Mollie Bakes: Crème de la Cookie
Grab a comfy seat, friends, and perhaps a big glass of milk (dairy free if you need it), it’s cookie time.
For all of the cookies I’ve made, which is quite a lot at this point, this is the one that suddenly got requested again. And again. Friends and family stopped being excited (kind of) by the new varieties and they just kept asking for this one. The soft, chewy-center, crisp-edge, slightly creamy, and very chocolate-y cookie dreams are (apparently) made of.
Lucky for you, I love making this cookie even though it requires a little elbow grease (the good kind, I promise) and a lot of patience. I don’t mind hard work; I’m not always patient. But! When the result is a cookie so good I barely want to share a chocolate chip, I’m all for it.
So, what’s the secret ingredient? What makes these cookies simply pop? Crème fraîche! Not familiar? This is a French-style cultured cream that’s somewhat thick and easily spreadable (softer than cream cheese). I guarantee that is what is making this cookie so irresistible. That and the overflowing chocolate, the salt sprinkle on top, and never over-baking.
Take a look below for photos of my current cookie obsession and perhaps give the recipe a whirl on your own. I promise the hardest part is being patient while creating the dough (it’s all hand-mixed, hooray for muscle!) and forming the cookies for baking.
Note: since the wet ingredients are mixed over a pot of simmering water, the dough is quite warm and stretchy when forming each cookie, but trust me. It’ll be OK! Your hands will be messy and covered in dough, but the cookies will be delicious!
So, let’s get baking, shall we?
Recipe: Crème Fraîche Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Source: Rebecca Firth of Displaced Housewife.
Bake it Gluten Free: I simply used Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour in place of the all-purpose flour and the bread flour listed in the ingredients. I made no other changes and followed the recipe as written. I added extra chocolate chips. ;)
Bake: See below for an evolution of the cookie dough. From melting - by stirring constantly - the sugars, butter, crème fraîche, and vanilla all together over a pot of simmering water (makeshift double-boiler of sorts) to adding the dry ingredients and continuing to stir, and finally folding in the chocolate chips, the resulting dough is not exactly traditional in texture.
Of course, since the melted ingredients are removed from the heat just prior to adding the dry, the whole mess is rather warm and thus forming cookie-like shapes on the parchment paper isn’t the easiest. Persistence and practice, my friends! It’s not easy, it is messy, but it’s possible. And the cookies are divine.
The final bake time for these cookies is about thirteen minutes (sometimes twelve). The recipe states between 10-15 which you will learn is a wide range since 10 minutes will give you mush and 15 will result in a way-too-done cookie.
Watch them closely after ten minutes and make sure to remove them when slightly golden (at about twelve or thirteen minutes depending on cookie size). They will continue to cook once out of the oven; leave them on the baking sheets for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
The temptation is real to eat one of these cookies hot from the oven because they will smell so good. Let them cool briefly before sinking your teeth in and smiling with delight.
Be aware: if you don’t wait long enough for the cookies to cool you will have cookie crumbles all over your kitchen floor and chocolate suddenly covering your table, floor, and hands. On second thought…could be worse! 😉
What’s Next?
Summer Baking is quite possibly my favorite which sounds ridiculous. It’s hot and humid and honestly who wants to eat chocolate cake in the heat? Me! Sometimes.
I love how low-key and stress-free summer baking tends to be. No parties, no holidays, just baking to bake. #bakersgonnabake
While I’m not reaching for my cake pans, I am going to dive into the world of berries. All of the blueberry baked goods are coming your way… soon!
Enjoy!
Mollie
