Brown Hounds

Of the garbillion things that fly around my brain all the time, there were 2 prominent thoughts this morning. 1) Nick and his partner had a baby. I should bake him some cookies and 2) My trip to Brown Hound Bakery sure was beautiful and delicious. I should write about it. (Right now the loudest thought in my brain is: These BBQ Casava Chips are savage but I think the crunching might be annoying my co-workers)

Brown Hound Bakery. What a delight. If ever there was a bakery to show up all the other Irish bakeries, this is it. Brown Hound knows how to treat a lady.

It's a perfect mingling of gorgeous design and gastronomic art. The effect is something to behold. The chilled displays present precious treasures, both of the vintage and edible persuasion. They have beautiful fresh cakes finished with luscious icing, delicate toasted coconut or a fun stripey string bow. They have melt-in-your mouth cookies displayed under glass bells.

How do I know the goods are delicious? Because I tasted them. Because I was gifted a box filled with a perfect selection of yummy-happy dance inducing treats. Because when I ate that hunk of banana bread I was taken right back to my home kitchen in Montreal - it tasted like mommy used to make.

Looking at this pictures takes me right back to the time when I ate  all of these in one sitting myself. Good times.

Back to Nick and his new baby, Louis. Nick is the very Nick that owns and operates Nick's Coffee Company in Ranelagh and on Tara Street. We have come to know each other over the years through a mutual love of cake and coffee (come to think of it, that's how I make most of my friends). And so to celebrate baby Louis, I made these American-style chocolate cookies hugged by flaked almonds and tickled by dark Belgian chocolate. I am calling them Brown Hounds, dedicated to Jeni and Reuven's Drogheda bakery. These cookies are a love-fest. Some went on sale at Nick's in Ranelagh and they sold out faster than New Kids on the Block tickets in 1988

Brown Hounds

Brown Hounds Recipe (makes 16 cookies)

Ingedients:

Bowl 1
125g butter at room temperature
125g granulated sugar
90g demerera sugar

Bowl 2
1 free range egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
45g whole milk

Bowl 3
200g cream flour
70g good quality cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Bowl 4
50g chocolate chips

Bowl 5
100g flaked almonds

Bowl 6
50g chocolate chips (I used 70% Callebault)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180
2. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
3. Stream in the egg, milk and vanilla
4. Sieve the flour, soda and salt together. Mix in to your batter until just combined
5. Mix in chocolate chips
6. Using an ice cream scoop (I used size 18) make a ball of dough and roll it gently in the flaked almonds. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool the Brown Hounds. Melt you final bit of chocolate and drizzle over your cookies.
8. Enjoy


You can read more about Brown Hound Bakery at these fine blogs:


An American in Ireland
Gracie's Bakes
The Katz Miaow

and you can read more about delicious food at these fine blogs:

Smorgasblog
The Daily Spud
I Can Has Cook
DinnerduJour
Gunternation
Kuchennie

Happy Baking,

Caryna


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