Feb 08, 2012
Just humour me if you think they lean more toward cheesy, okay?
These are like Fudgee-O’s, all grown up and wearing a pretty outfit. They are darker, more chocolatey. The silky ganache filling is rich, and not too sweet. The cookies are chewy, rather than crunchy (although if you prefer the latter, simply bake them an extra 2 minutes!).
Did I mention the ganache? I think I did. What a word! Doesn’t it illicit beautiful images of lustrous, thick chocolate that you just want to roll around in?
It sounds pretty fancy, it tastes seriously fancy, but if you’ve never made it you might not be acquainted with the fact that it is made with only two ingredients (hot cream and chocolate) and done in only two steps (pour cream over chocolate and stir).
Perfect simplicity, and a glamourous name.
Now that you know how easy it is, you can make it all the time and use it to fill cakes, to dunk strawberries in, to top ice cream… there is some dangerous potential here.
Whenever you’re working with a soft cookie dough, the refrigeration step is non negotiable. Skip it and you’ll have a sticky, awkward mess.
Be sure to roll the dough out between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper – the top one prevents sticking to the rolling pin and the bottom one allows you to lift the whole sheet of dough. That way, if at any stage it softens and becomes difficult to handle, just slide the whole thing into the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. I did this before lifting the hearts off the paper, to ensure they maintained a perfect shape.
Chocolate Fudge Sandwich Cookies
Recipe developed for Rogers Foods. Cookies may be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen up to 1 month. Makes about 16 cookie sandwiches. For cookies:
3/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cups Rogers All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup cocoa 1/2 tsp salt
For filling:
1/2 cup whipping cream 4 ounces/120 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped (or 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chocolate chips)
For decorating:
Coloured decorating sugar or sprinkles, optional.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt; add to butter mixture and beat to combine. Transfer dough to refrigerator to chill for 1 hour (or you may refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days before baking).
- While dough is chilling, prepare filling. Heat whipping cream to a simmer in the microwave (about 1 1/2 minutes on high power). Pour over chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Cool in refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Working with one half of the dough at a time, form a disc then roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper. Use a 2-inch heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes; transfer to baking sheets. Decorate cookies with coloured sugar or sprinkles, if desired.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are firm. Cool 2 minutes on sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Once cookies have cooled, spread half of them with about 2 teaspoons of filling and top with the remaining half.
