A Broad Reference

2nd try on left, 3rd try on right (secret ingredients work!)

Here are my latest efforts in baking- Chocolate wafer cookies. The story starts with the fact that I'm in the process of making a base for a chocolate torte/cheesecake, which requires dark black brown chocolate cookies broken into crumbs. (Think oreos without the filling) My friend Doreen points out the ubiquitously available (at least in the USA) Nabisco "Famous" (brand) chocolate wafers are what I'm really trying to emulate. But my allergies of course make these verboten since they contain some sulfites, and based on the fact that I get hives- contain food dyes as well. Here's a picture for calibration purposes. Notice that they also cost a whopping $4.79! Price alone is an incentive to make my own...

I did a little investigating and found a recipe for the chocolate thin mint girl scout cookie @Baking Bites. These sounded like just the ticket. All I'd have to do was omit the mint and dipping chocolate and I was golden! After an afternoon of happy baking and tempting smells. OMG I must have done something wrong. I think it was the volume of milk that went into the dough and the subsequent mixing then activated the gluten... they were tough as rocks! haha the taste was ok, but my jaw! They were also a great brown color, but not that deep devilishly black brown that I wanted. I think the trick to getting them really DARK is Dutch-Processed cocoa powder (Alkalized Unsweetened Cocoa Powder). Again I returned to the internet for more recipes to test.

So far I think that this recipe from smitten kitchen looks to be the right one. I followed the directions exactly with no deviating from the recipe, and the happy result was a delicate chocolate wafer, crunchingly satisfying with a great crumb. Just about perfect in all respects except the depth of dark in the chocolate color and taste. I really wanted it to be dark black!

On my third try, I used the more expensive Valrhona cocoa that Deb suggested (in her pictures the wafers are pretty dark) and it works a charm. I also swapped out some of the butter with semi-sweet chocolate to boost flavor. The last thing that really amped up the flavor, added depth of color and nice texture was replacing some ground black sesame instead of the flour. (I get it at my local Asian grocery store) Wow! So intensely black chocolatey with an elusive nutty crunch.

1 Cup flour
1/2 Cup black sesame flour
1/2 Cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 Cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped
3 Tbs whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine the dry ingredients: flour, sesame, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the food processor and pulse several times to mix. Coarsely cut the butter and chocolate into small chunks and add them. Pulse several times till the mixture forms pea sized sandy grains. Mix milk and vanilla and add gradually while whizzing until the mixture starts to clump and form a rough dough. Use wax paper or clingfilm to form into a log about 1 3/4 inches in diameter OR line a small loaf pan with wax paper and pack the dough in to form a rectangle. Cover with clingfilm, wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour. (This dough also freezes very well).

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice the dough thinly about 1/8-inch and place them at least 1 inch apart on the sheets. Bake, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and back to front at about 5-6 minutes, for a total of 10 to 12 minutes (watch the baking time carefully-if you can smell them, they're very close to being done). The cookies will spread and puff, sliced too thin you might get little air bubbles that break, giving the cookie a more lacy texture.

Cool the cookies by sliding the parchment onto rack, they crisp up as they cool... about 2 minutes. The flavor changes significantly between warm (nutty) and cool (CHOCOlatey); An interesting taste test to try- ok I admit I couldn't really wait for them to cool! You can store these cookies for up to two weeks (but I bet they won't last this long) or frozen up to two months. (IMHO it's better to freeze the dough and bake fresh, unless you like the girl scout thin mint cookies frozen). They are very delicate, you can add a bit of structural integrity by covering the base with (maybe mint?) chocolate...

Note: These cookies should be crisp once they cool. If they are still soft, return them to the oven to bake a little longer, then cool again. You'll soon figure out the time that works for your oven and the thickness that you slice the dough.

Happy Baking!