Pedro45

Hi all, I am new here and not a professional pastry chef or confectioner so please be gentle with me! I have been trying to make the perfect homemade Thin Mint cookie for a long time and I finally hit on the right cookie texture and flavor but I cannot temper the chocolate coating to save my life. One reason could be that I live in a very hot apartment (I can't control the heat) and one reason could be that the chocolate just knows I am afraid of it but I will not use a confectionary coating or whatever that waxy stuff is. It has to be real chocolate. Is Semper real chocolate? I just went to the Stover site and I am reluctant to buy 11 lbs. until I know more about it as I have no other use for it other than this cookie. Also, how dark is the Semper dark chocolate? Believe it or not, after using Mercken's, Valrhona, Callebaut and Guittard, the best tasting (and least expensive) chocolate I have found for this cookie is Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate (please don't judge). The cocoa solids in the TJ's chocolate is 54% and that is just dark enough for this cookie to taste exactly like a Thin Mint, only better. Any ideas? Is there any place to buy a smaller amount of Semper, assuming it is real chocolate? Thanks!

Hello, I just joined and am mostly interested in the pastry forums. I am not a trained pastry chef but I am trying to start my own cookie business. I have been baking for years and am mostly self-taught, so I am hoping the professionals here will be kind! I have some particular questions about chocolate tempering as I need it for one cookie I am hoping to sell and am having a lot of trouble with it. Mostly, the chocolate wins. Also, I am looking for advice on starting food businesses in general, as this will be my first foray. And I hope I can also add to any discussions, as well as learn from others . I grew up and live in the Boston area, as any Red Sox fan can tell by my user name.