Adapted from: Nicole Hunn
Serves: 40 sandwiches (recipe makes 80 individual cookies)
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients:
Stop what you're doing. I urge you. These gluten-free cookies are stunning! The cocoa biscuits fill your teeth like the original, the centre filling is just as lick-able. The sweetness is tender and the joy of these is infectious. Collect all your gluten-free loved ones and gather round. Have I got a hidden treat for you, because these are so easy to make, I was shocked!
Serves: 40 sandwiches (recipe makes 80 individual cookies)
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients:
315 g (2.25 cups) gluten-free flour blend (1:1 ratio, I love this Woolies GF flour)
[xanthan gum - if GF flour blend does NOT contain it, please add 1 tsp to dry ingredients]
80 g (1 cup) cocoa powder, Dutch & unsweetened
1 tsp baking/bicarb soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
115 g (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, chopped
57 g (2 oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
250 g (1.25 cups) sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg white, beaten at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
140 g (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp meringue powder
460 g (4 cups) icing / confectioner's sugar
Stop what you're doing. I urge you. These gluten-free cookies are stunning! The cocoa biscuits fill your teeth like the original, the centre filling is just as lick-able. The sweetness is tender and the joy of these is infectious. Collect all your gluten-free loved ones and gather round. Have I got a hidden treat for you, because these are so easy to make, I was shocked!
Ordinarily, I post a recipe once I've worked through all the fiddly bits in order to share perfection. This time, I am posting prematurely because anyone gluten-free understands the literal price they have to pay for a gluten-free variation of these sandwich cookies in the name brand. And for this reason, along with the absolute ease of Nicole's recipe, I present you the homemade chocolate sandwich cookie.
What still needs fine-tuning: the crunch. I find that these cookies are very crack-crunchy which leads to a bit of centre filling squishiness. Whilst I haven't perfected the solution, I have some suggestions that made these more enjoyable in the bite.
- Add exactly the amount of powdered sugar in the filling as it calls for--or more
- Let the first sandwich cookie (topped with filling) sit for five minutes before adding the top cookie
- Keep them in the fridge so the filling stays stiff
- Give them time (2-3 days) so the filling softens the cookie from its moisture (will make it delectably soft, but less... "on brand")
I love this recipe for its absolute simplicity and the ability to make a chocolate biscuit taste nearly like the "real deal".
Happy baking!
Ingredients:
315 g (2.25 cups) gluten-free flour blend (1:1 ratio, I love this Woolies GF flour)
[xanthan gum - if GF flour blend does NOT contain it, please add 1 tsp to dry ingredients]
80 g (1 cup) cocoa powder, Dutch & unsweetened
1 tsp baking/bicarb soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
115 g (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, chopped
57 g (2 oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
250 g (1.25 cups) sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg white, beaten at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
140 g (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp meringue powder
460 g (4 cups) icing / confectioner's sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 162 C / 325 F, line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate by double-boiling it in a medium, heat-safe bowl. Or melt it in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl.
4. Remove the melted chocolate from heat and whisk in sugar, egg white, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to the centre. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until dough is formed. You may need to use your hands to bring it together.
6. Place a large hunk of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it with a rolling pin until 4-5 mm (2/16th - 3/16ths inches) thick. (Can I just comment here about how measurements in metres and its derivatives make so much more sense than feet and its derivatives?).
7. Remove the top layer of parchment and set aside to reuse. Cut dough using a round cookie cutter (5 cm / 2 inch diameter) and place dough circles on a prepared baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart.
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 until all dough is used up.
9. Bake only one baking sheet at a time in oven until cookies are dry when touched (12 minutes).
10. Allow cookies to cool completely before handling (they will crisp up as they sit) and set aside.
11. For the filling: in a mixer, beat the 140 g butter, milk, and vanilla until creamy.
12. To the butter mix, slowly mix in the salt, meringue powder, and 400 g (3.5 cups) icing sugar until fully incorporated. Add additional 60 g (0.5 cups) icing sugar if required for stiffness.
13. Once the cookies are cooled, use a piping bag of vanilla filling to fill the inside of one cookie (of a pair).
14. To prevent squishy insides, allow frosted cookies to sit (~5 minutes) before topping them with an unfrosted cookie.
15. Store cookies in an airtight container or in the fridge for maximum crunch and stable filling. They can also be stored in the freezer in an airtight container for several months and left to thaw at room temperature before serving.
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