These cookies are putzy and have three distinct steps, with cooking and cooling times in between, but they are definitely crowd-pleasers! If you have a weekend to do your christmas cookie baking, this could be a good option to add to the mix as you can complete the various steps in between baking the other cookies in your lineup.
I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's website. She shows them in a circle shape (like an oreo), but I was tired of my circle cookie cutter by the time I got to these, so I made them snowflakes. After painstakingly coating each "arm" of the snowflake with melted chocolate, I know why she made hers circles! Feel free to use any shape you desire but remember: (1) you are going to have to coat all surfaces with melted chocolate, and (2) your cookies will change shape/size ever so slightly while they bake, so if you choose an intricate shape the two pieces of your sandwhich may not line up perfectly when you go to assemble them.
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 1c cocoa powder
- 1/2c + 2T flour
- 1/2c (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1/2c granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- Confectioners' sugar (to lightly dust your work surface before rolling out the cookies)
For the Chocolate-Mint Ganache:
- 1/4c heavy cream
- 6oz semisweet chocolate chips (i.e. half of a normal sized bag)
- 1/2t mint extract (Martha calls for 3/4t - adjust to your mint preferences!)
For the Chocolate Glaze:
- 6oz semisweet chocolate chips (i.e the other half of the normal sized bag)
Directions
Combine butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg until well blended. Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients (mixed together ahead of time); mix until just combined.
Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (or overnight).
When you're ready to make the cookies, remove the dough from the refridgerator and let it sit for about five minutes just to take some of the chill off. You still want it to be cold, but not brick-hard.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. I rolled mine out to about 1/4 inch, even though Martha says 1/8 inch. I think a little substance to the cookie is good, but if go for the crispy, crackery cookie more, you might want to roll it out thinner. Cut out your cookies and place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper. Trust me, do not put them right on the cookie sheet; they will stick!
Bake until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely, then remove from the cookie sheet.
For the genache: Bring cream to light boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add chocolate and cook, stirring constatnly until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Let cool slightly to thicken so you can work with it (about 10 minutes). Spread onto cookies and make sandwiches.
At this point you're going to want to really get these cookies cold before you try to cover them in chocolate. I left mine in the fridge for an hour. To make the glaze, just melt the rest of your chocolate in a metal bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Stir constantly - you don't want your chocolate to burn! (Alternatively, if you have a microwave, you can certainly just melt your chocolate in there. Just put it in for less than a minute at a time, and stir after each interval until totally melted and smooth.)
Dip one flat side of your cooled cookie into the melted chocolate, place dry side down on a cooling rack and use a knife to "frost" the sides of the cookie. Refrigerate until set - at least an hour.
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