Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Cookies

• จำนวนที่เสิร์ฟ: 18 servings
• เวลาทำ: 45 minutes
• เวลารวม: 55 minutes

ส่วนผสม

75 g (2⅔ oz) dark chocolate (60-80% cocoa solids), chopped

80 g (⅓ cup) heavy/double cream

30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter

75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

1 US large/UK medium egg, room temperature

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

⅛ tsp salt

170 g (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

150 g (¾ cup) light brown soft sugar

3 US large/UK medium egg yolks, room temperature

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

280 g (2⅓ cups) plain gluten free flour blend

45 g (⅓ cup + 2 tbsp) Dutch processed cocoa powder

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)

½ tsp salt

100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar

2 US large/UK medium egg whites

100 g (½ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar (or ½ tsp lemon juice)

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

วิธีทำ

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

Chocolate filling:

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the dark chocolate, heavy/double cream and butter together, until all the chocolate has fully melted. Don't worry if your mixture looks slightly split at this point, it'll turn out perfectly smooth and glossy in the end.

Pour the melted chocolate mixture into a bowl, and allow it to cool until warm. Then, add the sugar, egg, vanilla and salt. Mix (but don't aerate!) with a balloon whisk until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy. Set aside until needed.

Chocolate cookie dough:

In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and light brown sugar until pale and fluffy. You can do this by hand using a large balloon whisk, with a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters, or with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla, and mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and add them to the wet ingredients.

Mix well until you get a smooth cookie dough with no flour clumps. It should have a scoopable consistency and shouldn't be sticky to the touch. It'll be firm enough so you can scoop it and shape it into balls with your hands, but it shouldn't be dry or crumbly.

Assembling & baking the cookies:

Put the granulated sugar into a small bowl.

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop out a portion of the cookie dough. Roll it between your palms to shape it into a ball, then roll it in the granulated sugar so it's evenly coated.

Place the sugar-coated cookie dough ball onto the lined baking sheet, and use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to make an indent in the centre.

Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough, you should get 18-19 cookies in total (depending on the exact size of your cookie dough balls). As you're arranging them on the baking sheets, make sure to space them at least 2 inches (5cm) apart.

If the chocolate filling has cooled and firmed up too much while you were making and shaping the cookies, you can reheat it by placing the bowl into a larger bowl or deep plate with hot water (make sure that no water gets into your chocolate filling). Stir well until the filling has loosened up – you want it to have a loose consistency, but it shouldn't be completely runny.Tip: Don't reheat the filling in the microwave, as that could scramble the egg in the filling!

Fill the cookies with about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate filling. It’ll be full to the brim but don’t worry, it won’t overflow. You shouldn't have any filling left over in the end.

Bake the cookies, one baking sheet at a time, at 350ºF (180ºC) for 8-9 minutes or until they've spread and puffed up slightly, and the chocolate filling is still slightly wobbly in the centre when you shake the baking sheet.As you're baking the first batch, keep the other baking sheet at room temperature on your counter – no need to keep it in the fridge.Tip: Baking the cookies until the filling is still slightly wobbly in the middle ensures that you'll get a perfectly soft and gooey chocolate centre.

The cookies will be very soft and fragile immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool until warm on the baking sheet – trying to move them around (for example, to a wire cooling rack) could make them crumble or break.

Swiss meringue:

Note: For best texture, I recommend making and adding the meringue just before serving, but the decorated cookies also keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. Note that the recipe makes quite a generous portion of Swiss meringue, so you can add quite a large dollop on top of each cookie!

Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heat-proof bowl above a pot of simmering water. Heat the meringue mixture with constant whisking until it reaches 160ºF (70ºC) and the sugar has fully dissolved.

Remove from the heat, transfer to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters) and whisk for 5-7 minutes on a high speed setting, until greatly increased in volume and stiff peaks form.

Add the vanilla and whisk until well combined.

Transfer the Swiss meringue to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice. I used a a large open star piping tip (to create small dollops) and a petal piping tip (to create a wavy zig-zag pattern).

Pipe the Swiss meringue on the warm or room temperature cookies, then use a kitchen torch to toast it.

Serving:

You can serve the cookies warm, at room temperature or even chilled from the fridge. Warm or room temperature cookies will have a softer texture with a loose, gooey chocolate filling. For an extra-gooey, almost liquid-y centre, you can reheat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.You can also serve them chilled, straight from the fridge. That gives the cookies a slightly firmer, almost fudgy texture, which I find completely irresistible.I recommend taste testing them both warm and chilled, to see which way you like them best!

Storage:

The gluten free hot chocolate cookies without the meringue topping can be stored in a closed, air-tight container either at room temperature for about 2 days or in the fridge for about 4-5 days.Cookies decorated with the Swiss meringue are best stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.If you store them in the fridge but want to serve them warm, reheat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.