Gochujang Caramel Cookies

 


I have never baked with gochujang before so wasn’t sure what to expect. These cookies were actually very good. I just need to be careful not to bake too many at one time because they spread out quite a bit. I ended up making 22 cookies- the first time with 16 cookies (which was too much) and the second time with 6 cookies.

Gochujang Caramel Cookies (NY Times, By Eric Kim)

Time: 45 minutes

Notes: Gochujang, the fermented Korean chile paste, offers intrigue in this otherwise classic chewy sugar cookie. A gentle amount of ground cinnamon lends snickerdoodle vibes, and the dough is raked through with ripples of clay-red gochujang “caramel,” in which brown sugar and butter mellow the chile’s heat. Mixing this dough by hand is highly recommended for the most defined crinkles and the chewiest texture.

INGREDIENTS

Yield: About 8 large cookies

½ cup (8 tablespoons)/115 grams unsalted butter, very soft

2 packed tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 heaping tablespoon gochujang

1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt or ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups/185 grams all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Step 1 In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon butter, the brown sugar and gochujang until smooth. Set aside for later, at room temperature.

 

Step 2 In a large bowl, by hand, whisk together the remaining 7 tablespoons butter, the granulated sugar, egg, salt, cinnamon and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. Switch to a flexible spatula and stir in the baking soda. Add the flour and gently stir to combine. Place this large bowl in the refrigerator until the dough is less sticky but still soft and pliable, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 3 While the dough is chilling, heat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 large sheet pans with parchment.

Step 4 Remove the dough from the refrigerator. In 3 to 4 separately spaced out blobs, spoon the gochujang mixture over the cookie dough. Moving in long circular strokes, swirl the gochujang mixture into the cookie dough so you have streaks of orange-red rippled throughout the beige. Be sure not to overmix at this stage, as you want wide, distinct strips of gochujang.

Step 5 Use an ice cream scoop to plop out ¼-cup rounds spaced at least 3 inches apart on the sheet pans (the cookies spread out so don’t bake too many on a baking sheet). (You should get 4 to 5 cookies per pan.) Bake until lightly golden at the edges and dry and set in the center, 11 to 13 minutes (baked 10 min and 30 sec), rotating the pans halfway through. Let cool completely on the sheet pan; the cookies will flatten slightly

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