I first posted this recipe three years ago. And every couple of months since, when I have wanted a cookie, a great cookie, I've returned to it. These display the power of confectioner's sugar combined with cocoa: you achieve a soft texture that is like a chocolate pillow. And as comforting. Here's the original post. Bake away!
"Too big." I said. I know what I am talking about.
"They'll be fine," Suzen countered.
I bit my tongue. I waited. They baked. They cooled. Suzen made the filling and began to assemble these sandwich cookies.
"Too big," she said.
I said nothing. I just picked up "a half" and ate it very pleasantly without the filling. It's all to easy to become a tad exuberant when you bake these cookies. A simple teaspoon of dough seems too little so you add more and pretty soon each "half" of the sandwich cookie is just the right size just by itself.
I love these cookies so much that very often I will forgo the filling, decline to create sandwiches, and just enjoy the fragile beauty of a perfect kiss.
Our good friend and fabulous cookbook author Michele Scicolone created these sandwich cookies a long time ago. Suzen bakes them often as just the perfect end-of-meal treat. These cookies are breathtakingly soft — thanks in part to the cornstarch in the confectioners’ sugar. By the time you put two of them together with filling, you have a cookie that requires you “open wide.”
The secret to making this cookies just perfect is the butter. Try to find a good French or European butter that is rich in fat. Certainly, an upscale cocoa is important, too.
The downside to this cookie is its interaction with air. They appear to frequently just evaporate spontaneously. Just like those news stories you see about people dying from spontaneous combustion in the National Enquirer. I believe those stories. Suzen is skeptical about the fires and totally believes that some human being is responsible for the surreptitious disappearance of these cookies.
I am an innocent man.
Juliet’s Kisses
Yield: 48 cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- ½ pound [2 sticks] unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ cup finely chopped toasted almonds
For the filling:
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup blanched almonds, toasted and finely chopped
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the salt and vanilla. On low speed, beat in the flour, cocoa, and almonds just until blended.
Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into ¼ inch balls. Place the balls about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake the cookies until firm but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
To make the filling, in a small heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the chocolate and butter, and heat until softened. Removed from the heat and stir until smooth. Stir in the almonds.
To assemble kisses as a sandwich cookie, spread about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture on the bottom on one cookie. Place a second cooking bottom side down on the filling and press together lightly. Place on a wire rack until the filling is set. Repeat with the remaining cookies and filling.