Chocolate-Drenched Cocoa-Nib Cookies Recipe
In celebration of Afternoon Tea Week, Paul A. Young has shared his fantastic Chocolate-Drenched Cocoa-Nib Cookies recipe - a chocoholic's dream.
CHOCOLATE-DRENCHED COCOA-NIB COOKIES
Ingredients
225g unsalted butter
150g demerara sugar
Pinch of sea salt
250g plain flour
100g dark cocoa powder
1⁄2 vanilla pod, the seeds scraped out, or 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium free-range egg
50-100g cocoa nibs (as many as you like), or chocolate chips
300g Venezuelan dark chocolate, or your favourite robust dark chocolate
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
Place the butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and melt thoroughly. Remove from the heat and add the flour, cocoa powder, vanilla seeds (or extract) and the egg, mixing thoroughly. Add the cocoa nibs and allow the cookie dough to cool for 5 minutes.
On a parchment-lined baking tray, place generous scoops of the dough, leaving 7.5cm between each cookie. You'll probably need to bake in two or three batches. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, then leave to cool completely.
Once you have baked your cookies and resisted eating them all while warm, the next step is to drench them in chocolate. Chop the dark chocolate into 1cm pieces and place in a bainmarie to melt slowly until smooth and lump-free. Dip half of each cookie in the tempered chocolate and place back on the parchment paper to let the chocolate cool and set fully. Store the cookies in an airtight container or leave on a plate for everyone to eat while fresh. They won't last long.
Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A. Young (Kyle Books, £14.99) Photography: Anders Schonnemann.
