Author: Marios

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Cauliflower Cake

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I wasn’t allowed to be a picky eater as a kid. If I complained or refused to eat my meal, I was…convinced to finish what was on my plate (let’s just say that there were threats of the wooden spoon coming out of the drawer). Not that I, or my sister, were bad eaters. We ate almost everything even though we liked some dishes less than others. There were, however, a handful of foods I was allowed to refuse, because my parents recognized that no matter what punishment I was threatened with, my revulsion was too strong to eat them. A few times I threw up the offending foods and that cemented their fate. There was tahini (which I can’t stand to this day), dried fava beans with spinach (cooked spinach still makes me gag), and black eyed peas. I was allowed to eat something else when they were on the table.DSC04208

On the other hand, one thing I always loved was cauliflower. My mom always made it the same way: stewed in a tomato sauce. I loved the texture and the taste and to this day, it’s my go to vegetable. I usually just cut it up, toss it in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast it in a 425º F oven until it caramelizes. We usually eat it tossed with the simple garlic lime vinaigrette that makes everything better.

When I saw the recipe for this savory cauliflower cake, I knew I had to try it and it didn’t disappoint. Not only is it a beautiful looking cake, but it has a lovely light taste (that even cauliflower haters could like) and a texture that’s not too dense but substantial enough to be satisfying. It makes a fantastic brunch dish, along with a green salad on the side. DSC04217

Cauliflower Cake – Slightly adapted from The Kitchn (Originally from Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi)

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed, broken into 1 1/4-inch florets (about 4 cups)
1 medium red onion, peeled (6 ounces)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
7 large eggs
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Parmesan or another aged cheese
Melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil, for brushing
2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds (or more white sesame seeds)
Salt and black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are quite soft. They should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside in a colander to dry.

Cut 4 round slices, each 1/4-inch/5-mm thick, off one end of the onion and set aside. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place in a small pan with the oil and rosemary. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onion to a large bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well, and then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Whisk until smooth (but don’t overmix) before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up the florets.

Line the base and sides of a 9 1/2-inch/24-cm springform cake pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter or oil, then mix together the sesame seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides (this is optional, you can skip it if you want, but it does look beautiful when you unmold the cake). Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and set; a knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It should be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature.

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Chocolate Fudge Cake

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One day, a Sears catalog came into our lives. My dad was working with Americans and somebody gave it to him. He brought it home and handed it to me and my sister. It was as thick as a phone book and it quickly became one of our favorite possessions. We didn’t know what Sears was or even what catalog shopping was. But those glossy pages showed us that there was a whole other world out there, one where kids had full-sized pinball machines in their bedrooms or spent the night in colorful tents in their back yards or played with dolls and remote controlled cars that we had never seen before. It was a world we fantasized about, my sister and I. We made a game of flipping through the pages and imagining what we would buy if we could and how it would change our lives.DSC04998

There was one page that I always paused on for just a few seconds longer. It was the page that featured an Easy-Bake Oven. I couldn’t believe that there was an oven that a kid could get and use to bake desserts. It seemed impossible. Out of all the toys and games in that catalog, the Easy-Bake Oven was the one I longed for the most (though the pinball machine was a very close second). I never expressed this wish out loud, since this was a toy that only girls were supposed to like, but secretly I dreamed of having one and making little chocolate cakes just like the ones the smiling girls in the photograph were holding in their hands. Of course, I never got an Easy-Bake Oven and it wasn’t until many years later, when I moved to the U.S. as an adult that I learned the truth about them. That they used a light bulb to heat their interiors and that what you could bake in them was never really that great (though the newest versions no longer use light bulbs but are regular mini ovens).DSC05021

I now make my own chocolate cakes, like this one, which can only be made in a real oven, not at Easy-Bake one. It is a luscious chocolate cake with layers of chocolate ganache, covered in a beautiful shiny glaze of even more chocolate. It’s the ultimate chocolate lover’s cake. Moist, intense, addictive. And yet, not hard to make. The cake part is made in a single bowl, without even the need for a mixer. And the filling and glaze are made in the microwave in minutes. It should be called the Easy-Bake Chocolate Cake.
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Chocolate Fudge Cake – Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

Cake
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) cornstarch
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder or instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) water
Filling
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
6 ounces heavy cream
3 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur (such as Frangelico, Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Framboise, or any other flavor that goes well with chocolate)
Glaze
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
4 ounces heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) two 8″ x 2″ round cake pans or two 9″ x 2″ round cake pans . Note: If you are using 8″ pans, they must be at least 2″ tall.

Make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, and beat with a spatula until smooth. Gradually add the water, mixing with a spatula (or whisk once the mixture loosens up) until smooth. Try not to overmix it. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 35 to 38 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

Make the filling: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for one minute until the cream is hot, and the chocolate is soft. If necessary, heat again in 15 second increments. Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary. Add the liqueur and stir to mix well. Set aside until it cools and thickens (if you use it immediately, your cake layers will slip and slide). You can hasten the cooling by putting the bowl in the fridge but remember to check it often and to give it a good stir before you use it on the cake.

Using a sharp, long, serrated knife, divide the cooled cakes in half horizontally, to make four layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, and spread with a third of the filling. Repeat with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer.

Make the glaze: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for one minute until the cream is hot, and the chocolate is soft. If necessary, heat again in 15 second increments. Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary. Pour over the cake immediately and spread the glaze over the top of the cake with an offset spatula, letting it drip over the edges and down the sides. Once it’s done dripping, you may smooth the sides with the spatula, if desired. If you want to add some decorations on the top (like I did with the malted milk balls in the photos above), add them now, before the glaze fully sets. Allow the cake to rest, covered with a cake cover (or a big turned-over bowl) till the chocolate is set; overnight is good, though several hours are sufficient.

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Pear Upside-Down Cake with Pomegranate Molasses

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We were sure we were done with winter here in New York city. Temperatures have climbed, sometimes into the upper 60s, and daffodils are sprinkling the grey-brown landscape with yellow stars. But it looks like winter isn’t quite done with us yet. A storm is expected on Sunday and Monday that will bring snow and freezing temperatures back. I hope it’s the last of that for the year. I’m ready for spring.
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Other than the seesawing temperatures, this time of year also means that we are done with fresh winter produce and have no spring replacements yet. It’s withered potatoes, refrigerator apples, and overgrown winter squash season. You can probably still find decent pears though. And if you do, make this cake. It’s made with ground almonds, giving it a toothsome crumb and a satisfying chew. It’s a pretty traditional upside-down cake, but instead of the usual caramel, you use pomegranate molasses. Their tartness provides a great counterbalance to the sweet pears. And to top it all, it just looks so beautiful when you take it out of the pan.

Have a slice and hang tight. Spring is just around the corner.DSC04347

Pear Upside-Down Cake with Pomegranate Molasses – Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
¼ cup pomegranate molasses, plus more for serving
1¾ cups sugar, divided
3-4 ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears (about 1½  pounds), peeled, halved lengthwise, cored
125 g almond flour (or 1 cup blanched almonds processed until fine)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter a 10″-diameter springform cake pan and line bottom with a parchment paper round; flour sides of pan. Set pan on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Cook orange juice, ¼ cup pomegranate molasses, ¼ cup sugar, and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Add pears, cut side up, and cook (undisturbed) until they begin to release their juices, about 3 minutes. Turn pears over and cook just until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then arrange pears, cut side down, in prepared pan.

Return skillet to medium heat and cook liquid in skillet until thickened and syrupy, about 4-5 minutes, depending on juiciness of pears. Pour syrup over pears and let cool while you prepare the batter.

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, orange zest, and remaining 1½ cups sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add oil and continue mixing for another 1-2 minutes. Fold in dry ingredients just until fully incorporated. Pour batter over pears and smooth top.

Bake cake (on foil-rimmed baking sheet, to catch drips from springform pan) until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes (it took 70 minutes for me). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pan, 15–20 minutes. Run knife around edges of cake to loosen and invert onto rack. Remove parchment and let cake cool completely.

If you want, drizzle cake with more pomegranate molasses just before serving.

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Sautéed Fennel and Maitake Mushrooms

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Every now and then, I’ll cook something on a weeknight, something I put together on the fly without much thought, and it ends up being really, really good. When that happens, I turn to Steve and using my finest imitation of Julia Child’s voice I exclaim “How do I do it?” It never fails to make us laugh.

I made today’s recipe a few weeks ago and since then I’ve made it another three or four times, each time being astonished at how good it is. I had never cooked maitake mushrooms before. They are also known as hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and they are a type that must be cooked to be eaten. Their pompom-like fronds separate easily by hand and when they are sautéed in oil or butter they get crispy on the edges but remain satisfyingly meaty elsewhere.

It turns out that they also pair perfectly with caramelized fennel. Add some garlic and lemon zest in the mix, and you have a mouthwatering side dish. The flavor is deep. There’s sweetness and acidity but only as side notes. The star is the rich, umami flavor that both the mushroom and the fennel (along with the garlic) provide.

If you can find maitake mushrooms, you have to make this dish. It’s easy to put together and I guarantee that as soon as you take the last bite, you’ll start planning to make it again.
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Sautéed Fennel and Maitake Mushrooms

Makes 2-3 servings as a side dish

Note: Maitake mushrooms are usually grown on oak so they are clean. But if you want to wash yours, do it right before you cook them. Mine are grown organically on pieces of oak so I don’t wash them.

Ingredients:

1 head of maitake (hen-of-the woods) mushrooms (about 6-8 inches in diameter)
1 medium sized fennel head
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
zest of one lemon (preferably done on a microplane)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

Remove the tough core of the maitake mushrooms, if there is any. With your hands, gently separate the fronds into bite size pieces. Set aside.

Cut the fennel head lengthwise into four sections. Remove and discard the core from each section and then slice it thinly with a sharp knife.

In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat and add the sliced fennel. Sauté, stirring often until the fennel has caramelized, with the edges starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fennel from the pan.

Depending on how much olive oil is left in your pan, add more to have about 3 tablespoons. Heat it over medium high heat and add the mushrooms. Sauté until they are cooked through and the edges are just starting to crisp, about 4-5 minutes (add more olive oil if it looks too dry). Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another 30-60 seconds until the garlic starts to smell.

Add the cooked fennel back in the pan, as well as the lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir for a few seconds and remove from the pan onto serving plates.

You can squeeze some lemon juice on top if you want some additional acidity. Serve immediately.

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Chocolate Orange Squares

DSC04964What is it with mint in desserts? I’ve never understood its appeal. Mint chocolate chip ice cream? For me, it’s like eating toothpaste with chocolate. Sure, there have been a handful of times when I had a thin mint after dinner because someone offered them, but it didn’t feel like dessert. It was more like chewing gum after dinner. (As I am writing this I am realizing that I sound very much like our French friends who complain about Americans’ obsession with cinnamon in desserts. Je vous comprends mes amis, finalement!)
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So when Melissa Clark posted a new video on the New York Times website where she made mint chocolate squares, I watched it (because I will watch anything with her in it) and then forgot about it. I was never going to make them. But a couple of days later I had a sudden inspiration. Why not replace the mint in the recipe with something else? And what goes better with chocolate than orange? So after a few easy replacements, these chocolate orange squares were born.
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This isn’t a difficult recipe but it does happen in three steps, so it takes a little bit of time, though most of the time is just waiting for things to cool down or chill in the fridge. The great thing about these, though, is that you can pop them in the freezer in a ziploc bag and whenever you want a sweet bite (emphasis on ‘bite’; these are rich so you won’t be eating them by the handful), you just take one out and leave it on the counter for 20-30 minutes to lose its chill before eating it. DSC04961

Chocolate Orange Squares – Adapted from the New York Times

Makes 36 squares (or 16 larger ones)

Ingredients:

For the chocolate shortbread:
1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
2 tablespoons/15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick)

For the orange filling and chocolate top:
3 ¼ cups/405 grams confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons/43 grams unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup/60 milliliters heavy cream
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 ½ teaspoons finely grated orange zest
9 ounces/255 grams bittersweet chocolate (at least 60 percent cocoa solids), chopped
½ teaspoon coconut oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of paper to hang over the sides.

2. Make the shortbread: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add butter and process until a smooth dough forms. Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake until firm to the touch, and sides of the crust are beginning to pull away from the pan, about 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.

3. Make the filling: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine confectioners’ sugar, butter, cream, orange juice, and zest. Beat until mixture forms a thick, smooth paste. Press filling evenly over shortbread. It will be a little sticky. Use an offset spatula and your fingers to coax it into place. Cover with plastic wrap and chill to set the filling for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

4. Use parchment paper overhang to lift the shortbread and filling out of the baking pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares (there should be 36 squares). Place squares on a rack placed over a parchment-lined sheet tray, and let them come to room temperature for about 15 minutes.

5. In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt 7 ounces chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat, add remaining 2 ounces chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.

6. Add coconut oil, if using, and stir the chocolate until smooth. Spoon 1 teaspoon chocolate on top of a cut square, using the back of the spoon to spread chocolate to the edges. Be sure to fully cover the top of the square with chocolate. (Leave the sides exposed, though it’s O.K. if some of the chocolate drips down.) Repeat with remaining squares.

7. Let squares sit at room temperature until chocolate is set, at least 1 hour. Serve them at room temperature or chill in the fridge first. You can also store them in the freezer. Let sit on counter for 20-30 minutes before eating if you freeze them.

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Toddy Tonic

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“She keeps washing her hair and walking outside into the cold before she dries it. That’s why she keeps catching a cold,” my mom told me on the phone the other day. She was talking about my niece. “Mom, you know that you don’t catch a cold if your hair is wet, right?” I said hesitantly. “Of course you do!” she replied emphatically.

My mom is not the only one who believes that. Most people in Cyprus do. When I was a kid, once we showered and washed our hair, we were expressly forbidden from walking outside until it was bone dry. Cold foods and drinks were also thought to cause sore throats and colds. Ice cream was banished in winters, as was refrigerated water.

When we were little and we did get a cold or the flu, my parents cupped us. They put some cotton at the end of a fork, dipped it in alcohol and lit it on fire. They placed the burning ball in a small drinking glass and then quickly placed the glass on our bare backs. The heat created a strong (and painful) suction that pulled our skins into the cups for several minutes. It was believed that it “sucked out” the fever. All I remember is that the next day, my sister and I would laugh at the “salami” marks on our backs, the perfectly round bruises from the cups.
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There were many such medical myths in my childhood. It was, for example, absolutely forbidden to eat raw cake batter or cookie dough, because it could cause worms to grow in our stomachs. Whether this belief came out of mothers trying to keep kids out of their baking bowls or from stories of people getting tapeworm and blaming it on what they ate, I don’t know.

Perhaps the most bizarre medical myth I remember was a story that was all the buzz in Cyprus for a few months when I was little. According to this story, there were people in the Philippines that were able to conduct surgery without cutting with scalpels. Instead they used “special energy” to reach with their bare hands through skin and muscle, repair the damage, and remove their hands without leaving a scar. In those days before the Internet and Google, the story took a life of its own and became national news, science be damned.

Today’s recipe is a hot drink that claims to be a “digestive sleep aid” and a “healing elixir,” thanks to the “anti-inflammatory properties” of turmeric. I have serious doubts about all that. But what I do know is that it’s absolutely delicious. Hot apple cider, spiced with six different spices, with a touch of butter, I mean, what’s not to love?
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Toddy Tonic – Slightly adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients:

6 cloves
2 cups apple juice or apple cider
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom ghee, optional (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the cloves on a baking sheet, and bake for 5-7 minutes to release essential oils. Set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, warm the apple juice/cider over medium-high heat.

4. Add the cloves and ground spices to the juice and let come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes.

5. Strain out the spices before serving.

6. Stir in the cardamom ghee, if using, and enjoy.

Cardamom Ghee

¼ cup ghee
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee.

2. Once the ghee liquefies, add the cardamom. Turn heat to low and let steep for 3-5 minutes.

3. Strain the ghee and remove and discard the cardamom granules.

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

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There are many things, American things, I grew up without: The Brady Bunch, onion rings, McDonalds, 21 Jump Street, PB&J sandwiches, bagels, MacGyver, cranberry muffins, and the list goes on and on. But there’s one thing I didn’t have as a kid that always makes Steve wonder how I made it to adulthood without severe psychological trauma: chocolate chip cookies. Not only did we not have chocolate chip cookies when I was a kid, I didn’t even know that they existed. All the American TV shows and movies I watched were subtitled and “chocolate chip cookies” were simply translated as “cookie with chocolate” or simply “cookie.” It wasn’t until I came to the U.S. that I discovered the culinary marvel that is the chocolate chip cookie. In all fairness, chocolate chip cookies are not well known or loved anywhere else in the world either. Our French friends always produce their Gallic shrug and a dismissive puff when we mention chocolate chip cookies. They’re not impressed.DSC04364

I, on the other hand, am a huge chocolate chip cookie fan. A good, and that’s a big caveat, chocolate chip cookie is the perfect dessert. It’s sweet but darkly so, thanks to the brown sugar. It has chocolate, but in perfect proportions. It’s slightly crispy on the outside but soft and a little chewy on the inside. You can hold it in your hand, you can dip it in milk, you can sandwich ice-cream between two of them, you can eat it cold or slightly warm.

Unfortunately, like all good things, the chocolate chip cookie has been bastardized a million times over. Finding a great cookie or a great recipe is for many, the holy grail of American desserts. Finally, I think I’ve found it. This recipe, from Smitten Kitchen, has produced consistently some of the best, most mouth-wateringly delicious, most addictive chocolate chip cookies Steve and I have had. The best part is that you can make the dough, shape the cookies and then freeze them. Whenever you want a freshly baked cookie, pop one in the oven for 16 minutes and you’re all set. These are so good, that they might even convert the French to chocolate chip cookie lovers.
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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies – Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 15-16 cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon (or, technically, 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon) fine sea or table salt
1 3/4 cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (25 grams) turbinado sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (165 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 pound (112 grams) semi- or bittersweet chocolate, cut into roughly 1/2-inch chunks with a serrated knife
1/4 pound (112 grams) milk chocolate, cut into roughly 1/2-inch chunks with a serrated knife
Flaky sea salt (like Maldon), to finish

Directions:

Heat oven to 360°F (182°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. (I know…360°F?? But it does seem to make a difference. If your oven isn’t this precise, just bake them at 350°F and add some baking time, probably a couple of minutes).

In a small bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated, and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture on a low speed until just mixed. The dough will look crumbly at this point. With a spatula, fold/stir in the chocolate chunks.

Scoop cookies into 3 tablespoon (I used a #20 scoop) mounds, spacing them apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt. Put in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (up to a few hours) if you’ll bake them on the spot, or place them in the freezer to bake them at a later time.

If baking them immediately:
Bake for 11 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, until golden on the outside but still very gooey and soft inside. Out of the oven, let rest on baking sheet out of the for 5 minutes before transferring a cooling rack. Wait another 5-10 minutes (if you can manage that) before eating them.

If baking from the freezer:
First, take out as many cookies as you want to bake and place them on a prepared baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or silicon mat). Then preheat the oven to 360°F (182°C) (this will give the cookies a few minutes to lose their chill). When oven reaches 360°F (182°C), place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 16 minutes. Out of the oven, let rest on baking sheet out of the for 5 minutes before transferring a cooling rack. Wait another 5-10 minutes (if you can manage that) before eating them.