Recipes, Baked Goods Chef Candice Recipes, Baked Goods Chef Candice

Chocolate Chip and Black Salt Cookies

Is there anything better than a freshly baked cookie? Yes, the only thing better is a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie with a sprinkling Black Lava Salt. It is the the perfect balance of sweet, salty, chocolate, and perfection!

Inspiration for this dish came from a cooking workshop I put together to teach people how to put together the perfect picnic. This was one of three recipes I demonstrated and one of six recipes that I provided to attendees of my class. These cookies are perfect make ahead treats for a picnic, a get together, or just to have around your house for an afternoon treat. Why did I choose Black Lava Salt as the topping? It is has a distinctive earthy yet mildly smoky flavor that goes perfect with chocolate. If you do not have access to Black Lava Salt you can use Kosher Salt.

Chocolate Chip and Black Lava Salt Cookies

Prep: 10 Min | Cook: 10 Minutes | Servings: 15 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter, unsalted and melted

  • 1 1/4 cup Sugar

  • 1.5 Tbs Molasses

  • 1 Egg

  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

  • 2 Tbs Milk Powder

  • 1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

  • 1/4 tsp Black Lava Salt ( I used Pasolivo Black Lava Salt )

  • 1 1/4 cup flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

  2. In a mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment, or by hand with a wooden spoon, mix together sugar and melted butter. Stir vigorously for about 1 minute.

  3. In a separate bowl mix together egg and vanilla. Add to sugar mixture and stir until mix is combined with a glossy sheen (about one min).

  4. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Stir into sugar mix until just combined. Do not over mix, Stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

  5. Using an ice cream scoop or hands, form dough into balls roughly the size of a golf ball. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper (place about 2 to 3 inches apart).

  6. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

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Recipes, Baked Goods Chef Candice Recipes, Baked Goods Chef Candice

Pastelillos de Guayaba Y Queso

Guava and Cream Cheese …..a variation of this dish exists in many cultures but I’ve grown up eating them in Puerto Rico or from my local Cuban bakery shop when I was in L.A. They’re as complicated as you want to make them, but my suggestion is keep a package of puff pastry in your freezer and bust this recipe out whenever you need to take a dish to someone’s house. 

If you have the time, patience, and arm strength I recommend trying this recipe with your own homemade puff pastry. If that seems like a lot, don’t worry because  when it comes to this dish I’ve never gone that far down the “made from scratch” rabbit hole either. I think it is perfectly acceptable to use store bought ingredients when making this dish. If you want to get fancy with it, change up the guava for another fruit paste or for some homemade jams or chutneys you have on hand. Or,  change up the cream cheese and go for a fancy queso fresco or Queso del País

Pastelillos de Guayaba Y Queso

Prep: 15 Min | Cook: 1 Hour 15 Minutes | Servings: 16

Ingredients:

  • 1 package puff pastry (I like to use Pepperidge Farm)

  • 1 egg

  • 1 Tb milk 

  • 1 tsp flour or cornstarch

  • 7 oz guava paste ( I like to use Goya)

  • 6 oz cream cheese

  • 2-5 Tb confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)

  • ½ tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Defrost the puff pastry. Don’t over defrost, you want the puff pastry to be malleable but not completely room temperature (about 20-30 minutes).

  2. When pastry is thawed, set oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay one sheet of puff pastry on it flat. Visually or with the back of a butter knife, make a 4x4 grid on the sheet. Spread the cream cheese and guava evenly across the squares in the grid, leaving a 1 inch space around the filling. Do you spread it like peanut butter? No, you can get away with just cutting pieces of cream cheese and pieces of guava and stacking them on top of each other. 

  3. Top with the second sheet of puff pastry and cut your 4x4 grid into 16 pieces. You can use a butter knife, a pizza cutter, a bench scraper…whatever helps you get the job done. 

  4. Use a fork to crimp the edges around each of your 16 pieces. Spread the pieces apart slightly so they’re not touching each other while they bake. If your puff pastry is too warm (very soft and at room temperature) I recommend popping the entire baking sheet into the freezer for 5-15 minutes. The cold is what activates the fluffy layers while baking.

  5. In a small bowl whisk together flour or cornstarch with milk and then whisk in the egg. The flour/cornstarch is not vital but it will help give your pastries a shine. Also don’t skip whisking the flour and milk first and THEN the egg, you don’t want lumps.

  6. Using a pastry brush or whatever you have on hand, brush the tops of your puff pastry evenly with the egg wash. 

  7. Bake for 20 minutes or until fully browned and puffed. 

  8. Allow to cool 10 minutes before eating (unless you like eating lava) and sprinkle with powdered sugar for an extra flare. 

***If you’d like to make these ahead of time, you can prep them all the way through to step 4. Pop them in the freezer on the tray for about 2 hours then individually wrap them in plastic, throw them all together into a freezer safe bag, or just keep them on the tray (if you plan on baking them the same day). When you’re ready to bake, give them the egg-wash and move forward in the directions.


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