It's time for some chocolate cookies! February is just a few days away and to me, the month is synonymous with Valentine's Day and chocolate. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of February and I'm ready to get an early start on the chocolate talk and consumption.
Chewy chocolate malt cookies with crushed Maltesers and milk chocolate bits |
Most of us know our way around chocolate cookies but these called out to me because they're pretty unusual ones, different from what I'm used to here in the States. It's a recipe from Jamie Oliver and, maybe not surprising given the British association, the flavor is a combination of chocolate and malt. Specifically, malted milk powder and crushed pieces of Maltesers provide the malt flavor.
Some key ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, dark chocolate to be melted into the dough, Maltesers, as well as some milk chocolate bits |
But wait...the recipe stays interesting. Condensed milk is the sweetener in these cookies and right away, I envision a very chewy cookie and that's exactly what we end up with. A little bit of ground almonds make things even more interesting; it adds a tiny bit of texture in the background that maybe you wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly if you weren't the baker but appreciate nonetheless. Dark chocolate - as in 70% to counter the sweetness of the condensed milk - is melted into the dough to create the chocolate base. Along with crushed Maltesers, the recipe calls for a little bit of chopped white chocolate but I opted for milk chocolate instead. (While there's a place for everything and I remember an old fondness for Nestle's Alpine White chocolate bars, I just can't seem to gather much enthusiasm for white chocolate these days.)
As for dry ingredients, some ground almonds and malted milk powder make things more interesting |
For me, there's so much that's unusual yet familiar about this cookie recipe. Growing up in Hong Kong for the first handful of years in my life, I'm fairly familiar with British eats and snacks, and malt as well as milk powder are some of those familiar things. We are also no stranger to condensed milk; I've been known to put it on toast occasionally.
I totally thought of my husband when I saw this recipe. He not only loves malted things - as in drinks, milk shakes, and cookies - but chewy cookie are also his favorite. Happily, he was a big fan of these cookies and devoured them readily (though I admit he is hardly objective when it comes to my food).
For me, I'd say these cookies are largely about the texture - they are very chewy and moist. The center is almost brownie-like (my husband goes so far as to say they're like a chocolate truffle). Those are all good things. Now let's talk flavor. The malt factor isn't overwhelming but to be honest, neither is the chocolate. I used 70% bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate in these cookies. It's a dark chocolate with strong overtones that you usually can't miss. Here, the sweet condensed milk wipes those flavors out so you don't get intensely deep chocolate taste. Personally, I prefer chocolate intensity so that's not a selling point for me. However, life is about variety and this is a great cookie experience for that special chewy texture and sweetness. It's just important to go into things knowing what to expect.
I totally thought of my husband when I saw this recipe. He not only loves malted things - as in drinks, milk shakes, and cookies - but chewy cookie are also his favorite. Happily, he was a big fan of these cookies and devoured them readily (though I admit he is hardly objective when it comes to my food).
For me, I'd say these cookies are largely about the texture - they are very chewy and moist. The center is almost brownie-like (my husband goes so far as to say they're like a chocolate truffle). Those are all good things. Now let's talk flavor. The malt factor isn't overwhelming but to be honest, neither is the chocolate. I used 70% bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate in these cookies. It's a dark chocolate with strong overtones that you usually can't miss. Here, the sweet condensed milk wipes those flavors out so you don't get intensely deep chocolate taste. Personally, I prefer chocolate intensity so that's not a selling point for me. However, life is about variety and this is a great cookie experience for that special chewy texture and sweetness. It's just important to go into things knowing what to expect.