big I chop them chocolates. I don't believe in scrimping when you bake chocolate chunk cookies. The more chocolate the merrier! Chocolate chips just doesn't do it for me. I think they are toooo tiny!

My cookie dough loves its marriage to Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate....



In order to get mighty fine chocolate cookies, you need good chocolate and I have found that in Carrefour.

Oh what would I do without their chocolates?

Perhaps then, I wouldn't have the yummiest chocolate chunk cookies.



What's so thrilling about these cookies? Those who have tried them will know what I'm about to describe. These cookies contain the chocolate chunks well and one bite brings you closer to chocolate heaven. What's more, they're easy to make! I won't deny that it's not the most perfect cookie but right now, I've been baking them so often that it becomes second nature. My friends eyes widen with excitement when I bring them some and I find joy in seeing others enjoy these delights. I've sold these cookies in previous bake sales as well. People seem to love them, so I hope you will try them out and put a smile on someone else's face :)

With good chocolate, you find infinite possibilities.

________________________________

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200g bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks


Directions:

Set your oven temperature to 180 degree celcius.

Cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

Mix the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

25 comments:

Jeanne said...

Oh me oh my... Now THAT'S what I call chocolate chunks!! I would love to try one of those cookies. Great post!

Anonymous said...

i'm drooling!!!

pinkconfetti :)

ps if you are baking more, could i purchase a tub or 2 from you please? pinkconfetti1@yahoo.com

Serene said...

your cookies look so yummy! XD

Serene said...

by the way, valentine day is jus next month o!! any suggestion on what to bake or make for this occasion? XD

I have no idea what to make cause tat special someone of mine don't like chocolate and love mint only -_-" sighh

Anonymous said...

U know I've been craving for your Choc Chunk Cookies, and this post doesn't help!! *drools*

Pls lemme know if you're selling any cookies. It will make me one very happy preggy lady. :)

laureen said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
laureen said...

Coincidentally, i made chocolate chip cookies infused with mint extract which totally hit the spot at two this morning.

I use Phoot Huat's dark couverture chocolate, which is a real steal at $9ish for a whole kilo. Plus it's 70ish%, if my memory isn't failing me. Oh just as a tip, last i was at NTUC, the Nestle melts were going for about $3ish, which is a little more than half the price.

I'll definitely make it a point to pick the Carrefour chocolate up the next time i'm wandering around one of their stores. Thanks for the tip, Cheryl!

Anonymous said...

Hi Cheryl,
I remember u mentioning before that sometimes the recipe requires too much sugar n you usually half the amount. Is this sugar amount in your recipe already halved? and what's the quantity that it's able to produce? Thanks girl~

Anonymous said...

hi,

may i know what kind of cup measurements you used?

i am from malaysia, wonder if the cups are the same?

1 cup = ? ml

Thank you.

Regards,
YL

:: Pastry Girl :: said...

cheryl..i have yet to try your cookies! Heh.. :P Anyway, fantastic chocolate CHUNK cookies indeed! love it.. craving for one now especially in this stressful moment. Cya..

Anonymous said...

how do we contact you if we want to purchase the cookies? and you sell them by the box or? please reply soon! the cookies look fantastic i want to buy them!

yixiaooo said...

hey cheryl!!! i'm so sorry i did't reply you.. actually i have seen you around school (i know i sound like a stalker) but the next time i do, i will go up to you with a huge grin on my face (provided i have no looming project work deadlines).. haha.. don't be shocked yar?

have fun in smu!

hinata said...

I love the carrefour chocolate myself! Was very wary until philippe recommended it. I'd say it still misses that extra 'orgasmic' bit that you get from valrhona, but until people start paying me for my baking I'm sticking to Carrefour :) Have you tried some of the darker versions?

the baker said...

Jeanne: thanks! yes, please do try the recipe, i'm sure you'll like how it turns out

pinkconfetti: heya, sure! i'll def. inform you :)

Sing Yin @ Serene: thanks! :) hmmm why not bake brownies? or make peppermint ice-cream or something?

Shelly: hey girl! aww... i will def. bake some for you soon. will call you! :)

thecoffeesnob: hey hey, thanks for the tip... the cookies sound good. hmm i've never tried baking cookies with mint. i'm sure it's really yum!

Anon: yes, i've already halved the sugar and this is the recipe I use :)

YL: hey there, maybe you would like to refer this this really useful measurement equivalent website: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html

Lavender Cupcaker: oh yes! after all this while, we have yet to meet up! k soon soon ya...

Anon: you can email me at thebakerwhocooks@gmail.com yes, i sell them buy the bottle and you can click on the two thumbnails on the left of my site to check it out. :)

hinata: hey babe! yea.. i couldn't agree more :) Amazing eh? I've learnt to not judge a chocolate by its brand :p oh yes, i've tried the darker ones as well. i love it! the 74% onwards.. it's all so good.... Carrefour rocks my world:)

Helene said...

Just found your blog and have spent the last hour reading it. I love Carrefour chocolate too, and use it quite regularly when I get home. Great entry!

Anonymous said...

hey dude im new(ish) to your blog too but those cookies sound fantastic! and lol at the ginormous chunks of chocolate goodness mmm

Anonymous said...

Best wishes you all, from Istanbul :)

Unknown said...

I read your post yesterday, went and got the ingredients today, and made a batch...

Omg, are they YUMMY! First time I've tried out a recipe posted by a food blooger, I'm so glad it turned out so well!

Anonymous said...

Hi, tried your cookies recipe last weekend. It was really yummy. Some questions: How do you get your cookies to look so well-shaped? Mine looked really uneven and had to bake for about 20 mins in order to turn golden brown? Any advice is appreciated

Unknown said...

they look gorgeous! just right for a chocolate lover!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Anyone can tell me where i can get vanilla extract? I went the shop at Haig road but its sold out.

Called Phoon HUat and they don have this product.

Help?

Anonymous said...

what type of cookie is this? chewy? or cripy?

Anonymous said...

how many does your recepie yield?

Anonymous said...

May i ask how do you define the amount by using 'cup' as the measurement?
like how many grams is that?

Anonymous said...

Hey may I know which Carrefour shop you went to buy the chocolate from? I can't find it. Thanks!

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