It’s always the right time for a chocolate love affair

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and put a piece of parchment on a large baking sheet.

2. Mix the flour, almond flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons candied ginger in a mixer bowl. Add the butter and mix until large lumps form. Divide the dough into 6 portions and roll out each one. Put these discs on the parchment paper as you go. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Make the chocolate sauce. Put the chocolate in a bowl and the cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When it boils, pour it over the chocolate, letting it rest for 30 seconds, then whisk until there are no lumps.

4. Slice the pear thinly and divide among the crusts. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and some of the candied ginger.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 406 calories, 27 grams fat, 41 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein, 55 milligrams cholesterol, 139 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber, 56 percent of calories from fat.

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Put the flour, baking powder and sea salt in the food processor and pulse a time or two. Add the sugar and pulse again.

3. Add the pats of very cold butter (I often freeze the cubes in advance) to the mixture, and pulse three or four times, or until it has large and small pebblelike pieces throughout. Add the chocolate.

4. With the motor running, add the eggs one at a time, then the cream.

5. Turn dough out on a floured board, smashing it down with your hands into a large, flat rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Cut into 10 squares and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges of the scones begin to brown. Serve immediately.

Cowgirl tip: Make this dough in advance, cut it up, then freeze. Cook the scones as directed.

Nutritional analysis per scone: 241 calories, 11 grams fat, 32 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams protein, 66 milligrams cholesterol, 306 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 41 percent of calories from fat.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and generously butter 2 muffin tins.

2. Make the brown butter (beurre noisette): Slowly melt the butter in a medium skillet over low heat until it turns brown and begins to smell nutty — this will take about 10 minutes. Be sure to take your time with this, or you’ll end up with burned butter.

3. In a mixer bowl, whisk together hazelnut flour, sugar, flour, cocoa powder and sea salt. Add the egg whites and mix well. Pour in the brown butter and mix just until combined. Scoop the batter into the greased muffin tin, filling three-quarters to the top. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown and the little cakes’ tummies pop up. Give the pan a good whack on the counter, flip it over, and the cakes should fall right out. Let them cool, then serve right away. These are best the day they’re made.

Note: To make hazelnut flour, grind blanched hazelnuts in a food processor or blender until fine.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 168 calories, 13 grams fat, 11 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 25 milligrams cholesterol, 158 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 67 percent of calories from fat.

S’mores mix-ins:

1. Set oven to broil at a high temperature. Put a piece of foil on a large baking sheet.

2. Chop the milk chocolate for the pudding and set it aside in a bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Slowly pour in the cream, continuing to whisk, until it’s completely incorporated and you have a smooth liquid. Whisk in the eggs. Set this aside for now.

4. Put the milk and sugar into a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring to help dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer and watch for tiny bubbles to form on the sides.

5. Temper the egg mixture by pouring a little of the hot milk mixture into the bowl, whisking vigorously as you do so. Add about half of the hot milk, continuing to whisk, then pour all of this to the saucepan.

6. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until the pudding reaches a boil and becomes super-thick. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl. Whisk in the reserved chopped milk chocolate.

7. Put the 2 cups of marshmallows on the foil-lined baking sheet and slide into the oven. Watch this very carefully — depending on the heat setting, it may only take 15 to 20 seconds to brown. Remove the marshmallows from the oven and scrape them into the bowl of pudding, stirring to break them up. Let this cool, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

8. Make the s’mores mix-ins: With the oven still on broil, put a new piece of foil on the baking sheet and lay out 3 graham crackers. Top with 3 cups marshmallows. Slide into the oven, again for only as long as it takes to brown the tops, about 15 to 20 seconds, tops. Remove from the oven and top these with the other 3 graham crackers. Melt the chopped milk chocolate over a bain-marie (water bath) on the stove and spread on top of the graham crackers. Freeze until firm.

9. To serve the puddings, break up half of the s’mores, mixing and stirring them into the pudding. Spoon it into bowls and top with more mix-ins — you can’t have too much.

Nutritional analysis per serving, based on 6, using all the mix-ins: 627 calories, 33 grams fat, 78 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 183 milligrams cholesterol, 234 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber, 46 percent of calories from fat.

Adapted from a recipe in “Bakeless Sweets” by Faith Durand