The Easter chick gets the chop

Those of a sensitive nature should probably look away now..! The gorgeous chocolate Easter chick you see above met a rather sorry end on Sunday. Bought lovingly for one of my many nephews and nieces as a little Easter gift, my inner chocoholic got the better of me...


I know what you are thinking. You are thinking 'how could she?'. 'Who is this cruel-hearted murderess that we thought we knew?' Fear not. It was all in a very good cause. Really.

You see, a week or so ago, I was taking a look at a blog that has recently caught my eye. Though still only a young whipper-snapper studying for her A-levels, Indigo from Happy Love Strawberry is something of a demon in the kitchen (hmmm - she might not stoop to my chick-murdering level, but I'm not sure...). Brilliantly witty and rolling out one deliciously tempting treat after the next, I have become a big fan.

Anyway, I blame her entirely for the massacre of the Easter chick. You see I caught sight of these. Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, I knew I wanted one. In fact I wanted a whole lot more than one. Fudgy, crackly, sticky, chewy and deeply deeply chocolately - I could just tell from Indigo's gorgeous photos.

Now, what is the first rule of following a recipe? Read through the recipe thoroughly first and ensure you have all the right ingredients and utensils. Easy enough, hey? You'd think so. Anyway, I think you are guessing what happened with the chick. I totally failed to realise JUST HOW MUCH CHOCOLATE is in these little beauties. You need a lot of chocolate. I'm telling you now as I know you are going to want to cook these. Having searched every cupboard and drawer in the house, I just couldn't find quite enough. I had to improvise. So the chick got it. Sad, I agree. But not so sad when you consider just how delicious these cookies are. Or should I say 'were'.

However. I'm sad to say that mine didn't turn out quite as well as Indigo's. Go on. Take a look. Then come back and compare them with mine. Hmph. Not quite as good, are they?

Mine puffed up more than I was expecting - I was after something a bit... flatter. And they didn't go all crispy, crackly on top. I thought perhaps my oven was hotter (they were a little more cakey and not quite as gorgeously gooey as those other ones I am still coveting). But the last batch I cooked for only 8 minutes, yet still they were a little too puffy and cakey.

But don't let that put you off! Oh no. They were totally delicious - the most chocolately cookies I think I have ever eaten. Even I could only manage one (...at a time). Testament to their deliciousness is that I took them to work today (around 20 of them) and they were all gone within half an hour. And there certainly aren't 20 of us in the office.

I'm not going to repeat the recipe here. You know where to find it. And anywhere, as I mentioned, hers are better than mine (...I'm trying not to sulk). I can tell you though, that if you are a chocoholic like me, then you really should try these cookies.

Now I come to think about it, I think perhaps they should be called 'brookies' as they are slightly like a cross between a brownie and a cookie. Now what could possibly be wrong with that?

Exactly. The Easter chick should be proud. He was sacrificed for a very, very good cause. I hope I am forgiven!