11 of the Most Outrageous Chocolate Desserts Ever
And we're not just talking brownies and chocolate-chip cookies (though we've found some amazing recipes for those, too).
By Lynn Andriani
The Extravagant French Dessert That's Secretly a Snap to Make
Pots de creme—which are basically individually portioned bowls or cups of loose custard—take just 20 minutes to prepare (plus chilling time). This recipe includes clementine zest, which is a bright complement to the rich chocolate. If you don't have ramekins, just use assorted wine or martini glasses.
Get the recipe: Clementine Pots de Creme
4-Ingredient Brownies (No, Really)
The only thing standing between you and subtly sweet, cakey brownies is a handful of everyday ingredients (Nutella, eggs, flour and kosher salt) and 45 minutes. You could probably get away with skipping the salt, but it adds a sophisticated and savory edge.
Get the recipe: Chocolate-Hazelnut Brownies
The Chewy Chocolate-Chip Classic
Chef and Food Network personality Alton Brown shares his recipe for deliciously ooey-gooey chocolate-chip cookies. The magic ingredient: bread flour. It has a higher gluten content, which thickens the dough and helps make the finished product chewier.
Get the recipe: The Chewy Cookie
The Truly Genius Way to Pair Wine and Chocolate
Rather than letting an open bottle of red wine languish on the refrigerator shelf,
blogger Deb Perelman, author of
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, uses it in place of the usual food coloring in a red velvet cake. The result—a fudgy marriage of chocolate and wine—will leave you hopeful for more leftover Pinot Noir in the near future.
Get the recipe: Red-Wine Velvet Cake
A Chocolate Cake the Size of Texas
Forget your 8-inch round pans: This ginormous dessert gets baked in one big sheet pan—which gives you at least 24 servings of moist, pick-it-up-with-your-hands cake. Just have plenty of napkins handy to wipe the chocolate icing off your fingers (though we won't judge if you just want to lick it off).
Get the recipe: Texas Sheet Cake
The Candy-Brownie Mash-Up
These two-bite treats from
The Chew co-host Carla Hall are a mind-blowing cross between a chocolate-ganache truffle and a velvety, fudge-like brownie. They make excellent gifts—if you can bear to part with them.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Decadent Bites
A Candy Bar That Does More Than Just "Satisfy"
Sure, these nougat-caramel-peanut-chocolate treats look like the convenience-store snacks you gobbled up as a kid, but they taste so amazing, you could serve them at your next dinner party.
Get the recipe: Snacker Candy Bars
The Brilliant Combination of Chocolate and Pie
In this over-the-top dessert, a tender, cocoa-flavored crust holds a custard filling made from dark chocolate. A last-minute topping of pistachio whipped cream is a beautifully smooth finishing touch.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Pistachio Pie
A Can't-Screw-It-Up Total Package
Economical, super-simple to make, good-looking and tasty, this chocolaty matzo-based confection will "magically disappear before your eyes," say Liz Gutman and Jen King, proprietors of the Brooklyn candy company
Liddabit Sweets. You can use any kind of matzo (salted or not) or even Saltines, and add toppings such as coconut, slivered almonds or chopped dried cherries.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crunch
The Brownie with a Really Good Identity Crisis
Baking expert Alice Medrich's easy-to-make chocolate treats look like cookies (you drop spoonfuls of batter onto baking sheets instead of pouring it into a pan). But there's no mistaking the moist, buttery taste: These are brownies. (Get yourself a cold glass of milk.)
Get the recipe: Bittersweet Brownie Drops
A "But It's Good for You!" Cookie
If you're going to eat a healthy dessert, these chocolately bites are the way to go. Yes, they contain butter, brown sugar and chocolate, but also whole wheat flour, oats, apple butter, walnuts and raisins—so you can get your chocolate fix (relatively) guilt-free.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Rocks
Next: 29 ingenious brownie and cookie mix-ins
Published 03/21/2013
