Salted Black Cocoa Sables

 

This is another great slice and bake cookie recipe. There is an extra step to make the caramelized white chocolate, but it’s worth it! I made half of the recipe and had to use regular cocoa powder instead of black cocoa powder. I want to try this recipe again with black cocoa powder for a more dramatic color contrast.

 Salted Black Cocoa Sables with Caramelised White Chocolate Chunks — The Boy Who Bakes (Recipe orginally published on Edd Kimber's blog, The Boy Who Bakes.)

 

INGREDIENTS

For the caramelized white chocolate:

About 8 ounces white chocolate discs or bars (not chips, preferably with about 30% cocoa butter) (used bar)

For the cookies:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups dark or white rye flour

1/2 cup black Dutch-process cocoa powder (see Recipe Notes) (used regular cocoa powder)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon flaky salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the caramelized white chocolate:

1.     Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 250ºF.

2.     Coarsely chop about 8 ounces white chocolate and place in a quarter (9x13-inch) rimmed baking sheet or metal baking dish of similar size.

3.     Bake for about 1 hour. Every 10 to 15 minutes, give the chocolate a thorough stir, scraping all the chocolate up from the bottom to prevent it from burning -- sometimes the chocolate will clump and seem grainy. Once the chocolate has turned to a dulce de leche-like caramel colour, give it a very vigorous stir until smooth and glossy. Scrape it into a wide, shallow plastic container, preferably something larger than 6 inches wide. Refrigerate uncovered until solid.

Make the cookies:

1.     Place 2 sticks unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer) and let sit at room temperature until softened. Take the caramelized white chocolate out of the container and chop into 1/4-inch pieces.

2.     Sift 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 1/3 cups rye flour, 1/2 cup black cocoa powder, and 3/4 teaspoon baking soda into a large bowl. Push any lumps of cocoa powder through the sifter. (If there are little flakes of bran left in the sifter from the rye flour, you can add to the flour mixture or leave them out.) Add 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt and whisk everything together.

3.     Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar to the butter. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed just until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine.

4.     Turn the mixer off and pour in the flour mixture. We don’t want to make a huge mess and have a cloud of flour and cocoa powder cover every surface in your kitchen, so cover the bowl of the mixer with a kitchen towel and then gently pulse the mixer just to get the flour combined a little before turning the mixer to low to fully mix it in properly. We want to mix in the flour just until it disappears into the butter but before the mixture forms a ball of dough. It should still look a little crumbly.

5.     Add the caramelised white chocolate and mix briefly just to combine. Transfer the dough to a work surface and use your hands to form it into a uniform dough. Cut the dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a log that’s about 2 inches wide. Wrap each log in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 3 to 4 hours.

6.     Arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 325ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

7.     Unwrap one of the logs of dough and use a sharp, thin knife to cut into slices about 1/2-inch thick. If the slices fall apart, just press them back together. Place on the baking sheets, evenly spacing them out. The cookies will spread but not significantly. Sprinkle with a little extra flaky salt.

8.     Bake until set around the edges and but still a little soft in the middle, about 14 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will crisp up, leaving you with a wonderful sablé texture.

 

RECIPE NOTES

Black cocoa: Black cocoa is a form of Dutch process cocoa. You can use regular Dutch process cocoa like Guittard Cocoa Rouge, but the cookies will have a slightly different flavour and the color won’t be as dramatic.

Make ahead: The cookie logs can be frozen for up to 2 months in two ways:
1) Freeze the log whole, then thaw in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.
2) Chill the log until firm. Slice the dough, then form the slices back into a log. Wrap up again and freeze. You can then just bake off the desired number of slices straight from the freezer.

Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 4 to 5 days