So, I have a feeling that this is going to be a bit of an
experiment.
I came upon the idea of these cookies while trying to recreate the famous cookies from Van Stapele Koekmakerij in
Amsterdam. These cookies were worth the 20 minutes I queued for them - you can spot the shop a mile off due to the queue. It's set in a tiny little shop on a narrow street and they only serve one thing - fresh, soft, super chocolately cookies. And the unusual thing about them is the huge nugget
of white chocolate right there in the middle.
I amended this recipe from some that I saw online, and I love
the idea of using a little bit of espresso powder to bring out the chocolate
flavour. And, if you like cakey cookies then these are perfect. I prefer mine
with a bit more of a squish and I need to find a bigger piece of white chocolate to go in the centre, so I will continue to experiment for *my* perfect
version of this cookie but these are a cracking biscuit all on their own.
Makes about 20 cookies
Ingredients
- 260g plain flour
- 65g cocoa powder
- 1.5 tablespoons cornflour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp instant espresso powder
- 170g butter
- 50g granulated sugar
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- Large white chocolate buttons (a big bag, enough for 2 per cookie)
Method
Mix together in a bowl the flour, cocoa, cornflour, bicarb,
salt and espresso powder and set aside.
In another bowl cream the butter for a few minutes then add in
the sugars and beat again until smooth. Beat in the eggs.
Add the dry ingredients a half at a time, I usually do the
first half with the mixer and the second half by hand.
Chill the dough for 2 hours as it’s far too soft to handle at
room temp.
When chilled, form the dough into balls (slightly smaller
than you would make for a regular cookie) and place on a baking sheet.
Press 2 chocolate buttons into the centre of the cookie which also flattens the cookie out a bit.
Top with a small flat piece of cookie dough and press the
edges down.
Refrigerate again for 10 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C at this stage.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Try to enjoy while still warm if you can – it’s worth it for
that melting centre!
Droste Pastilles would be about the right size, but they don't make a packet of pure white ones as far as I know. They make a packet of half white/half milk, and another of straciatella. Both of which I may have eaten recently. For science. They also have an embarrassingly small gift pack, which does contain some all white.
ReplyDeleteOne blog I read who also tried these mentioned pastilles. I will keep hunting, or just stacking more and more buttons on top. My last batch I managed 3 which was a bit of an improvement.
ReplyDeleteIf I get a batch of half white half milk I will FOR SURE eat all the milk ones.