Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by the great Levain-bakery double chocolate chip cookie recipe, these giant dark chocolate cookies are thick and rich, filled with almonds and topped with flaked salt.

Is there anything better than a warm, gooey dark chocolate cookie coming straight from the oven? I think not. I’ve spoken about my love for the Levain bakery cookie before, so when a client asked me to develop a similar-styled cookie a few months ago, I jumped at the chance. You can never have too many cookies filled with too much chocolate. And since I’m currently writing this post from under a mountain of blankets on the couch, recovering from my second dose of the COVID vaccine, I’m in the perfect mood for warm dark chocolate cookies. Luckily, I still have some tucked away in my freezer.

let’s talk about the dark chocolate cookies

This is a very basic creaming-method recipe that features a few extra super-star ingredients to help the cookies achieve their signature thick and fudgey texture. First, we are going to use cold butter instead of the traditional room temperature butter. I like the way that cold butter holds it’s shape a bit longer in the oven and it helps to create a cookie that is a bit denser. I also added an extra egg yolk for a bit more fat, which gives the cookie a really nice chewiness. Cornstarch is added to the dry ingredients, along with dutched-processed cocoa powder. Then, chopped Salted Almond Chocolate and a handful of almonds is added to the dough before the dough is chilled. If you can’t find a salted almond chocolate bar, you can substitute it with another high-quality dark chocolate bar and toss in a few extra almonds. Cookies are scooped into giant mounds, baked, and then should cool completely on the baking sheet before you devour them with a large glass of milk.

do I really need to chill my cookie dough?

A lot of cookie recipes call for the dough to be chilled before baking, a step that seems to be a bit of a hassle but really makes a difference in the quality of a cookie. Chilling allows for a few things to happen that will help you to achieve your desired end result.

• Butter is able to re-solidify, which will result in thicker cookies with less spread. Cold butter will take more time to melt in the oven, meaning that your cookies won’t spread out into giant dough puddles.

• Hydration happens. A brief chill in the fridge before baking will allow for the flours and starches in the dough to properly absorb the liquid. This will give you a more moist cookie.

• Flavors develop! Giving flavors a bit of time to meld in the fridge is key for delicious cookies.

Now, I’m a real person who regularly gets cookie cravings and I know that sometimes chilling isn’t always the most accessible activity. Giving your dough even 30 minutes in the fridge before baking will make a difference. For most cookie doughs, I recommend scooping your cookies immediately after mixing and snuggling them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover them with plastic wrap and let chill for as long as you have (30 minutes is a good place to start). If you need to bake a few because you just can’t wait, pull out a couple after a quick chill and bake them off, leaving the rest of the cookie dough to continue its refrigerator rest. You can even transfer the cold dough balls to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer, baking them as needed so you always have warm fresh cookies on hand.

P.S. For more baking tips and instruction, make sure you check out my e-book, Pastry Foundations.

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Yield: makes 8-10 large cookies

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Cookies

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Similar to the famed Levain Bakery cookies, these dark chocolate cookies are thick and fudgy, filled with salted almonds.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 1/4 cup (265 g) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (42 g) dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup (120 g) cake flour
• 1 1/2 cup (180 g) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 225 g (3 bars) Beyond Good Salted Almond Chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
• Flaky salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, all purpose flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the egg yolk and the vanilla extract. When all of the eggs are completely mixed in, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just-combined and no dry streaks remain.
4. Add the chopped chocolate and chopped almonds, and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until evenly dispersed. Scoop cookies into 4 oz chunks and gently rolls into balls. Place cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill the cookies for at least 30 minutes, and up to 12 hours.
5. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 415° F. Space cookies out onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving at least 2” between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are dry to the touch and the edges of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with flaky salt and let cookies cool completely on the tray.

Notes:

I created this recipe using Beyond Good Salted Almond Dark Chocolate, which you can buy here. If you are unable to find this particular chocolate, you can substitute another, high-quality dark chocolate bar in its place.

Recommended Products:

Beyond Good Salted Almond Chocolate

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Citrus, Earl Grey, and Caramelized White Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I started working on this recipe the first week we moved into our new house, back when our little lemon tree was brimming with cute yellow fruits and I just wanted to use them all up right then. They started as a lemon chamomile cookie, but this is the part of the story where we discovered that those adorable lemons had been hanging out on that tree for a very long time and the zest was not giving a desirable flavor. In short, the cookies tasted like soap. So we moved on, I kind of forgot about the recipe for a few months, we pruned back the lemon tree, life continued on. And then a couple weeks ago, I was looking for something to do with a bowl of oranges sitting on my counter and a bag of white chocolate I found in the back of the pantry. These bright, floral, caramelized cookies were born and they are beautiful.

This base of this recipe is a sugar cookie that I adapted from Amy Ho at Constellation Inspiration. While creaming the butter and sugar, a bunch of orange zest and a bag of earl grey tea is added so that all of those oils and flavors are absorbed into the fat. Then, your regular cast of characters make an appearance…eggs, flour, leavening agents, salt, and finally little bits of caramelized white chocolate. They are chewy on the inside, with buttery, crispy edges and you’ll want to eat the whole tray in one sitting.

how to caramelize white chocolate

The first time I caramelized white chocolate was for this recipe and it was so fun! I’d been seeing it all over my Instagram and my FOMO was real. I am not a huge regular white chocolate fan, but caramelized white chocolate is something I can get behind. The lack of flavor in regular white chocolate is not an issue with CWC, because all of those milk solids are slowly caramelized, resulting in something very similar to dulce de leche.

Caramelizing white chocolate is very similar to toasting sugar. You preheat the oven to 250° F and spread chopped white chocolate over a small baking sheet. Then you bake the chocolate for an hour or so, stirring it with an offset spatula every 10 minutes. The mixture will start to get a bit grainy, but as it continues to heat, it should smooth out. (If it doesn’t, you can add a bit of water to help it loosen up). The color of the chocolate will go from creamy white to light tan, and just like a regular caramel, the darkness is up to you. When the chocolate is deeply golden and silky smooth, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely to re-solidify. Then, chop the caramel into chunks and stir it into your cookie dough. Voila!

My friend Zoe who runs Salted Honey, wrote a really great in-depth post on caramelizing white chocolate and I highly recommend you hop over and give it a read before getting started!

Yield: makes 24 cookies

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Citrus, Earl Grey, and Caramelized White Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 30 Min

These soft sugar cookies infused with bright citrus zest, floral earl gray tea, and caramelized chocolate. Recipe inspired by Amy at Constellation Inspiration.

Ingredients

• 11 oz caramelized white chocolate, chopped *see blog post for details*
• 1 bag dried earl grey tea
• 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of one large orange
• 2 1/4 cup (270 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, butter, orange zest, vanilla extract, and earl grey tea. Cream for 2-3 minutes, until well-combined and mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and mix until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the caramelized white chocolate and mix by hand with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
5. Scoop cookie dough into 2 1/2 tbsp-sized balls and place on your prepared baking sheet. Chill for at least 10 minutes.
6. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown and the tops are dry to the touch. Tap the tray on the counter a couple of times to settle the cookies, then let cool completely on the baking tray.

Notes:

You can find detailed instructions for caramelizing white chocolate in the blog post above, but here are a few things to remember: 

-Make sure that you are using high-quality chocolate. Often chocolate chips have an extra wax coating on the outside to help them keep their shape when baking and this can get in the way of the caramelizing process. Look for bars with high cocoa butter percentages. 

-If your at any point in the process, your chocolate begins to get grainy and it doesn’t seem to be going away as it continues to cook, you can add a bit of water (1 tsp) at a time) to help loosen the chocolate. Adding too much water will prevent the chocolate from re-hardening after it’s caramelized so take care not to add too much. 

-Caramelizing white chocolate takes quite a bit of time to caramelize and re-solidify, so I recommend making it the night before and storing it in an airtight container until baking.

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Brown Sugar Cookies with Rosemary Butter Glaze

These easy, shortbread-like cookies are soft and chewy thanks to the addition of brown sugar. They are stamped and dipped in a rosemary butter glaze.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but sugar cookies hang out near the bottom of my “favorite Christmas cookie” list. They’re often a bit fussy, not holding the cute little Christmas tree and snowflake shapes that you painstakingly cut out of them. They usually taste solely of sugar, butter, and royal icing, which isn’t bad but I think we can do better. They are fine cookies, just not anything special, but they are a holiday classic so I set out to gussy them up a bit.

how to make the best brown sugar cookies

First off, get rid of the ‘sugar’ part and sub it with brown sugar. I did this for a few reasons. 1) FLAVOR. Brown sugar is just granulated sugar with a little molasses added to it, so it gives a deeper, more spiced flavor to an otherwise semi-bland cookie. (And if you are interested in all things sugar, you can read my ingredient deep dive here.) 2) TEXTURE. Brown sugar has extra moisture (from that added molasses), which means it creates a slightly fluffier, chewier cookie—a texture I am very much into.

Next, stamp these babies! My cookie cutters have been gathering dust since I got myself some cookie stamps. They are much easier, read: no gingerbread men with lost limbs, and they have a more mature, antique-y vibe in my opinion. Very fun and very fancy. **And if you don’t have cookie stamps, find a fun textured glass or vase and roll that on the dough before cutting out circles.

Last, scratch the royal icing and replace it with a rosemary butter glaze that can be eaten straight from the spoon. Simply melt butter with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, let it steep, and then whisk in powdered sugar and a splash of heavy cream before brushing onto the warm cookies. It’s a perfect ending to a sweet little cookie.

Yield: makes 18-20 cookies

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Brown Sugar Cookies with Rosemary Butter Glaze

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 12 H & 25 M

These easy, shortbread-like cookies are soft and chewy thanks to the addition of brown sugar. They are stamped and dipped in a rosemary butter glaze.

Ingredients

for the cookie dough

• 8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

for the glaze

• 2/3 cup (80 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 6 tsp heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until throughly combined. Add the egg yolk and beat again for one minute, until homogenized. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. When everything is added, increase the mixer speed to medium. The mixture will look crumbly, but that is okay. Continue mixing until the a dough begins to form a cohesive mass.
4. Transfer the dough to a work surface and pat into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, and up to 12 hours.
5. When you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
6. Place the disc of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out until 1/4” in thickness. Dip cookie stamps or a round cutter in a bowl of flour and cut out or stamp cookies into the dough. (If using a cookie stamp, be sure to press firmly or the shape will bake out in the oven.)
7. Transfer cookies to your prepared baking sheet and let chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking. Bake cookies for 8-9 minutes, until just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
8. While the cookies are baking, make your glaze. Place butter and rosemary in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and rosemary is fragrant. Remove rosemary and pour melted butter into a small mixing bowl. Whisk in powdered sugar and 4 tsp heavy cream and mix until smooth. Add more heavy cream if needed to reach your desired consistency. Brush cookies with glaze while they are still warm and let cool until glaze sets.

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