Cookie season is the best season of them all. This week, we're showcasing a recipe fromJames Beard Award-winning pastry chef Mindy Segal who serves dozens of different types of cookies (with hot chocolate) at her cafe in Chicago. We snagged a recipe from her first book Cookie Love, published earlier this year. Segal describes these thumbprint treats as "a mug of hot chocolate in cookie form," which is enough to convince us they belong in regular baking rotation this winter. Plus, they're just simple enough for a lazy Sunday afternoon kitchen session.
Hot Fudge Thumbprints
Makes approximately 54 cookiesA mug of hot chocolate in cookie form, this recipe shows how an untraditional component — hot fudge — can change the way we think about thumbprint cookies. The hook is texture: the creamy hot fudge contrasts with the crunchy sugar used to coat the outside of the cookie. The result is one of my most popular thumbprint cookies to date. If you love chocolate, this might become your favorite recipe in this book.
COOKIES
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sea salt flakesFOR SHAPING AND FILLING
1 heaping cup smoked sugar or demerara sugar
1 cup Hot Fudge (page 236)To make the cookies:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter briefly on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the sugar and beat together until the butter mixture is aerated and pale in color, approximately 4 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together.
•Put the egg, yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla into a small cup or bowl.
•In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salts.
•On medium speed, add the egg and yolk to the butter mixture and mix until the batter resembles cottage cheese, approximately 10 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together. Mix on medium speed for 20 to 30 seconds to make nearly hom*ogeneous.
•Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed. Mix until the dough comes together but still looks shaggy, approximately 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to bring the batter together. Mix for another 10 seconds on medium speed. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. With a plastic bench scraper, bring the dough completely together by hand.
•Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
•Heat the oven to 350°F and line a couple of half sheet (13 by 18-inch) pans with parchment paper.To shape the cookies:
•Cut the dough into 6 even strips. Roll the strips back and forth into logs to round out the edges. Sprinkle the smoked sugar on the work surface and roll the logs in the sugar to coat. Using the top half of your thumb as a guide, cut each log into 9 pieces but keep the log together. Roll the logs again to round out the edges, then pull the pieces apart and place cut-side up on the prepared pans, evenly spacing up to 20 cookies per pan. With the tip of your index finger, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
•Bake one pan at a time for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap down the centers with the rounded end of a wooden spoon or a co*cktail muddler. Rotate the pan and bake until the cookies have slight cracks on the top and are set, another 4 to 6 minutes. When ready, the cookies will have set around the edges and you will be able to gently move them. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan. Repeat with the remaining pan.To fill the cookies:
•Heat the hot fudge briefly in a pot over high heat until the sides start to melt. Stir well, then transfer to a squeeze bottle or have a teaspoon ready.
•Once the cookies are completely cool, squeeze enough hot fudge onto the cookies to fill the indentation or spoon the hot fudge into the center. Refrigerate the cookies until the hot fudge has set, approximately 30 minutes.The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Hot Fudge
Makes a generous 4 cups• In a 6-quart or larger heavy pot over medium-high heat, combine the cream, sugar, and syrup until dissolved, approximately 3 minutes. Add the chocolate and salt and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer so that the bubbles percolate in the center of the pot. Cook, stirring periodically to avoid scorching the bottom, until the mixture breaks and the oils separate from the solids, 40 to 45 minutes.Hot fudge was one of the first things I learned how to make in my early days as a pastry cook (thank you, Judy Contino), and I'm still fascinated by the alchemy of the process. Chocolate, sugar, syrup, and cream are simmered until the oils separate from the solids. At first it looks like chocolate gone wrong, but then I add butter and a generous helping of vanilla and whisk the whole thing thoroughly. The hot fudge magically comes together. Because the chocolate and cream need to cook for a while, use a sturdy pot to avoid scorching the bottom. Once made, the hot fudge lasts for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator.
3 cups heavy cream
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as Lyle's, see page 269) or light corn syrup
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• Whisk in the butter and vanilla thoroughly (you can also use an immersion blender to do this if you want it extra smooth) and let cool.Hot fudge keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Reprinted with permission from Cookie Love by Mindy Segal, copyright © 2015. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
