The Most Overlooked Baking Ingredient? | What’s Eating Dan?
Dan Souza explains why cocoa powder is a crucial baking ingredient, but is often overlooked. He shows how Dutch-processed, high-fat cocoa creates richer flavor and moister texture than natural or low-fat varieties. Using our hugely popular recipe for chocolate crinkle cookies, Dan highlights how cocoa’s pH and starch content dramatically affects baked goods. The cookies are perfectly fudgy, deeply chocolaty, and almost too good to share.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe:
The Best Cocoa Powder:
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Me wants cookie….!
The music is fine. Idk what these people are complaining about.
Valrhona is the culinary standard for chocolate. Can't go wrong with their products.
What would be a non-coffee substitute for the expresso powder?
I always pronounced the chemist’s name as “Van Hooten”! It’s pronounced, “Van Howten”? TIL!
I totally think about it!
Cow Pie Cookies!
Dan…who on this planet DARED to say that cocoa powder wasn't SEXY??! anything and everything chocolate or chocolate adjacent IS sexy.
I make these multiple times a year!! one of my absolute favorite cookies!
I’m glad “What’s Eating Dan?” Is back…I enjoyed it and missed it…
But what about cacao? Does that figure into this analysis in any way?
Droste Cocoa Powder is very good
So much info, very helpful! Thank you Dan!
I clicked the link below to see if the recipe was actually there… America’s Test Kitchen always makes you subscribe first… sure enough, there’s a free trial for 14 days but you need to give your $ info first.
Why you gotta be so wonderful, Dan?❤
In the 1970s my mother made great chocolate cakes using Bakers cocoa powder. She was disappointed when she used Hershey's. A few years ago, I read the label on Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder. Special Dark is Dutched. I've come to like it for hot chocolate, my mother's chocolate cake, and whoopie pies. I haven't been able to find Special Dark for at least a year or two. I hope it comes back in the stores.
Wow chocolate!! I don't normally eat it but I had a huge craving for hot chocolate the other day. There is nothing better than making it with really good chocolate. Thank you so very much for this!
Sounds great.
Dan is like that science teacher in high school who you had a crush on
could watch Dan chew all day…in a creepy way
Do one on how to eat gluten free!
what? isn't the nutritional info on the side?
I use Dutch, but now I know the brand to use and why. 👍 But Bakers brand chocolate bar? Why not a better quality bar?
Literally the only ingredient I am fussy about. Valrhona.
YAY! More Dan! I love your passion for food and science, but especially love what an awesome teacher you are. Thank you for doing what you do and making this world more delicious – with SCIENCE!
FYI .. if you never heard of "dutched" chocolate or just wondered what dutched chocolate tastes like? Well.. Oreo cookies use dutched chocolate 🙂