Dorie Greenspan is clearly one of the world’s best bakers, with 13 cookbooks and multiple James Beard awards. Her beautiful new book is “Baking with Dorie; Sweet, Salty & Simple”. In it she has 6 new chocolate chip cookie recipes, and this one she puts in her cookie hall of fame. There is no actual caramel in the cookie, but by baking it in a muffin tin, the edges kind of caramelize against the sides of the hot pan and you get bonus flavors. “Ordinary ingredients made extraordinary” she says. The buttery cookies are crisp like shortbread, and if you prefer to skip the nuts just add more chocolate chunks. I ate way too many of these yesterday; pretty irresistible.
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
Heaping 1/2 cup chunks of dark chocolate or milk chocolate or large chips
About 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted or not, or more chocolate chunks
In a large bowl, beat the butter, both sugars, and the salt together on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour all at once. Pulse a few times, just until the risk of flying flour has passed, and then beat on low speed until the flour is almost completely incorporated. Don’t beat too much-you want the mixture to be more clumpy than smooth. Fold in the chocolate and nuts, using a flexible spatula.
Knead the dough if necessary so it comes together. Divide it in half, and shape each hunk into a 6-inch-long log; they will be a scant 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours. The logs can be refrigerated 3 days or frozen for 2 months.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin – two if you have them. Mark one log at 1/2-inch intervals, then cut into rounds with a chef’s knife, cutting hard through the chips. Place each puck in a muffin cup. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until the cookies are browned around the edges and slightly soft in the center. Let the cookies rest for 3 minutes, then gently pry each one out with the tip of a table knife and let cool on a rack. Let the pan cool, then repeat with the remaining log. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature. Makes 24 cookies.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So agree about Dorrie, and must try these. The make-ahead aspect is promising for the holidays. May even travel with the logs frozen! Love your procedural wit – “flying flour” exactly describes the moment.
Thanks
I baked one log and froze the other. Only lasted 3 days in the freezer before needed some more cookies! They are smallish shortbread cookies, very buttery. Think you’ll like them!