Bergers-Style Cookies
By Morgan BollingPublished on August 14, 2017
Yield
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) cake flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar 1 large egg white 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extractFrosting
3 cups (18 ounces/510 grams) milk chocolate chips 1 ¼ cups heavy cream ¼ teaspoon salt 1 ⅔ cups (5 ounces/142 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 ¼ cups (5 ounces/142 grams) confectioners' sugar 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extractBefore You Begin
The consistency of the frosting should resemble that of a thick brownie batter. It should mound and slowly spread over the cookies. It’s OK if some of the frosting drips down the sides of the cookies. If the frosting’s temperature drops below 90 degrees, it may become too thick to spread. To bring it back to its proper consistency, simply microwave it at 50 percent power in 5-second intervals, whisking after each interval. Our favorite Dutch-processed cocoa powder is Droste Cocoa.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add egg white, cream, and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Working with 1 heaping tablespoon dough at a time, roll into balls and space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets, 12 per sheet. Using your moistened fingers, press dough balls to form disks about 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are just beginning to brown around edges, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool completely on sheet.
- Once cookies have cooled, combine chocolate chips, cream, and salt in large bowl. Microwave chocolate mixture at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk cocoa, sugar, and vanilla into chocolate mixture until smooth. (Frosting should be texture of thick brownie batter and register about 95 degrees.)
- Flip cookies on sheets. Spoon 2 tablespoons frosting over flat side of each cookie to form mound. Let cookies sit at room temperature until frosting is set, about 3 hours. Serve. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.)
for the cookies
for the frosting
Yield
Makes 24 cookiesIngredients
Cookies
Frosting
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cookies
Frosting
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cookies
Frosting
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This Baltimorean cookie has gained a cult following thanks to the 1/2-inch layer of fudgy chocolate frosting perched on its cakey, lightly sweet vanilla cookie base. For our version, we creamed butter with sugar and used cake flour instead of all-purpose to create a soft, fluffy cookie base. For the signature sweet-yet-ultrachocolaty frosting, a combination of milk chocolate chips and Dutch-processed cocoa gave us the best chocolate flavor; heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar helped us nail the correct texture. Keeping the frosting between 90 and 100 degrees (which makes it the texture of thick brownie batter) ensured that it was easy to mound a hefty 2-tablespoon helping onto each cookie.
Before You Begin
The consistency of the frosting should resemble that of a thick brownie batter. It should mound and slowly spread over the cookies. It’s OK if some of the frosting drips down the sides of the cookies. If the frosting’s temperature drops below 90 degrees, it may become too thick to spread. To bring it back to its proper consistency, simply microwave it at 50 percent power in 5-second intervals, whisking after each interval. Our favorite Dutch-processed cocoa powder is Droste Cocoa.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add egg white, cream, and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Working with 1 heaping tablespoon dough at a time, roll into balls and space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets, 12 per sheet. Using your moistened fingers, press dough balls to form disks about 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are just beginning to brown around edges, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool completely on sheet.
- Once cookies have cooled, combine chocolate chips, cream, and salt in large bowl. Microwave chocolate mixture at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk cocoa, sugar, and vanilla into chocolate mixture until smooth. (Frosting should be texture of thick brownie batter and register about 95 degrees.)
- Flip cookies on sheets. Spoon 2 tablespoons frosting over flat side of each cookie to form mound. Let cookies sit at room temperature until frosting is set, about 3 hours. Serve. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.)
for the cookies
for the frosting
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