Chuck’s Favorite Bittersweet Chocolate-Ginger Molasses Cookies.

Chuck Williams at 99: Celebrating the Pleasures of Cooking | Edible Legacies:

Recipe: Chuck’s Favorite Bittersweet Chocolate-Ginger Molasses Cookies

Chuck loves fine dark chocolate and down-home molasses cookies with equal fervor. To make him happy with every bite, I tweaked one of his own spiced cookie recipes to include decadent swirls of bittersweet chocolate. Feel free to play around with the spices to suit your own tastes (but Chuck would tell you “don’t skip the cardamom—it’s very important”). In the photo, Chuck is sharing the cookies with ZeBot Zebra, a culinarily curious zebra who teaches kids to explore the magic of food.

Ingredients:

12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup mild molasses
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract (Chuck loves Nielsen-Massey)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cardamom
About 8-oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

Prepare the baking sheets
Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking sheets with silpats.

Mix the dough
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla and molasses and beat until smooth. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice or allspice. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until blended.

Bake the cookies
Drop tablespoonful-sized scoops of the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Press down in a crisscross pattern with a fork (dipping in water as necessary to keep dough from sticking). Bake until the cookies are browned and firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Drizzle melted bittersweet chocolate over the cookies, then let cool completely. Makes about four dozen cookies.
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Chuck Williams, Carrot Soup with Coriander.

Chuck Williams (Born: October 2, 1915 (age 99))-The founder of gourmet chain Williams-Sonoma:

Carrot Soup with Coriander.

To honor the birthday of our founder, Chuck Williams, we are preparing one of Chuck’s classic recipes in our stores today: Carrot Soup with Coriander. The ground coriander and chopped cilantro give this soup its wonderfully bright, fresh taste.

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 lb carrots (12-14), peeled and cut crosswise into ½ inch thick
1 baking potato, 8-9 oz, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups (32 fl oz) chicken stock
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups (16 fl oz) milk, or as needed
freshly ground pepper
2-3 tablespoons dry sherry
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. When hot, add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until beginning to change color, 20 – 30 seconds. Add the carrots, potato and ground coriander and sauté, stirring a couple of times, for 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, sugar and salt and raise the heat to medium-low, cover partially and continue simmering until the vegetables are soft when pierced with the tip of a knife, 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade or in a blender, process the vegetables in small batches with their stock until smooth (the soup may be made ahead to this point, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days).

Return the puree to the saucepan and add 2 cups milk and pepper to taste. Place over medium heat and heat almost to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If the soup is too thick, add milk as needed to thin. Just before serving, stir in the sherry to taste.

To serve, ladle into warmed soup bowls. Top each bowl with a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkling of cilantro. Serve at once

Serves 6

Source: Merchant of Sonoma

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