224 – Moroccan Walnut Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients :

• 4 oz (113 grams) butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons (125 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• Toppings: dark chocolate, walnut halves, dulce de leche (caramel)
• Extra flour for rolling the dough

Directions :

Step 1: Making the Cookie Mixture
1-  In a large bowl, cream the butter (that is softened) and the sugar using an egg beater until you get a soft mixture.
2-  In a separate small bowl, beat an egg (using a fork) with the milk and pinch of salt. Then add the egg mixture to the butter / sugar mixture and mix them together using a spatula.
3-  Mix the flour, baking powder, and ground ginger together and sift the dry mixture over the butter mixture. Mix the dough using a spatula at first, then continue mixing it by hand until you get a smooth dough.
4-  Split the dough into 2 equal size balls, and place each in a plastic wrap. Flatten the dough balls by tapping on them and place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling it.

Step 2: Rolling the Cookies
1-  Roll the dough after it cools down, otherwise, it will be very sticky. At any time, when the dough heats up and becomes sticky, roll it again in a plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge for a while before working with it again.
2-  Preheat your oven to 360 F (182 C) degrees.
3-  Sprinkle flour on your work station. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap, place it over the flour, and using your rolling pin, tap the dough ball to flatten it. Flip the dough and tap it again.
4-  Roll the dough with the rolling pin (not too thin and not too thick). If the dough is rolled too thinly, you will have difficulties removing the cookies from the work station.
5-  Cut the cookies using a cookie cutter (preferably round with wavy edges).
Place the cookies on a baking pan covered with parchment paper. Make sure to space the cookies as they expand a bit when baking.
6-  Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes. They should get a golden color but not too much. The cookies will be soft when removed from the oven and harden as they cool down.

Step 3: Final Steps
1-  Melt the chocolate and place it in a piping bag – make sure that the tip of the bag is still sealed otherwise you will have chocolate all over the place.
2-  Cut the tip of the piping bag, and pipe a little bit of chocolate at the center of each cookie.
3-  Place a walnut half on top of the chocolate and sqeeze it a bit.
4-  Place the cookies in the fridge until the chocolate is completely harden. The walnut halves will  naturally stick to the cookies as the chocolate acts as a glue.
5-  You can also sandwitch 2 cookies with dulce de leche for variation!
These cookies can be place in an airtight container or cookie tin, and conserved for up to 1 month in the fridge.
Bon Appetit!