Twelve Days of Cookies, Day 1

Chocolate Mousse

I think this year I would like to expand my repertory from cookies a little bit. To be honest, I've been craving all things chocolate. Blame a fortuitous ticket to the Chocolate Show in November.

My first sweet outing this year was a chocolate peppermint mousse. I don't really eat mousse a lot, and I have never made one myself. I had to do two batches -- the first batch came out weird -- too flat. Blame it on either egg whites from a carton or the recipe. Next time I changed both. Here is the recipe I ended up with (from Cook's Illustrated).

3 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 t vanilla
2 t Grand Marnier
1/2 t peppermint extract
2 fresh organic eggs, separated
1 T sugar
1/4 C heavy cream
candy canes

1. Melt chocolate, using either microwave or stovetop. Whisk butter into chocolate, 1 T at a time. Stir in pinch salt, vanilla, Grand Marnier and peppermint. Whisk in yolks, one at a time, blending thoroughly each time.

2. Beat room temperature egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar. Beat until medium peaks form. Add 1/4 of whites to chocolate to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whites.

3. Whip cream to soft peaks. Gently fold cream into the mousse. Spoon into 4 individual ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more. Serve topped with crumbled candy cane. Eat within 24 hours.