Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book - Bruce Weinstein [30]
3. Sprinkle a few drops of water on your work surface, then cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Place half the dough on it, then lay a second large sheet of plastic wrap on top. Roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the dough, still between the sheets of plastic wrap, to a large baking sheet; place in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until firm. Repeat this step with the second half of the dough, transferring it, sandwiched between sheets of plastic wrap, to a second baking sheet also placed in the refrigerator.
4. Position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. Remove the rolled-out dough from the refrigerator, peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap, and use a 21/2-inch, round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Use a metal spatula to transfer them to a large, ungreased baking sheet, preferably nonstick, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Work quickly here—you want the cookies to be cool when they go into the oven. Also, use the same baking sheet that held the dough in the refrigerator—it will be cool and prevent the cookies from spreading while baking. Prick each disk with a fork, thereby creating a decorative cross-hatch pattern on the cookie. If there are dough scraps, you can reroll them, but you need to roll them out again between pieces of plastic wrap, then refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until firm.
6. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the sheet back to front halfway through baking. The cookies will be firm but a little spongy—they will crisp as they cool. Cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill it for 5 minutes before baking additional batches—or use the second baking sheet, with the second sheet of dough that’s already in the refrigerator.
7. Once all the cookies are baked and cooled, prepare the filling by beating the shortening and corn syrup in a medium bowl until smooth, using an electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until fluffy, then beat in the vanilla and salt until smooth. You may need to add a little more confectioners’ sugar to get a spreadable, frosting-like consistency—but be careful of adding too much, as it will continue to harden as it sets.
8. To fill, place a heaping teaspoonful of the filling mixture on the flat side of one of the cookies. Spread this gently to the ends, using a small flatware knife or an offset spatula, making an even layer of filling. Top with a second cookie, flat side down; place on a wire rack to let the filling set somewhat, about 15 minutes. Continue creating chocolate cream sandwiches until all the cookies and filling are used.
Recommended storage
2 days at room temperature
If filled, 1 month in the freezer; the cookies alone can be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed and sandwiched with filling as directed
Customize It!
Because the cookies here are classics, we recommend varying only the cream filling. To do so, omit the vanilla extract from the filling and in its place, add one of the following: 1/2 teaspoon banana flavoring, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon maple extract, 1 teaspoon rum extract, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract with 1 drop yellow food coloring, 1/2 teaspoon mint extract with 1 drop green food coloring, 1/2 teaspoon orange extract with 1 drop orange food coloring, or 1/2 teaspoon cherry flavoring with 1 drop red food coloring.
CHOCOLATE CRINKLES
These round disks have a delicate crisp crunch, yet remain intensely soft and moist inside. Sifting the dry ingredients is important because you want the flour to be finely aerated. The batter needs to be refrigerated