As many know, my confectionary journey began with cookies. Although I have turned to other types of sweets, I still love making those little mounds of joy.
However, I must admit, in the beginning, I was not as confident when baking them. After a few batches that did not go as planned, I just convinced myself that it was down to my own lack of experience, and I quit for quite a bit of time. The road from the very first batch of cookies to the perfect, shiny, round cookie can be a straightforward one, but it does not have to be.
I believe in honesty, and I am grateful to those batches that did not bake through, that were burnt, batches that spread out excessively, and batches that melted and filled the whole tray. Even though I greatly dislike wasting food, that is a road many of us have to take, especially as self-taught bakers.
I have written before about this, and my seasoned advice would be to forgo perfectionism, and strive for progress, always. Strive for learning and improving, because there is no greater happiness than looking back and seeing how much you have learnt and grown, both in skill and in confidence.
As for these lovely, shiny brownie cookies, they are one of my favourites. Incredibly versatile, very simple to prepare, and loved dearly by so many.
They are fantastically fudgy and delicious served on their own, as sandwich cookies with a scoop of ice cream, or broken up and stirred into chocolate fudge ice cream. The possibilities are endless, bound only by your creativity. Serve them with hot, freshly brewed coffee, or a glass of milk, and enjoy.
Ingredients
60 grams extra dark chocolate (90%)
60 grams dark chocolate (75%)
40 grams butter
1 large egg (55 grams)
60 grams brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
20 grams plain flour
10 grams cornflour
10 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of baking soda
pinch of salt
Preparation
Chop up both types of chocolate finely, add them to a bowl or a pan, add in the butter, and melt them together, either in a microwave or over very low heat. Set it aside to cool down slightly. Take a medium bowl, and sift in the flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Once sifted, whisk them together, to help them blend nicely.
Add the room temperature egg to a large bowl, sprinkle in the sugar, and whisk with an electric mixer on the highest speed, for about 4-5 minutes, until the batter thickens and becomes pale in colour.
Switch to a wire whisk, pour in the melted chocolate, and blend it in very briefly. Sift in the dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated. If needed, scrape the sides of the bowl, and whisk lightly.
At this point, the batter will be too soft to work with, so place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 20-25 minutes. This will allow you to scoop the batter into cookies.
Take a very large cookie sheet, or two smaller baking sheets, and line with baking parchment. Using a cookie or an ice cream scoop, scoop 8 mounds of batter, and place them on the lined baking sheet, making sure you leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread.
Bake them immediately, in a well-preheated oven, at 180C, for about 6-8 minutes, or until the surface is crackly and they are baked through, but still soft. Let them cool down on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, or even longer, if needed, so they firm up. Once ready, move them to a wire rack to cool completely, or serve them warm, depending on your preference. Yields 8 large brownie cookies.