Try a Chocolate Sandwich

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

I love pain au chocolat, similar to a croissant, but shaped in a puffy rectangle, wrapped around a core of dark chocolate. Since making French pastry is beyond my ability, I make the next best easy thing: Chocolate Panini.

This is a very simple recipe. You just sandwich baking chocolate between baguette slices, butter the outsides and cook on stovetop until the chocolate melts. The result is a buttery, melted chocolate concoction you will love.

The only tricky part in cooking is that, when you press down on the sandwich with a spatula, the bread tends to stick to the spatula, unsettling your sandwich, so a little patience is required. It is super-easy if can grill using a panini press, as in this demo.

Serve Chocolate Panini as a decadent breakfast treat or as a snack. Delicious!

Chocolate Panini
Makes 8 panini

1 bar (8 ounces) good-quality semi-sweet baking chocolate, such as Ghirardelli
1 baguette (about 18 inches long) with flaky crust
About 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Slice the bread on the diagonal into slices ½- to 3/4-inch thick; you’ll need 16 slices to make 8 panini. Break the chocolate into 1/2 ounce squares. Butter one side of each slice of bread with about 1/2 teaspoon of butter and make a sandwich, butter side out, using a square of chocolate per sandwich. If your baguette is narrow, you may need only half a square of chocolate. Do not let the chocolate hang over the bread or it will melt and burn in the pan.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and, in batches, cook sandwiches until golden brown on one side, flip the sandwiches and cook, pressing down with a spatula, until golden brown on the other side and chocolate has melted, about 30 seconds. Keep warm in the oven until all the sandwiches are made.

Tips:

• You could also try setting a slightly smaller, heavy skillet into the pan on top of the panini to press them down while cooking, instead of using a spatula.
• The sandwiches can also be made in a panini machine following the manufacturer's instructions.

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