Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a

How to Make Robins' Egg Truffles


Days are longer, trees are bursting with flowers, and new life is hatching all around -- It's Spring!  



I believe in celebrating life's sweet moments and enjoy dreaming up whimsical confections to make those moments even sweeter. So last year, for the Spring Fling at Mine for the Making, I hatched a new idea for a chocolate truffle, inspired by one of the most lovely, delicate, and sweet symbols of Spring -- the robin's egg.  Today I'm sharing my recipe for these speckled sweets here in my own creative nesting place.




ROBINS' EGG TRUFFLES


INGREDIENTS

9 oz. semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream (not "whipping cream" or "half and half")
1 Tablespoon butter (this makes the truffle silkier)
10 oz. white candy bark
Blue food coloring
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

Equipment
Baking sheet or tray lined with wax paper
Cool, damp cloth
Candy dipping fork
a fine sieve

1.  In a small bowl, add chocolate and cream. Microwave for 1 - 1 1/12 minutes (to bring cream to a gentle boil).  

2.  Remove from microwave and let stand for 3 minutes.  This will allow time for the chocolate to completely melt. Use a spoon or small whisk to combine cream and melted chocolate until smooth and fully incorporate. Stir in butter. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.



3.  Remove from refrigerator and use a small scoop to portion chocolate ganache on to the wax paper lined baking sheet.  Working in a cool room is recommended.



4.  Gently roll each ganache ball between your palms, and use your fingers to smooth into an egg shape and set back on tray.   If ganache is too soft and immediately melts in your hands, put the tray back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Try again. Your hands will get very chocolaty during this process, and it will be necessary to wipe them down periodically with a cool, damp cloth.  Place completed tray of ganache eggs in the freezer for 1 hour.

5.  Finely chop the white candy bark.  Melt in microwave on low power in 1 minute increments, stirring in-between. When bark is completely melted, add a drop of blue food coloring and stir.  Continue to add food coloring, one drop at a time, until you've achieved the desired robin's egg color.

6.  Remove "eggs" from freezer. Drop one "egg" into blue bark. Gently turn to coat with a candy dipping fork.  Lift out of bark, gently tap off excess and place back on wax paper.  Repeat with remaining "eggs."

7.  To finish, put the cocoa in a fine sieve.  Ever so gently, shake sieve over each "egg" to create the trademark speckles.  Practice a few shakes over a piece of paper before you start speckling the eggs.



TIPS AND NOTES:

SKILL LEVEL -- MEDIUM:  Dipping the egg shaped truffles in the melted bark can be a little tricky because the ganache melts at such a low heat.  Unlike many of my chocolate dipping projects, this one is probably best reserved for those with some candy dipping experience. Don't be disappointed if your "eggs" aren't perfect. Mine weren't. Each one is unique and very delicious!

ALTERNATIVE:  The beginner candymaker may want to make the robin's eggs using a "cake pop" recipe to mold cake into the egg shapes. The effect will be the same, but you won't have to worry about your eggs melting into your bark, or getting stuck to your dipping fork.



TOOLS:  I recommend purchasing a dipping fork for any candymaker. They can be picked up quite inexpensively at most craft stores with a cake decorating aisle. You may also line your tray or baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.  I recommend wax paper for candymaking because it is the least expensive. Because no baking is involved, it is safe to use.  On some of my eggs, a small pool of bark formed at the bottom. You can trim this away once the bark has set by using a small paring knife, or a craft knife.  

DISPLAY:  For fun and whimsy, I served my robin's egg truffles in fringed mini muffin cups.  I layered two cups, fringed them with scissors, then set the egg inside.




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