Cooking With Kids:Chocolate Bouchons
April 23, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Chocolate
If you will recall, Chef Kyrie and I had picked up the Ratatouille Cookbook a few weeks ago and just had not had a chance to make anything from it. Well, until now. We gathered our forces:
(Those are my youngest three children;Sean 9, Nick7, and Kyrie4..and my grandchildren Amanda 6 and Gabe 4. Lots of help as you can imagine.)
And proceeded to mix, stir, melt, and measure.
Please note the sugar spilling over the side of the bowl. :/
The batter is very liquid, although I would not call it thin..and the kids had a great time licking fingers and waiting for the “lickers and the bowl” to be done. Being a nice mom I used numerous spoons so that everyone had something to lick.
When you cook with your kids give everyone a job. Messes can be cleaned up later but the time spent with your kids can’t. Trust me. My oldest is 26..and sometimes I wonder how she got to be that age, having kids of her own! It seems like the chaos will never be over..until it is.
Well, unless you have 8 kids and then by the time the youngest moves out you are senile and no longer know what is going on around you. 
Anyway..everyone gets a job. Everyone gets to do something. Let them get their hands and faces dirty, and so what if the floor is sticky. Teaching them to love cooking has another benefit. It teaches them to work with you. When your kids are 4 or 5 this is not such a big deal but when they are 14 and 15 you will notice that they come into the kitchen, begin helping you chop something and unload every thought in their minds. At that point it is priceless. How do I know?
I have raised 4 teenagers so far. They all talk to me about everything. The post-teenagers seem to be normal adults…and they still talk to me about (almost) everything. Food and cooking foster communication.
Chocolate Bouchons from Ratatouille’s What’s Cookin’ Cookbook
3/4 c flour
1 c fair trade cocoa
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 c plus 2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
1 c chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
Preheat oven to 350. Place the silpat muffin liners in a muffin tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
Mix eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. This will take about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then part of the butter. Continue alternating ingredients until they are all mixed in. Add the chocolate and mix well.
Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 -25 minutes, until tops are shiny and a toothpick comes out clean but not dry.
After a few minutes turn the bouchons upside down and let them cool upside down. Take the muffin cups off when they are cool. Dust with confectioners sugar. Eat the same day as they are baked. Makes 12.
YUMMY! They were very moist, very rich, very chocolatey. The kids had a great time and so did I…and now…I need to go clean up the kitchen.
Was it worth it?
Yep.
Images: (c)marye audet apron strings and simmering things
Content (c) marye audet for Baking Delights
Great! Anything that involves children, cooking and eating with the family is a really good idea.
What a lovely and sweet post.
Eight kids, that’s impressive.
I hope to someday have four (but haven’t even started yet). Time will tell, I guess!
I didn’t PLAN to have eight kids, Carrie. It sort of happened. We were actually told we would never have children, but we prayed..and Marc and I are both over-achievers.
hahaha. Achieve you did!
How darling! I should borrow somebody’s kids to do that here… looks like fun to me!
Carrie-LOL!
Mrs.W- too bad youa re so far away, you could borrow MINE..they are broken in!
What cuties. I love kids and pray I can have them The clock is ticking away. But if it happens , it happens, And I like that the aunts and uncles are growing up with the nieces and nephews. Im so happy you have them in the kitchen. They will carry this with them always and be well prepared.
Either that or they will be on a psychiatrists couch..LOL! My daughter and son in law live with us so we have 4 adults and 8 kids in the house.
4 adults and 8 kids, huh? Well I can see where that might make things a bit… crowded… but it still sounds wonderful to me! It’s been only my husband and myself… with pets… for far too long.
Not really crowded..Hmmm…maybe I will do a house tour in the next week or so..we have a 4300 sq foot victorian we are restoring. it is NOT luxurious..but it is big.
Sounds lovely–you SHOULD do a house tour!
Maybe I will.
Had no idea that you had 8 kids. Sounds like you have a “full quiver!” I love these cooking with kids sections…so much fun!
You are my kind of mom!
LOL Claire..Yes we do…and we feel very blessed.
Cynthia- My oldest told me once that if you looked up the definition of mom in the dictionary there would be a picture of me.
are there really 3 sticks of butter in those and it only makes 12?? wow… i bet they are good..thanks for the recipie…im going to make some with my kids..(unless i feel guilty about the fat and make a lower fat version.)
LOL! Julie yes there are really three sticks of butter, and if you make a lower fat version you might as well just make chocolate cupcakes.
I wanted 10 kids when I was still a teenager, now i just want 4
Mrs E- I didn’t want any…God has a sense of humor.