15 desserts for chocolate lovers

"If you’re going to eat chocolate, you might as well really go for it, right?" says Nicole Bermensolo. (Find her recipes for Dark Chocolate Brownies and Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes with Shiro-an Cream below.)

Right.

Here are 15 recipes you'll want to make for the chocolate lover in your life.
 

1. Cookies

World Peace Cookies Photo: Davide Luciano

"Unlike classic sablés, they are midnight dark — there's cocoa in the dough — and packed with chunks of hand-chopped bittersweet chocolate," Dorie Greenspan says.

[Also: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Mexican Hot Chocolate Shortbread and Kahlo Cookies.]

 

2. Brownies

Dark Chocolate Brownies Photo: Ilya Shapovalov / iStock / Thinkstock

"Miso sets these brownies apart from the pack; its salty, buttery, complex undertones really amp up their chocolate richness," Nicole Bermensolo says.

[Also: Supernatural Brownies and Brownie Sundae with Smoked Almonds and Caramel.]
 

3. Truffles

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles Maison Photo: iStockphoto

Alice Medrich's truffles include two types of chocolate.

[Also: Bittersweet Chocolate-Cassis Truffles and Honey Struck Chocolate Truffles.]
 

4. Scones

Chocolate Cherry Scones Photo: Antonis Achilleos

"Three kinds of chocolate—semisweet chocolate, white chocolate, and cocoa powder—ensure a serious chocolate flavor that’s balanced by the tart bite of dried cherries," Amy Guittard says.
 

5. Cupcakes

Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes with Shiro-an Cream Photo: Kyotofu

"Most chocolate cupcake recipes call for only cocoa powder, but I use high-quality melted chocolate in Kyotofu’s version," Nicole Bermensolo says. "I find that it imparts a much more potent and nuanced flavor than cocoa alone."

[Also: Man in Black (aka Johnny Cashew) Cupcakes.]
 

6. Mousse

Albert's Mousse Photo: Deborah Jones

"This is a lovely light (and nondairy if you want it to be) chocolate mousse with intense chocolate flavor," Alice Medrich says. "It is the lightest mousse of all if you make it with water or coffee."

[Also: Chocolate-Avocado Mousse Martinis with Fresh Raspberries and Double Chocolate Dessert Spoon Sweet.]
 

7. Bread Pudding

Double Chocolate Bread Pudding with Almond Bark Photo: Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group

This Double Chocolate Bread Pudding is drizzled with two types of chocolate sauce and topped with a piece of almond bark.
 

8. Hot Chocolate

The Duke’s Hot Chocolate Photo: Lilechka75 / iStock / Thinkstock

"This hot chocolate has a pedigree," says Lynne Rossetto Kasper. "It dates from 1632 Italy, where the court cook to Bologna’s ruling family, the Bentivoglio dukes, made it the fashion of the day."

[Also: Mexican Hot Chocolate and Bolognese Hot Chocolate.]
 

9. Ice Cream

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Photo: bhofack2 / iStock / Thinkstock

"You can never have enough chocolate," Bryan Petroff and Douglas Quint say.

[Also: Hot Fudge Double-Chocolate Cherry Sundaes and Chocolate Fudge Pops.]
 

10. Molten Cakes

Gooey Chocolate Cakes Photo: iStock / Thinkstock

"It's been more than ten years since the molten chocolate cake won the hearts of just about every pastry chef here and in France," Dorie Greenspan says. "There doesn't seem to be a chocolate lover on either side of the ocean who hasn't savored this cake: small, dark and warm, with a lava-like runny center, sophisticated, easily dressupable and, best of all, truly easy to make."

[Also: Little French Fudge Cakes and Patrick Gautier's Soft-Centered Warm Chocolate Cake.]
 

11. Macaroons

Chocolate Macaroons Photo: ChristianJung / iStock / Thinkstock

"Egg whites are the key element in this recipe. Take care to beat them until they are only just firm and still shiny, then don't be concerned when, as you add the dry ingredients, they deflate -- they're supposed to."
 

12. Chocolates

Seriously Good Improvisational Chocolates Photo: A.C. Riley / Flickr

"Shards of chocolate embedded with surprising flavors and crunchy elements make terrific gifts for much less than pricey 'artisan-made' chocolates," Sally Schneider says.
 

13. Muffins

Dark Chocolate Chunk-Cherry Muffins Photo: Steve Legato

"The addition of fresh sour cherries takes this already excellent chocolate muffin to the level of magic," Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck say. "The fruit creates soft pockets that zing against the dark chocolate crumb and toothy chocolate chunks. You could dress them up with a scoop of ice cream for dessert."
 

14. Cake

Chocolate Heaven with Chocolate Buttercream Photo: Squire Fox

"This cake was the first thing I learned to bake with my grandmother," Cheryl Day says. "It was, and still is, the best cake I have ever tasted."

[Also: Blathnaid's Chocolate Cake, Double Dark Chocolate Excess, Chocolate Chile Cake, French Chocolate Fudge Cake, Essential Bittersweet Chocolate Cake for Improvising and Chocolate Alabama Stack Cake.]
 

15. Souffle

Chocolate Souffle with Rum Sauce Photo: iStockphoto

"This Souffle is better without flour, because the chocolate has enough body to hold the egg whites," Jacques Pépin says.