Bite This! Yvonne's Cookie Curse

If you’ve read the first chapter of Love, Inc (and if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?), then you’ll know all about Zahra and her dreaded Cookie Curse.

We didn’t have to look far for the inspiration for this one. There was a time in my teens when I liked to show a guy I liked him by baking up a sweet treat. It took me awhile to realize that the Baker always got burned by the Bakee—often within days.

Maybe the guy saw a proposal in a cookie jar. Or maybe my rudimentary baking skills were to blame, rather than any curse. But to be safe, I decided to retire my mixing bowls and measuring cups—for nearly a decade.

That’s when I met this cute, funny guy with a catchy British accent and began a long distance relationship. It seemed worth risking the Cookie Curse. So when Valentine’s Day rolled around, I dared to bake again.

By this time, Sandy and I were roommates, and I was able to draw on her long experience with the fine art of baking, not to mention her vast array of gadgets (egg separator anyone?). Under her watchful eye, I whipped up a batch of double-chocolate cookies and shipped them off to England.

And look what happened:


















The curse was broken.

These days, we’re big fans of this recipe from Oprah magazine. Here’s a streamlined version of it. Tailor the recipe to the tastes of the guy you like. If he’s conservative, stick to chocolate on chocolate and you can’t go wrong. If he’s a bit daring, try dried cranberries. And if you think he could be The One, splurge on dried cherries. Sure, they’re pricey, but seriously, can you afford not to go all out on Valentine’s?

Chocolate Wonders

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70 per cent cacao or more)
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1-3 cups of chunky ingredients (such as semisweet chocolate chips, toasted nuts, dried cranberries or cherries – be creative!)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine the chocolate and butter and melt over double boiler or in microwave oven set on low. Watch carefully, stirring occasionally, until melted. Set aside to cool until barely warm.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

4. Combine eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until just combined. Add sugar and beat until thick, a minute or two. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the melted chocolate into the eggs and stir until just combined. Add the flour mixture and stir with spatula until just blended.

5. Fold in the chunky embellishments with the spatula until evenly blended. Drop the batter onto prepared pans in heaping tablespoons, leaving two inches between cookies.

6. Bake the cookies until the tops look set and slightly cracked and dry, 16-17 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

Makes about 20 big cookies.