Simple Chocolate Mousse

        Creamy, rich and delicious, mousse is a perfect dessert. It can be made beforehand and left in the fridge. Freeing you to make your main event dish without worrying about the finale. To fancy it up you can serve it in dark or milk chocolate cups, topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce or chocolate shavings. But even served in a small dish by itself it makes a pleasing dessert.
       Chocolate also serves as a perfect base flavor. Since it combines so well with other flavors it's easy to add to a simple chocolate mousse. Try adding a tablespoon of strong coffee to make a mocha mousse. Or some peppermint oil or extract. You can also add vanilla, orange, almond, or hazelnut.

Simple Chocolate Mousse:
     The eggs in this recipe do not get cooked so try to use the freshest eggs possible to reduce risk of Salmonella.

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• Pinch of salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, divided in half
• Whipped Cream, to top

In microwave or over the stove melt chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat.

Quickly, whisk in egg  yolks. Then set aside.

Beat egg whites with salt in a clean bowl until soft  peaked.

Add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaked and glossy.

Lighten chocolate mixture by folding in a quarter of of the egg whites.

Then fold chocolate mixture into remaining egg whites. Be careful not to over mix, it is better for the mixture is streaked than overmixed. 

Divide into four bowls, refrigerate for at least four hours, or up to a day.

Remove from fridge just before serving.

Adding Flavor:

After melting chocolate whisk in a tablespoon of strong coffee, a 1/4 tsp. peppermint oil or 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, or 1/4 tsp. orange oil with egg yolks.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

        In late fall the pumpkin flavor comes out. Between Halloween and October, as uncarved pumpkins soften they're cooked into pies, tarts, soups, and cookies. These pumpkin cookies are really cookie cakes, they're light, airy, soft and moist, but firm enough to be eaten without falling apart and are baked on cookie sheets, taking as much time as a cupcake takes to bake.
        I found this recipe in the back of King Arthur Flour's Cookie Companion. Usually, I'm a cake and pastries type of girl, but it was the day before Thanksgiving Break, and I wanted to make a holiday themed treat for my friends. I remembered, years ago, that my mother used to make delicious pumpkin cookies. So flipped to the back of the Cookie Companion's index and looked up pumpkin. There was only one recipe, this one. It wasn't even for cookies, it was for a whoopee pie.
      I am not a fan of whoopee pies. If anything should be sandwiched between to cookies it should be ice cream. There's also the texture, a thick creamy filling with two soft cookies beside it. Overall whoopee pies are mushy, sickeningly sweet, cookies. Maybe it's those cheap gas station whoopees that first gave me this dislike but it has stuck with me, no matter where the cookie comes from. However, dislike of whoopee pies is not genetic, my mother loved whoopee pies. She was constantly in search of a good recipe, so I considered it, and decided she must have stumbled upon this recipe and decided they make better cookie than whoopee pies.
        They do. Unlike other recipe these cookies are not very sweet, so the pumpkin and spice flavor comes through loud and clear. They bake longer than other cookies, but that's just to firm up the exterior, to keep it from being sticky and annoying. They're best when topped with a little vanilla confectioners sugar icing.

Spicy Pumpkin Cookies from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion:

Cookies:

• One 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree.
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon saigon cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all purpose flour

Icing:

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line to backing sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl or stand up mixer beat pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, oil, and molasses. 

Add in salt, spices, baking powder, and baking soda, then mix well.

Beat in flour all at once, then beat for 2 minutes.

Using a 1/4 measuring cup drop batter onto baking sheets 2 inches apart from each other. 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

When cookies have cooled:

Beat all icing ingredients together until smooth.

Drizzle icing over cookies.