Dutch process cocoa will give you more intensely rich, chocolaty brownies. American or "natural" will give you a more complex flavor. Didn't you like the brownies you made? If they were too chocolatey tasting, try the Natural next time. If they tasted wonderful, you might not like the results if you use natural next time, because it's a more bitter flavor. That's the whole point. :) "Natural" in referring to natural cocoa powder is a designation that way predates the current standards in food verbiage. It doesn't mean anything about the way it's grown. It just means it hasn't had the surface acid neutralized. The Ghirardelli process uses heat and melts off the fats and gets more out, whereas the Dutch process is pressed, so Dutch process is moister (fatter) and American is powderier. When you make your recipes there are all kinds of chemistry things going on between acids and alkalies. Dutch processed cocoa just has one of those processes happening before you buy it. It's not bad, just different. Baking soda (potassium bicarbonate) is an alkali. They use potassium carbonate to neutralize the acid in the Dutch process. Baking soda has less potassium and is a much gentler alkali than potassium carbonate, but in terms of what's touching your food, by the time the traces that might possibly be left on the cocoa get to you, it's just a little potassium and carbon. :) Summation American: bitter, complex, possibly fruity or roasty tasting, interacts with baking soda for leavening. Makes for red cakes if it hasn't had the color adjusted. Dutch: chocolaty, rich, good for things you want to be fudgy. Requires baking powder for leavening, or an acid like lemon juice and baking soda.

I really like these cocoa, mocha recipes! I'd like to create my own peppermint variety since I'm almost out of Starbuck's variety. What would I use to add that peppermint flavour? Crushed candy canes? Peppermint extract? How to add liquid peppermint extract? To the sugar? Sorry to hijack thread but need some ideas. Thanks!

The reason for the added cocoa is the reduced size of the nestles quick container. Originally, the recipe called for the 32oz, 2 pounds. My hubby, the math genius, did some kind of fancy math figuring and came up with about 1/3 cup was missing from the container that was 30oz. There wasn't any way to figure out the preportions of what is in the nestles quick so my daughter said to just toss in 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa and see how it turns out, since trying to reduce everything else might not work. So I just tossed in the unsweetened hersheys cocoa and have been doing it ever since. It does taste a little richer than it used to, actually a little more chocolate taste too. Just wish these manufacturers would stop changing sizes on us. It's hard to use old recipes when they change the size of containers.

Mint Chocolate Cookies Bon Appétit December 2000 YieldMakes about 48 Ingredients 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1 3/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs and peppermint extract. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat until well blended. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly to 1 1/2-inch rounds. Bake cookies until edges begin to firm but center still appears soft, about 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Cookies can be prepared up to 5 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)