When I saw a picture of Edd Kimber's Salted Black Cocoa Sables with Caramelised White Chocolate Chunks in my Instagram feed, I was instantly sold. I keep caramelized white chocolate (Cacao Barry Zéphyr Caramel) on hand, so I could make these cookies without needing to spend a few hours caramelizing my own white chocolate in the oven. However, I didn't have any black cocoa. Even though the dramatic pitch black color of the cookies is what drew me in in the first place, I decided to try the recipe with regular Dutched cocoa (I use Cacao Barry Extra Brute).
To make the cookie dough, you beat softened butter, granulated sugar (the recipe specifies caster sugar, but I never use it because it's so expensive in the United States), and brown sugar until creamy; add vanilla; incorporate the sifted dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda -- the recipe calls for a 50-50 mix of all-purpose flour and rye flour, but I used 100% all-purpose); and stir in the caramelized white chocolate chunks (Zéphyr Caramel comes in flat pistoles, but I chopped them into smaller pieces). I formed the dough into a log, wrapped it in parchment paper, and put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
The next day, I sliced the cookies and sprinkled them with Maldon salt before baking. I got three dozen cookies from a batch of dough. The cookies maintained their shape well and I really liked the way they looked after baking. While I didn't get the dramatic black color that I would have achieved with black cocoa, I thought that the peanut-colored speckles of white chocolate were quite pretty.
And holy cow were these cookies delicious. They had an exquisite chocolate flavor and a perfect sandy, buttery, shortbread texture. The caramelized white chocolate and the salt both added depth and richness, even though I was not able to make out the white chocolate as a distinct component. This is my favorite out of all the cookies (sixteen different types and counting) I've baked so far since I started working from home last month. These sables are some of the most delicious cookies I have ever made.
While it was this cookie's good looks that initially drew me in, the remarkable flavor is what made me a devoted fan. These sables are outstanding.
Recipe: "Salted Black Cocoa sables with Caramelised White Chocolate Chunks" by Edd Kimber.
To make the cookie dough, you beat softened butter, granulated sugar (the recipe specifies caster sugar, but I never use it because it's so expensive in the United States), and brown sugar until creamy; add vanilla; incorporate the sifted dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda -- the recipe calls for a 50-50 mix of all-purpose flour and rye flour, but I used 100% all-purpose); and stir in the caramelized white chocolate chunks (Zéphyr Caramel comes in flat pistoles, but I chopped them into smaller pieces). I formed the dough into a log, wrapped it in parchment paper, and put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
And holy cow were these cookies delicious. They had an exquisite chocolate flavor and a perfect sandy, buttery, shortbread texture. The caramelized white chocolate and the salt both added depth and richness, even though I was not able to make out the white chocolate as a distinct component. This is my favorite out of all the cookies (sixteen different types and counting) I've baked so far since I started working from home last month. These sables are some of the most delicious cookies I have ever made.
While it was this cookie's good looks that initially drew me in, the remarkable flavor is what made me a devoted fan. These sables are outstanding.
Recipe: "Salted Black Cocoa sables with Caramelised White Chocolate Chunks" by Edd Kimber.
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