Saturday, October 17, 2009

Ridiculously Delicious Cookies

For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have been making Choklad Biskvier at Christmastime. There is a Swedish Christmas tradition of making seven kinds of cookies - sju sorters kakor - and these cookies are one of the 7 (or 8 or 10) kinds of cookies we make every year. I have recently discovered though, that Choklad Biskvier are just as enjoyable the rest of the year as they are at Christmastime. It sounds kind of stupid to say I just "realized" this, I know, but do you ever make pumpkin pie in March? I didn't think so.

Part of the reason I started making CBs year-round is because the recipe calls for three egg whites. You may remember that I love eggs and that I have a ongoing supply fresh chicken eggs. Since Gavin's "new" favorite dessert is poundcake (who knew?!), I often have leftover egg whites to use up, and this recipe is perfect for using them up. These cookies also store well in the freezer, where they wait for you until you need them to serve guests, bring to a party or just eat by yourself while you lie on the couch watching reruns of 30 Rock with a glass of Malbec.

Since these cookies have been in heavy rotation, I have been spreading the love. I have brought them to meetings at work, exchanged them for the aforementioned fresh eggs and taken them to parties. Since Choklad Biskvier is not easy to remember or pronounce, my friend Robin just calls them "those ridiculously delicious cookies." I often just refer to them as "those Swedish chocolate cookies." If you can suggest a better name, I am accepting ideas.

I've been asked for the recipe dozens of times, but have always declined to share it because this is kind of graduate level baking. Consider yourself warned. Having said that, I have tried to provide as much detail (and photos) as possible into the recipe below. I even shot a little video. A video! Gavin warned me against posting it because it is one the geekier things I've done recently, so er...consider yourself warned, again

Ridiculously Delicious Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cookie

3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
4 oz. blanched, slivered almonds
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I use Progresso brand)

Filling
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Glaze
8 oz. semi sweet chocolate - chips or chunks
6-8 Tbsp unsalted butter

Prepare and bake the cookie
Grind the almonds in a food processor until fine. Like so:

Whisk the egg whites for a minute in a stand mixer. Add sugar and whisk on high for 3-4 minutes, until a stiff meringue is formed. Like....so:

Stir in bread crumbs and almonds and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Drop teaspoon sized mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove with a metal spatula so they don't crumble and cool on a wire rack, round side down.

Prepare the filling and frost the cookies
Sift powdered sugar and cocoa together onto a flexible mat or piece of wax paper. Cream the butter on high until lighter in color and smooth. On slow speed, add the sugar/cocoa mixture until combined. Add the vanilla and mix on medium-high until smooth.

Smooth a mound of filling onto the flat side of each cookie. Place them in the freezer for 10 minutes or so while you prepare the glaze.


Make the glaze and...watch the video
In a double boiler melt the chocolate and 6 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Stir until smooth. It should be the consistency of Hershey's syrup. If needed, add more butter. As you glaze the cookies, you may need to reheat the glaze if it begins to stiffen.

The easiest way to apply the glaze is to dunk the chocolate half of the cookie into the pot of glaze. I can't really describe in words how to do this so, as promised, there is a video demonstration. Enjoy!