Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chocolate snap cookies

chocolate snap cookies

Lately, I've been getting a hankering for cookies in the late afternoon. I know, this is the time of day when a better snack choice would be a piece of fruit or some cheese, but sometimes you need to acknowledge your cravings.

Being The Ninj, I don't keep cookies around the house unless I have made them myself. So nine time out of ten, I'll have to bake a batch of cookies if I have a cookie craving at four in the afternoon and want to satisfy it.

Now, the great thing about being a food blogger is that, when I get said craving for cookies and must bake a batch, it's still considered working, not screwing around in the kitchen to satisfy a craving. And when it's work, it gets shared with you.

Really, we all win when I have a cookie craving.

Another part of being The Ninj, as you know, is keeping my recipes on the healthier side -- even the indulgent, four-o'clock-craving-satisfying kind.

(Yeah, you're welcome.)

I'm not going to tell you that these are healthy chocolate cookies. But I have made the effort to make them a bit lighter and they are awfully rich and chocolatey, so you're not likely to scarf down all of them in one sitting, which helps. Although, if you are a crisp cookie fan, they are pretty darned addictive.


chocolate snap cookies

The recipe was inspired by one I came across for "copy cat" Oreos. I don't know about you, but I have always preferred only the cookie part of the Oreo, not the cream. In fact, as a kid, I would get really excited if there were Oreo tops that had fallen off in the package because it saved me the step of pulling them off and scraping out the cream with my teeth (you know you did it, too!) in order to be left with a stack of chocolate wafers to eat. If you are nodding your head in agreement, you're going to love these chocolate snaps because that's almost exactly what they taste like!

I like to use light spelt flour in this recipe because I've been experimenting with different kinds of grains and grain flours lately, but it is certainly not a requirement -- I have also used all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and gluten-free flour, all with equal success. No matter the flour, the cookies are still hugely chocolatey and snappy.

After much experimentation, I think these chocolate snap cookies are best when you use a pretty small cutter (mine was just over an inch in diameter); the smaller size helps them stay crunchy, as opposed to having softer centers. Which I normally prefer in a cookie, but these are snap cookies and really all about the crunch.

A la Oreos.

So, who's with me on preferring Oreos without the cream filling? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

chocolate snap cookies

Chocolate Snap Cookies

(adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie)

Note: Despite chilling, this dough will be very, VERY sticky. I strongly suggest you roll it out on parchment paper and use extra cocoa to coat your rolling pin, as you would with flour (using the cocoa prevents the cookies from turning ashy white from the flour). Also, the recipe as written makes a ton of cookies so feel free to either half it or plan on freezing some of the cookies once baked.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's special dark)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3 ounces skim milk
1/3 cup maple syrup

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients (the dry) in a large bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (the wet) and then add them to the dry mixture, stirring with a spatula until well combined. Put the bowl in the refrigerator and chill for an hour (a little longer is fine).

Scrape the dough out of bowl and form into a ball with your hands (it will be VERY sticky so you might want to rub a little extra cocoa powder on your hands). Flatten out the dough ball ON A PIECE OF PARCHMENT PAPER ON TOP OF YOUR WORK SURFACE and then roll it out very thinly -- the thinner you roll it, the crunchier your cookies will be. Dust your rolling pin with cocoa powder to prevent it from sticking.

Using a small round cutter, cut out cookies and place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets -- give them a bit of space, as they will spread. Bake each sheet for about 15 minutes or until edges begin to crisp (the middles may still seem underdone). Cool another 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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8 comments:

  1. I'm the opposite - I liked the quadruple stuf Oreos. Take two double stuf, open 'em up, and put the two cream sides together - tada! But yes, the chocolate cookie that you get left over was still quite nice. :)

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    1. Clearly we need to eat oreos together -- you can scrape out the insides and I'll eat the cookies. :-)

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  2. I'm with you on liking the cookie part. Both my boys love the insides and being the good mother that I am, I finish off the leftover slimy chocolate cookies bits. I love crunchy cookies and definitely prefer if they are homemade.

    These sure do look delicious and I'm loving your behind the scenes shot on FB :) Definitely feel free to share any or all cookie cravings ;)

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    1. Clearly you are a good mother. :-) And thanks for following along on FB, too!!

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  3. I love both parts of the oreo, to me that's what makes them so great, that combination. As far as these cookies go, can I just make them drop cookies and skip the rollling? If I don't care about crunchy? I hate rolling out cookies, especially if the dough is sticky.

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    1. Alas, I don't think these would work as drop cookies, as they need to be fairly thin to cook all the way through without burning on the bottom. :-(

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  4. Wow, I'm seriously impressed that you made your own version of the oreo cookie (sans cream of course). And used light spelt flour?! Super cool. I have to admit, I am a fan of the cream inside the oreo. Don't think less of me, haha!

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  5. I always scrape out the middle of the oreo and I have always wished they would put out the cookie sans the middle. I am not one for icing or what even looks like icing.

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