Description
These delicious striped fudge cookie sandwiches are a nod to the Keebler version and are filled with rich chocolate ganache.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache + Topping
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) heavy cream
- optional if needed to thin out topping: splash vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
Instructions
- To make the cookies: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove one of the slabs of dough from the refrigerator and, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut into circles. Reroll the remaining slab and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with second slab of dough. You should have about 64 circles. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut a hole into the center of 32 of them. Let’s call these 32 cookies the “donut cookies” because of that center hole. Place the whole circles and the donut cookies on separate baking sheets (because the donut cookies take 1 less minute to bake), placing all cookies 2 inches apart from one another.
- Bake the whole circles for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges, and the donut cookies for about 9 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through bake time. Remove from the oven. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before assembling.
- To make the ganache: Place 3 ounces of chopped chocolate for the ganache into a small heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once cream begins to boil, immediately remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir gently and slowly until the ganache is smooth. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before adding to cookies. During this time, it will slowly thicken.
- Once the ganache is ready, spread about 1/2 teaspoon on each whole circle. Carefully top each with a donut cookie and press down gently to create a cookie sandwich.
- To make the topping: Melt the remaining chopped chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15-second increments, stopping and stirring after each until completely smooth. Add a splash of vegetable oil or melted coconut oil if chocolate isn’t thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over each sandwich. Allow chocolate to set completely, about 30 minutes.
- Cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Plain cookies (without filling) and prepared cookie sandwiches freeze well for up to 3 months. Wait for the chocolate drizzle on top to set completely before layering sandwiches between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can chill the rolled-out cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (see step 4), or you can freeze the cookie dough (before rolling out in step 3) for up to 3 months. To freeze the dough, prepare the dough through step 2, divide in half, flatten both halves into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 3, then chill as directed in step 4– no need to chill for 1-2 hours, 45 minutes should be plenty.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin | Round Cookie Cutter Set | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Baking Sheets | Cooling Rack
- Room Temperature: Room temperature butter is essential. If the dough is too sticky, your butter may have been too soft. Room temperature butter is actually cool to the touch. Room temperature egg is preferred so it’s quickly and evenly mixed into the cookie dough.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Recipe from Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.