Chocolate Chapters
Here at Montezuma’s, we are all for enjoying those little luxuries in life and now more so than ever. We are all guilty of not taking enough time for ourselves and to relish the moments that make us smile which is why we thought we would bring you an hour of escapism. We are proud to be launching Chocolate Chapters, our new book club on Monday 1st of March at 7pm.
Simply tune in to our Instagram live on Monday evening to chat live with Author Ella Risbridger about her book ‘Midnight Chicken’. If that wasn’t enough there will also be a special giveaway so make sure to keep watching until the end!
Ella Risbridger is a writer and poet who launched her first book in 2019, Midnight Chicken: & other recipes worth living. The book is filled with plenty of recipes and stories about Ella and how when the world became overwhelming, she turned to cooking. This is something that really resonated with us at Montezuma’s and the emotions that both cooking and eating food can bring are key to what we do. Ella’s recipes are brilliant for anyone who loves tasty food whether you are a wannabe MasterChef or an ex-takeaway queen.
Why not have a go at one of our favourite chocolatey recipes from Ella’s book and join us Monday to ask her all of your burning questions.
Wouldn’t it be great to try and make them with Montezuma’s chocolate too?
Paris Cookies
Recipe from Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger, p.285-286
RECIPE MAKES ABOUT 24 COOKIES
Ingredients
170g salted butter
300g sugar (I like demerara)
1 egg, plus 1 extra yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Melt the butter in the microwave, or in a small saucepan over a low heat. Put the sugar into a big heatproof bowl, add the melted butter and beat until the sugar has dissolved – a stand mixer makes light work of this. Add the egg, the extra yolk and the vanilla, and keep beating until smooth. (If you use very coarse sugar – some of the rougher brown sugars are like little granules – it won’t get smooth, and your finished cookies will have a crunchy, sugary texture: this is not bad, per se; in fact, I prefer it, but I tell you to warn you.) Tip in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and keep beating until you have a smooth dough, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Place dollops of the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet, about a teaspoon per cookie, spacing them out so they have room to spread as they bake – I usually get about eight on a baking sheet. (Don’t worry too much: even if they do merge together in the oven, they always break apart beautifully. I used to let the three-year-old do this, which tells you how unfussy you can be here.)
Scatter with sea salt, then bake for 10 minutes. They will have puffed up and may look underdone, but as they cool – which they must do on a wire rack (you can slide them, baking paper and all, straight onto the rack) – they will become firmer and will crack across the top, like a proper cookie. (Remember, you can always return them to the oven for a little longer if they are under-baked for your taste, but an overdone cookie is a heartbreaking thing.)
Repeat with the rest of the dough. Try to resist eating the cookies as they come out of the oven – they are best after about 10 minutes of cooling and hardening time. I know this, yet still I tend to eat them so hot that the chocolate burns my lips, gulping them down with cold milk, just like any American movie kid.
