Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book - Bruce Weinstein [59]
4. Position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a second large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
5. Remove the circle of dough from the refrigerator, then transfer it from the baking sheet to your work surface. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and cut the dough into large, circular cookies, using a 3-inch cookie cutter or a drinking glass with a similarly sized rim. Transfer these rounds to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Use the back of a flatware knife to score each of these rounds into 6 pie-wedge sections. Do not cut through. You can also make small, dotlike indentations in the sections with the tip of the knife if you like—but again do not poke through to the baking sheet. If all the cookies will not fit on one baking sheet, line another with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, transfer these cookies to it, then place it in the refrigerator until the first batch has baked; let stand at room temperature for 3 minutes before placing it in the oven.
6. Bake for 6 minutes, reverse the sheet from back to front, and continue baking for about 6 more minutes, or until the rounds are dry but soft. The tops should have tiny, raised air pockets, somewhat like goose bumps. The cookies should give a bit when touched—do not overbake. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recommended storage
3 days at room temperature
2 months in the freezer
Personalize It!
Once you roll out the dough, you can cut it into any number of shapes. Smaller shapes require a shorter baking time—2-inch hearts, for example, bake for about 10 minutes.
Once the cookies are cooled, you can ice them with a thin layer of either the chocolate or vanilla icing found with the Black Black and Whites (page 33)—or you can make both and frost half the cookies in chocolate and half in vanilla, spreading on a thin layer with an offset spatula.
CHOCOLATE SNICKERDOODLES
Ah, snickerdoodles, a childhood pleasure: rolled in cinnamon and sugar, moist but crackly. We’ve rolled this chocolate version in that traditional sugary mix—when combined with the chocolate in the cookies, it gives them a taste somewhat reminiscent of spicy Mexican chocolate cookies.
MAKES A LITTLE MORE THAN 3 DOZEN COOKIES
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, preferably natural, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups plus 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (6 ounces)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a small dab of shortening on a piece of crumpled wax paper to grease a large baking sheet.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until uniform; set aside. Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon in a small, widemouthed bowl or teacup; set aside as well.
3. Cream the remaining 12/3 cups sugar and the shortening in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, until soft and light, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. Beat in the vanilla. Turn off the mixer, add the prepared flour mixture, then beat at low speed just until the dough adheres into crumbly bits. Do not beat until it gathers into a ball; instead, remove the mixer, clean and dry your hands, then use them to finish off the dough, mixing a little more and bringing it together as a large although grainy ball.
4. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut; roll into a 1-inch ball between your