It’s official everybody, we’re deep in the dog days of summer. The days in which I have to ask myself “what outfit will look cutest when it’s drenched in sweat?” as I’m getting dressed in the morning. The days in which I brave the trash-juice soaked sidewalks of New York City in open-toed shoes, because the thought of putting on a sock is enough to give me heat stroke. The days in which my TV’s volume is cranked up to the max so that I can hear it over the droning air conditioner that I simply must lie my head directly next to. It is hot, hot, hot, and it seems that won’t be changing anytime soon, so grab your SPF and make your way to the nearest ocean, lake, pool, or busted open fire hydrant.

It is during these late summer weeks that I get my most intense seasonal food cravings. I step outside, feel the humidity on my skin, and am suddenly filled with the primal urge to…

• down two perfectly charred hot dogs way too fast, feel a little sick, and slowly savor a third perfectly charred hot dog upon recovery (all w/ ketchup and mustard and relish duh).
• eat a full box of Popsicle brand popsicles, before getting tattoos of all the unfunny jokes on their sticks.
• tie dye all my white clothing with the juice of perfectly plump tomatoes as I bite into them like apples.
• get buttered sweet corn stuck in every single space between my teeth. Floss. Do it all again.
• shotgun a Big-Gulp-sized cherry-cola flavored Slurpee in the 7/11 parking lot.
• pack a container of emergency rainbow sprinkles everywhere I go, so that when I inevitably stop at an ice cream truck I can re-dip my medium twist cone in between each lick.

I could continue to type out an endless list of all the treats that I hunger for this time of year, but I’ll spare you and instead focus on my number one August essential: Chocolate Covered Marzipan! While it typically may not be the most seasonably appropriate, I take one bite of this decadent almondy confection and am instantly transported back to my childhood summers.

Growing up, my mom worked overtime to find activities to keep me and my siblings occupied during what I’m sure felt like endless summer days. We spent a lot of time at the community pool, or doing crafts at our dining room table, or playing kickball in the cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids. But, having always been someone who is motivated by food, my favorite days were the ones where my mom would take us on an afternoon walk that would culminate in a trip to our favorite ice cream shop, Conrad’s. 

After braving the two mile journey—incredible that ten year old me, my two younger siblings and my blind mom were just casually walking two miles for ice cream—, we’d burst through the royal blue door, cheeks flushed and backs drenched in sweat. The teenagers working behind the counter would set down glasses of ice water that we would guzzle down before they could even turn away to assist another customer.

We’d take a few minutes to cool down and look at the menu, even though we had all spent the entire walk dreaming up our ice cream creations, before we placed our order: a black-and-white ice cream soda for mom; a twist cone with extra chocolate sprinkles, dumped upside down into a cup, for Grace; a scoop of mint chocolate chip, in a cup, topped with gummy bears and mini M&Ms for Grady; and a malted chocolate milkshake topped with fresh whipped cream and a cherry for me. 

Though we tried our hardest to avoid them, brain freezes (yes, multiple) were inevitable as we inhaled the ice cream treats faster than it took to prepare them. As we finished up and walked towards the door to start the journey home, I would marvel at the display cases of homemade candy and chocolate laid out like jewels, and tug on my mom’s shirt begging her to let us get some of them to go. Having a sweet tooth herself, she would always give in and order a box of assorted treats: nonpareils, pretzels dunked in chocolate and rolled in chopped peanuts, raspberry stuffed truffles, and the star of the show… bars of chocolate coated marzipan.

Before we even made it a block from Conrad’s I would start whining for one of the boxed candies, which were intended for after dinner. In an effort to prevent a meltdown lasting the entire walk home, my mom would pass out the marzipan bars. Biting through the bitter coating into the sickly sweet filling, I was instantly satisfied—chocolate dripping down my fingers and slicked across my face. Upon arriving home, I recall my mom immediately herding us into the bathroom to wash up before we had the chance to finger paint her walls with our chocolatey prints.

Though I still visit Conrad’s whenever I am back in the area, I wanted to develop a recipe so I could teleport myself back to these late summer walks any time I wanted. I ultimately settled on a cookie to provide the most balance in texture; the crisp, toasty edges stand up strong against the gooey, sticky marzipan. The cookie has a bitter chocolate base, slightly scented with a bit of almond extract to echo the chunks of candy within. I also added a good amount of chopped chocolate to create melty puddles that stain my fingers like the bars I had as a kid. The cookie holds a symphony of flavor and texture to awaken the palette after a sleepy summer day. 

For me, they’re the perfect dog days recipe, but for those of you who maybe don’t want to crank your oven to 350° for a rich, chocolatey recipe in this heat, I understand. The tech bros gave us a bookmarks bar for a reason. Press command/ctrl-d and come back to this post in the fall when your kitchen feels less like the third circle of hell. They’re great for any season.

See y’all soon with something a bit more August appropriate.

xx,
Ian

Double Chocolate Marzipan Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 16 tbsp (2 sticks/g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cups (150g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (150g) dark brown sugar
• 2 large (108g) eggs
• 1 tsp (4g) pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp (2g) almond extract
• 1 tsp (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt*
• 3/4 tsp (3g) baking soda
• 1/2 cup (46g) dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups (192g) all purpose flour
• 7-8 oz (198/227g) package of marzipan**
• 8 oz (227g) chocolate, at least 60% cacao, chopped (make sure you have a good mix of large pieces and smaller shards to get ensure large chocolate puddles, as well as even distribution)
• Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Chop your marzipan: Cut up your marzipan into chickpea sized chunks, spread flat in on a baking sheet or in a plastic container and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours
2. Whisk your dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together your salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, all purpose flour and set aside.
3. Prepare the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer combine your room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. Beat on medium high for 3 minutes, or until it is light and fluffy. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in your eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat on medium high until combined, 2 minutes. Turn off, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add in your dry ingredients. Once added, slowly pulse the mixer until just combined. Add in the chopped chocolate and frozen marzipan. Pulse until evenly distributed throughout.
4. Scoop and chill the dough: Using a 1.52 ounce (#20) cookie scoop*** or weighing out 50g balls of dough, portion out the cookies and place them on a large baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat your oven: Preheat the oven to 350° and place your oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle slots.
6. Prepare your pans and bake: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 6 chilled balls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto each baking sheet. Bake the 2 sheets at the same time, swapping halfway through baking, for 14-16 minutes or until deeply golden around the edges, and puffed and lightly gold in the center.
7. Salt! Your! Cookies!:Sprinkle the cookies with a generous portion of flaky salt immediately after they come out of the oven.
8. Cool and enjoy:Allow your baking sheets to cool for at least 10 minutes if reusing them and repeat steps 6 and 7 to bake off the remaining cookie dough. Let cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes:

*If you’re using any other type or brand of salt (i.e. Morton, or sea salt), I suggest scaling back to 1/2 tsp.
**You can buy marzipan in 7 or 8 ounce packages depending on the brand, either is fine!
***In a pinch you can also portion out 3 tablespoons worth the dough into balls.
Do Ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead and store for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer.

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