Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes

I am so completely addicted to food magazines, I even collect the little pamphlets they hand out in grocery stores. These days, they look a lot more like magazines though, as they're full of neatly styled recipes featuring, of course, said store's products. As most of you know, you don't really need to use the product in question and even when the recipe calls for a ready-made product, you can make it even better by using something homemade.


Case in point? These Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes. I noticed the recipe while I was "sifting" through magazines and stuff I could get rid of. Yes, I have too much stuff, go figure, and I need to get organized. Anyhoo, I was looking through a pile of Kraft's What's Cooking Magazine and when I spotted those cakes I had to make them right away! Well, first I had to make chocolate chip cookies, then I could make the cakes.

I made my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, used a round cookie-cutter to cut 12 cookies to the desired size and then made the cake batter. Easy-peasy! And when they're finally out of the oven, you flip them onto a plate, and you go to chocolate heaven. First you experience the crisp, crunchy and buttery taste of the cookie, then, as you cut into it, you find a rich, molten chocolate cake swimming in melting vanilla ice cream. Did I mention you have to pair this with vanilla ice cream? Well, you do!


Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes
adapted from kraftcanada.com

OK, first you have to make some chocolate chip cookies. I suggest this recipe; it contains walnuts, which are a nice addition to these little cakes.

12 chocolate chip cookies, cut into circles with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter
4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

Preheat your oven to 425F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Place the cookies, upside down, into the muffin liners. Press them into the bottom, they might be a bit big but don't worry about squishing them in, they're like the crust of these tatin-like cakes! OK, now set that aside while you make the batter.

Place the chocolate and the butter in a large microwaveable bowl, then microwave on high for about 2 minutes. At that point the butter should be melted and a little stirring will get the rest of the chocolate melted too. Alternately, you could do this on a double boiler.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, confectioners sugar, flour and fleur de sel. Slowly add the chocolate mixture, stirring as you go, until well blended.

Pour the batter over the cookies in your prepared muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven for about 8 minutes. The cakes will be slightly firm around the edges but still soft in the middle. Let the cakes stand a minute or 2 before serving. Remove each cake from its tin, invert it onto a plate (just like a tarte tatin!), remove its liner and serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream.