Chocolate Crumb

Credit for this recipe goes to the Pastry Pantheon's Goddess of Trashy Treasures, Christina Tosi. This is a utilitarian combo of crumbly crunchy texture and chocolate flavor that takes the least amount of effort to create. It'll replace Oreo crumbles in most recipes, for nearly any purpose. They're a bit more tender, too. You can even use them in place of chocolate chips, if you're gentle on the mixing. Honestly, just practice your prepositions with this pastry panacea. Put it in stuff. Put it on stuff. Behind things. Between them. Under them. Your english teacher would be so proud.

Ingredients

• 3.7 oz All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 3.5 oz White Sugar
• 2.3 oz Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or 1/2 tsp Table Salt
• 6 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Mix the flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, and salt with a flexible spatula or in a stand-mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed until homogeneous.
3. Drizzle the butter into the bowl while mixing until everything starts to form streusel-y clusters.
4. Scatter the clusters onto the lined baking sheet and bake for around 20 minutes, breaking up the larger clusters and stirring them at the 10 minute mark. Once they're only slightly moist, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan until no hint of warmth remains. They'll be too soft for most applications before they're completely cool.
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week, or refrigerate for up to a month.