Let's not waste time: We love chocolate. You love chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate. So, let's eat more chocolate. Can't decide what to make for dinner tonight? Chocolate is the answer—specifically, something like chocolate cake topped with a pillow of whipped cream, thumbprint cookies filled with dark chocolate and sea salt, or smooth chocolate mousse. (Yes, we did just suggest you have dessert for dinner tonight. You've earned it.)
Take a look through these recipes. And try (try!) to abstain from making them all.
1. Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake with Meyer Lemon Whipped Cream
It's rare for baked goods to get more delicious as they sit on the counter, but this very nearly flourless cake pulls off aging with grace. Serve it with powdered sugar, whipped cream, this lemon whipped cream, or nothing at all.
2. Divine Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
An adaptation of Homesick Texan's pecan and cayenne cookies, this recipe pairs cinnamon with unsweetened cocoa and semisweet for an incomparable chocolate experience.
3. Thai Peanut Butter Cups
Infuse these dark chocolate peanut butter cups with Southeast Asian flavors like lemongrass, chili, and lime, and you may never enjoy a Reese's again.
4. State Fair Cream Puffs
These cream puffs are the stuff of childhood memories and decadent dessert dreams. Try this simplified version that enlists a handy food processor, rather than arduously stirring the dough by hand (and feel free to splash some booze in the cream filling).
5. Chocolate Dump-It Cake
A classic chocolate cake if there ever was one. Sour cream lends extra moistness and unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate team up once more to pack a powerful punch of cocoa-saturated glory.
6. Perfect Hot Chocolate
This perfect hot chocolate recipe calls for just an ounce of the best chocolate you have—leaving you plenty to snack on later. Sweeten to taste and add a pinch of salt for a perfectly balanced beverage.
7. Rich Chocolate Cake with Coconut Filling and Ganache
The tangy cream cheese and coconut filling in this ganache-glazed masterpiece (also known as Hyde Park fudge cake) makes for a bundt you won't forget anytime soon.
8. Alice's House Truffles 4.0
These chocolate truffles are a satisfying sweet bite after dinner or as a snack, but they really shine with a glass of red wine. Learn the secret behind the silky-smooth texture, and a much easier way to dust with cocoa powder.
9. The Snake Bite
Inspired by the famous cocktail of lager and cider known as a Snake Bite, this chocolate sour cream cake replaces lager with stout and pear cider for the apple. A pear-infused cream cheese frosting adds richness and subtle fruitiness.
10. Ancho Chili-Cinnamon Chocolate Bark
Fruity, slightly spicy, and packed with rich chocolate flavor, this bark is easy to make, even easier to share, and (surprise, surprise), superb with a glass of wine.
11. Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies
We don't take the term "master brownie recipe" lightly, but this genius recipe is just that. Use this ultimate brownie as template for all your deepest, darkest (or milkiest) chocolate fantasies. Cayenne? Coconut? Raspberry cream cheese? Start right here.
12. Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Nothing brings out the perfect pairing of chocolate and peanut butter than a generous pinch of salt (except, of course, for toasty, nutty brown butter). Name-brand peanut butter works best for this recipe, and contributes a uniformly crisp texture.
13. David Lebovitz's Chocolate Sorbet
It's not only possible to make a dense, fudgy chocolate sorbet without dairy or eggs, it's downright fun. Call on the powers of Dutch-process cocoa powder and high-quality vanilla, and your palate will toss you a cool thank you.
14. Quinoa Cookies with Coconut & Chocolate Chunks
Cooked, cooled quinoa adds a chewy texture to this chocolate chunk cookie recipe. Toasted coconut and almond extract amplify the nutty notes for a satisfying cookie that's an asset to any baker's repertoire.
15. Hervé This' Chocolate Mousse
This chocolate mousse comes from the original molecular gastronomist, Hervé This. Use a trusty whisk or bust out the (equally trusty) electric mixer for an extraordinarily simple dessert that's scientifically flawless.
16. Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Coffee flavors chocolate cookies so beautifully. The earthy, nutty, slightly bitter flavor of high-quality espresso powder brings out the best that unsweetened cocoa powder has to offer.
17. Margaret Fox's Amazon Chocolate Cake
This is chocolate cake at its ultimate simplest: no fancy ingredients, no elaborate steps, nothing between you and airy, chocolatey goodness but five easy steps. Oh, and it's vegan.
18. Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
The king of all cookies is a hybrid of these two favorites. Moist, chewy, and tested to perfection, these crisp treats have just enough bend, snap, and spice to satisfy die-hard oatmeal cookie fans while keeping chocolate fans very happy.
19. Millionnaire's Shortbread
This beloved layered bar hails from Scotland and marries three dessert superstars in one rich bite. Buttery shortbread, smooth caramel, and a thin, slightly snappy layer of chocolate create a gooey confection that tastes as good as it looks.
What's your favorite chocolate dessert? Tell us in the comments!
Written by: Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
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