Recently I did a TBT review of The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. The subtitle of the book is “Recipes from the Classic Cookie to Mocha Chip Meringue Cake.” Here’s that cake, in all its glory. I’ve post two great recipes from the book, the Mocha Chip Meringue Cake and a Kitchen-Sink Chocolate Chip Cookie filled with nuts.
Here’s my third and final selection from the book for you. Elinor discovered these cookies while in Australia. If you visit there, and New Zealand, you’ll find variations of these cookies everywhere.
It’s a sandwich cookie with a buttercream filling. The cookie itself is soft, made with cornstarch, and truly does seem to melt in your mouth. So quickly you’ll soon need another.
And another.
Chocolate-Chip Filled Melting Moments
Yield: makes 16 sandwich cookies.
Ingredients:
Cookies:
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cake flour
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup [1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
- ¼ cup [½ stick] unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the cookies. Sift both flours, the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth and lightened slightly in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.
For each cookie, roll a level tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies to 1 ¼ -inch disks, leaving an impression of the fork tines.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the cookie bottoms are lightly browned, about 30 minutes; the tops of the cookies should not color. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the filling. In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Turn half of the cooled cookies bottom side up, and use a thin metal spatula to spread a rounded teaspoon of filling evenly over each one. Place the remaining cookies right side up on the filling, and press gently.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Source: The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook by Elinor Klivans [Chronicle, 2008]