Inas Blobbs - Guide Recipe
One of the highlights of my book tour was meeting Chicago’s “Breakfast Queen” Ina Pinkney , a remarkable woman , restaurateur and cookbook author who is a true inspiration. Ina owned several popular eateries over the span of her career and has a fascinating personal story — there was even a documentary made about her. We did an event together at Read It And Eat , a charming culinary book store in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. I was so enamored with Ina that as soon as I got home , I started making recipes from her cookbook and memoir , Ina’s Kitchen.
Ingredients;
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate , chopped (see note)
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate , chopped
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1-1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 oz chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate both work well)
- 1-1/4 cups pecans , coarsely chopped
- 1 heaping cup walnuts , coarsely chopped
Instructions;
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave until melted , about 1 minute. Add the chopped chocolate and stir to combine. Heat the melted butter and chocolate in the microwave for 20-second intervals , stirring between each bout of heat , until almost melted. Stir , allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely. (Alternatively , the butter and chocolate can be melted together slowly in a double boiler on the stovetop.) Set aside and cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl , whisk together the flour , baking powder , and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a hand mixer) , beat the eggs on medium speed until light , creamy , and foamy , about 90 seconds.
- Add the sugar and continue whipping on medium speed until very light and creamy , about 90 seconds more. Add the vanilla and beat again quickly to combine.
- Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment on the mixer (if using a hand mixer , leave the beaters). Gradually add the melted chocolate mixture , mixing on medium speed to combine.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated , scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix in on low speed. Finish by hand to be sure it's all evenly combined , especially at the bottom.
- Use a 2-inch ice cream scoop to scoop the batter , packing the mixture in and scraping off any excess. Place the mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Leave the remaining batter at room temperature on the countertop or scoop and chill on a separate lined baking sheet.)
- Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven , and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the chilled blobbs for 15 to 17 minutes , rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back half through the baking time. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes , then use a spatula to transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter , or freeze the unbaked blobbs and bake them frozen another time.
Note: Since one of my kids does not like nuts , I experimented with a few nut-free versions and found that you can leave the nuts out , but it's best to replace them with something else , like more chocolate chips or peanut butter chips. Since blobbs are made with very little flour , the uncooked mixture is more like brownie batter than cookie dough and you need all those add-ins to thicken the batter , otherwise the blobbs won't hold their mounded shape in the oven.
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