The Chocolate Cookie Experiment

I wanted to make a cream filled cookie and wanted to use a chocolate cookie. I tried two recipes form Maida Heatter's Cookie book. I made what she calls, Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's Chocolate Cookies and Chocolate Street Cookies.

After completing each of the batters, I felt they were both a little too fudgy. I was nervous. It wasn't what I had in mind. I had way too many expectations for this and I was letting myself down. However, the batters were made and wasn't going to waste them. If worse came to worse, Levi's teachers at pre-school would benefit greatly.

When they first came out of the oven, after cooling a bit, I took a bite of each. The Street Cookie, in my opinion was the winner, but I needed a second opinion. I gave Mitch a piece of each, and although he is not as passionate about sweets as Eli and I are, he picked the Street Cookie as well. These cookies, actually, got better the next day. I, personally, did not like the MKR chocolate cookies. They were just "whatever". They didn't work for my challenge and didn't really work in general.

The Street cookies had the right texture, the right height that I was looking for, more a cakiness than the other cookie and although they weren't perfect, they were going to work for this particular project.

While they were cooling I made the butter cream frosting. I like the frosting from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. However, as I have said in prior posts, I like it a little thicker and add more powdered sugar than the recipe calls for. The frosting and the cookie were a pretty good pairing. I only tasted a little bite as I was preparing my body for a 10 day cleanse. I know, crazy, but don't ask. But what I had tasted, I liked. I still need to perfect this particular cookie base. All in all they were very well received!

Chocolate Street Cookies

maida heatter, Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsifted flour
• 1/4 tsp. Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. Salt
• 8 oz. Semisweet chocolate
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 1/2 oz. Walnuts, finely chopped

Directions

1. adjust oven rack into thirds. Preheat oven to 350*. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt and set aside

3. Break up the chocolate and place in a double boiler. Add the butter, and place over moderate heat. Stir until smooth. Remove from hot water and cool.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed until light in color. Gradually add the sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes until almost white in color.

5. Add the cooled chocolate and then the sifted ingredients. Stir in the nuts.

6. Use a small ice cream scooper and place them 1 1/2” apart on prepared sheets. This is a gooey dough.

7. bake 12 minutes reversing the sheets and top to bottom. When done, the cookies will be cracked and will feel semi firm. Let cool and transfer to racks to cool.

Magnolia's Vanilla Butter cream Icing

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 8 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

cream butter and add first 4 cups of sugar. add milk and vanilla until smooth. on medium speed, gradually add 1 cup of sugar at a time until you get the consistency your desire.

spread icing onto cookies and enjoy!