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Chocolate

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

No one has to know these moist, chewy, decadent chocolate cookies are totally wheat-free.

Dark Chocolate Pudding with Pretzels

More proof that salt makes any dessert taste better—we'd even top these puddings with crushed potato chips.

Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés

These slice-and-bake shortbreads can be prepped and kept wrapped in the freezer for up to a month before baking. And guess what? No need to defrost before slicing and zipping them into the oven.

Chocolate Torte with Calvados-Poached Figs

Cook the figs until just softened: Overcooking or intense boiling will render them tough instead of lush.

Salted Honey and Chocolate Bark

Sparkly candy canes and winking snowmen aren't for everyone. Salted Honey and Chocolate Bark is a sweet-and-salty confection that even the manliest of men would be pleased to nibble on—or make. No cookie cutters, sprinkles, or icing necessary.

Caramel-Layered Dark Chocolate Brownies

These intensely flavored dark chocolate brownies are spread with a layer of caramel then topped with bittersweet chocolate ganache.

Creamy Chocolate-Cheese Flan with Hibiscus Sauce

I love how the fruitiness of Cluizel Concepción chocolate, mellowed by a little cream cheese, plays against the caramel and the flowery, slightly musky acidity of the blossoms (actually, calyces) called "Jamaica flowers" in Mexico and red hibiscus in this country. (They are what gives Red Zinger tea its color.) When I first developed this recipe, I used hibiscus to flavor the caramel, but now I include it in a separate sauce where its red color makes a gorgeous contrast with the dark flan. You will find that this flan is reminiscent of the classic cream cheese–fruit paste pairing that Latin Americans like in other contexts. For this recipe, do not use the spice marketed as "cinnamon" in American stores (it's really cassia). Look for the soft, flaky true cinnamon from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which has a much subtler and more delicate flavor. You can find it in Hispanic markets under the name canela.

Chocolate-Garlic Mojo with Toasted Cuban Bread (Tostadas de Pan Cubano con Mojo de Chocolate)

A sensuous variation on the theme of bread and chocolate is a silky ganache flavored with a garlicky Cuban-style olive oil mojo, smeared over slices of Cuban bread. Because the ingredients are so few and basic, it is important to use a not-too-bitter premium chocolate. I also like the effect of a mellow Spanish extra-virgin olive oil made with Arbequina olives, with their slight accent of apple peel. Sea salt sprinkled on the bread right at the moment of serving brings out all the flavors.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Most chocolate mousses are high in calories, but it's quite easy to make a delicious chocolate mousse that contains a fraction of the original calories and fat. The secret is to use high-quality bittersweet chocolate. It packs a strong, lively chocolate flavor and makes up for the fact that the mousse doesn’t have a quart of whipped cream in it.

5-Minute Protein Truffles

These protein "truffles" are so ridiculously easy that I feel somewhat silly adding them to this collection. Then again, my super-simple, silly recipes are often my most popular. They are certainly favorites in my repertoire, in large part because of their fast factor, but also because of their portability and candy-like appeal. Plus, they are endlessly customizable by varying the spices, extracts, and other add-ins, or by giving them a chic coating of chia seeds, cocoa powder, or chopped nuts. Who says pretty and power can’t go together?

Chocolate Cream and Cinnamon Sugar

Chocolate-Caramel Cake with Sea Salt

Mayonnaise in the batter isn't as weird as it sounds—it's just eggs and oil, after all. It's also why this cake is so moist.

Malted Walnut Pie

Adding barley malt syrup offers a rounder, less-sweet note in this take on pecan pie. Look for it at health food stores.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

The first cupcake Matt ever added to the Robicelli's repertoire was "The CPB": chocolate cake and peanut butter buttercream topped with roasted peanuts and rich chocolate ganache. Sounds awesome, right? Of course it's awesome—how the hell can you screw something like that up? Of course, we eventually tired of awesome and needed to go past that to "mind blowing." So we decided to roll the entire damn thing in crushed-up pretzels and pour more chocolate over the top. You're welcome.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Coffee Cake

If you like, serve this with whipped cream or an extra dollop of yogurt.

White Chocolate Passion Fruit Turnovers with Blueberry-Mint Sauce and Coconut Cream

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of Fox's MasterChef.

White Chocolate and Wax Worm Cookies

These are likely the best bug cookies you'll ever eat. And if your granny couldn't see the baked caterpillars peeking out of the dough, she'd undoubtedly ask for seconds. I bring these treats, which are sure conversation starters, when I'm asked to appear on radio talk shows. If I'm successful, after the banter has subsided, listeners will hear the sighs of contentment from the on-air hosts. Trust me on this: they're that good. When baked, those chubby ivory-colored caterpillars taste like pistachios. What's not to like? Based on flavor alone, Julia Child would have endorsed this recipe—and probably asked for seconds or thirds.
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