Murder by Mocha

Makes about 30 cookies

For Cookie Dough Bites:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, softened

¼ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brewed coffee

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup (about 6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

30 toothpicks

For Double Dipping (optional):

1½ cups walnuts, toasted and very finely chopped (see toasting tip on page 334)

¾ cup Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)

Step 1—Make dough: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla, salt, coffee, and condensed milk. Add in the flour and chocolate chips, mixing until the dough comes together and is well blended (do not overmix).

Step 2—Chill, roll, and freeze: At this stage, the dough is too sticky to roll. Cover your mixing bowl with foil and chill in the refrigerator 15–30 minutes (or wrap dough in plastic or foil and chill overnight). Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into bite-size balls (about 1 inch in diameter). Set balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper (be sure to line the baking sheet or the dough will stick to the pan). Sink a toothpick into each of the dough balls. (Warning: If serving to young children, do not use toothpicks.) Freeze until firm, 1–2 hours.

Step 3—Double dipping (optional): Place toasted walnuts in a sealed plastic bag and hammer with a rolling pin or large spoon until the nuts are very finely chopped. Or grind the nuts in a blade grinder or food processor. Place them in a shallow bowl and set aside. Make the Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows). Remove cookie dough balls from the freezer. Pick up each dough ball by its toothpick, dip top half of each ball into the chocolate ganache, followed by a dip in the bowl of finely chopped walnuts. Place the double-dipped balls back on your lined baking sheet. When the sheet is full, return it to the freezer for another 20 minutes or until the ganache hardens into a delicious chocolate shell. Store your finished Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Bites in the refrigerator or freezer in a plastic container or sealable plastic bag.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Makes about ¾ cup

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Method: Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe container. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stop and stir. Repeat again until the chips are completely melted. Add the cream and stir continually until smooth and shiny. If vigorous stirring does not produce smooth results or if the ganache begins to harden, return the bowl to the microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again.

Note: When making large batches, note this ratio for double dipping. For every dozen Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Bites, you’ll need ½ cup of finely chopped and toasted nuts plus ¼ cup of ganache—which can be made with ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons heavy cream.

Chicken Mole with Guinness Stout (for Mike Quinn)

Based on a recipe from Punch, who claimed every mama in Spanish Harlem had a secret combination of ingredients that made the mole her own, so it is with Clare’s version.

The name for mole, the rich Mexican sauce often served with chicken, came from the Aztec word molli meaning “concoction.” Clare’s version, heavily influenced by New York City’s melting pot of cultures, truly lives up to that Aztec etymology. She plumbed her Italian heritage for ingredients like fennel but gave the biggest nod to Mike’s Celtic heritage with the addition of the dark and malty Guinness stout.

Mole is an acquired taste and certainly not for everyone. The key to making this wild range of ingredients work as a whole is to keep the blend balanced. Not too spicy but not too bland, either, and always tempering the bitter with the sweet.

Makes 6 servings

4 chicken breasts (skin on, bone in) or 1 pound cooked and shredded chicken (about 3 cups)

2½ cups Guinness stout

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons canola or corn oil

water

½ pound bacon, chopped

2 large red onions, chopped

2 large yellow onions, chopped

1 Spanish onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, smashed

2 bell peppers, chopped (approximately 1 cup)

½ jalapeño pepper, seeds and veins removed, chopped (for a hotter mole, use 1 jalapeño, or leave it out completely for no heat)

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons ground almonds (or 1¼ teaspoons almond extract)

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish, optional

Step 1—Poach the chicken: You can poach the chicken just before making the mole or a day in advance. Place the 4 chicken breasts in a large pot or Dutch oven, skin side up. Ideally, they will sit in a single layer or overlap only a bit. Pour 1½ cups of the Guinness, the salt and pepper, and the oil into the pot and fill the rest of the way with water. The liquid level should be high enough to cover your chicken by 1 full inch. Bring the pot to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Half cover the pot, cooking for about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and cover the pot fully, leaving the chicken to finish cooking in the hot water for another 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the poaching liquid. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and shred the