cocoa nibs

What are they? They're the shell of the cocoa bean. These are roasted and broken into little bits and they are delicious. My little sister bought me 2 bags of them from the well known chocolate shop in Seattle called Theo. The bag itself is beautiful. I've made a few things with these tiny bits of goodness. I was inspired by my favorite blogger Orangette. I made her cocoa nib sables and they were decent. They were actually quite disgusting fresh out of the oven. I know-fresh baked cookies-Gross? Yes. My husband didn't even like them and he likes anything with sugar. Definitely better when they sat out for a bit. She said so herself in her blog that they were better the next day and in this case, it was very true. Here's her recipe. They were good cookies, but not my favorite. It's a nice butter shortbread type of cookies, rolled into a log and refrigerated overnight. The speckles of cocoa nibs are nice though. They're pure cocoa flavor without any of the sugar.

Whole Wheat Sables with Cocoa Nibs (from Orangette.blogspot.com)

2 cups (9 oz.) whole wheat pastry flour, OR 1 cup (4.5 oz.) all-purpose flour plus 1 scant cup (4 oz.) whole wheat flour
14 Tbsp. (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (3 ½ oz.) sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup (about 1 ¼ oz.) roasted cacao nibs

If using the two flours, combine them in a bowl, and mix with a whisk or fork.

In a medium bowl, with a large spoon or an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy but not fluffy, about 1 minute (with the mixer). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and add the nibs. Beat briefly to incorporate. Add the flour, and mix until just incorporated. Scrap the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it a little with your hands to make sure that the flour is completely incorporated. Form the dough into a 12-by-2-inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into ¼-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared sheet pans.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies for a minute on the pans, then transfer them (with or without their parchment) to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

These cookies are good on the first day, but they’re best with a little age, after at least a day or two. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.

Yield: about 48 cookies