Chocolate Mousse with Almond Lace Cookies

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH ALMOND LACE COOKIES

Chocolate Mousse:

½ cup butter, softened

6 oz. semisweet chocolate

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate

3 egg whites

3 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

2/3 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

-Melt chocolate in small saucepan. Stir in butter until melted. Let cool 10 minutes.

-Beat chocolate mixture and egg yolks in small bowl on high speed for 5 minutes. Refrigerate, covered for 10 minutes.

-In separate mixing bowl, beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff and glossy.

-Fold egg white mixture carefully into chocolate mixture. Allow mixture to set for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

-Whip cream and add vanilla. Stir gently into chocolate mixture. Pour into transparent glass serving bowl or trifle bowl and chill until set.

Almond Lace Cookies:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tab. cream
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan, mash and stir the butter with the sugar and cream over moderate heat until butter has melted. Remove from heat and beat in the flour, then the almonds.

-Drop by full teaspoons, spaced 4 inches apart, on lightly buttered and floured baking sheets, 4 - 6 to a sheet. Bake one sheet at a time in middle level of preheated oven for about 5 - 6 minutes, until cookies have spread and begin to brown lightly around the edges. (Watch them closely as they burn quickly.)

-Remove from oven and cool just a minute, until they are just firm enough to be removed with a flexible metal spatula. Place on cooling rack until set.

-Serve on a serving platter as dippers for the chocolate mousse. Makes about 16 cookies.

To Assemble:

-Remove chilled mousse from refrigerator and garnish the top with large chocolate curls and fresh raspberries or strawberries. Place a couple of the almond cookies on the top as garnish and to give the suggestion that the accompanying cookies are meant as dippers for the mousse.

-Serve with the platter of cookies alongside. Serves 10 - 12

To Create Chocolate Curls:

-Slowly melt about 1 cup (12 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate in microwave in a clear glass dish. Microwave for 45 seconds on high. Let chocolate sit for 2 minutes. Microwave again for 30 seconds on high, then stir chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes. Microwave one more time for 30 seconds on high then gently stir chocolate until all the pieces are melted and smooth. (If chocolate is not melted let sit for 2 more minutes and microwave one more time for 30 seconds on high.)

-Take a sheet of clear acetate or a section of a roll of baking acetate, about 12 inches long, and with a pastry brush, brush the melted chocolate onto the acetate. covering it in a solid, but thin layer. Roll acetate loosely and secure with paper clips. tape or bag clips. (Parchment paper can be used instead of the acetate if you don’t have it, however the acetate creates a shinier surface on the rolled chocolate and is firmer and easier to roll. A plastic laminating sheet cut open, also works as a good substitute for acetate.)

-Let sit at room temperature until completely cooled and firm (may take an hour or more). Remove clips and gently remove the acetate from the back of the chocolate. (Score chocolate into the widths of chocolate curls you prefer before removing acetate.) Place the chocolate curls and large pieces of curled chocolate on top of the mousse as garnish.

-Intersperse chocolate curls with a few fresh raspberries or strawberries and add a couple of almond cookies off to one side.

Place a teaspoon of batter on oiled and floured baking sheet - 6 per sheet.

Remove from oven when cookies are golden around edges - about 5 mins.

Thin crispy almond lace - such elegant cookies!

Light, chocolate mousse with a wonderful rich flavor and texture.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**If using just one cookie sheet for the cookies, be sure to wash it off between each batch and re-butter and re-flour sheet for best results.

**When you try to remove the cookies from the sheet, gently try with a thin, metal spatula....there is a specific time when the cookies are ready to leave the pan....if they scrunch up into a mess, wait another minute and try again. However, if you wait too long, they don't want to leave the pan at all and will be difficult to remove. Waiting 5 minutes from the time you remove them from the oven is usually just right!