La petite biscotte

My perfect cookie has to be chewy...

While I was browsing the Orangette blog the other day I saw a recipe for chewy cocoa cookies that intrigued me because it uses yogurt to make the cookies soft and to reduce the number of calories a little. The pictures of the cookies were absolutely stunning (that’s how I always imagined a perfect cookie!).

So when I tried this recipe I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose (because I only had that at home). It worked very well and I loved the taste the cookies had. However I think that next time I’ll reduce the amount of sugar to 1/3 cup (refined sugar). Because they were a little too sweet for me. Also I’d like to use this yogurt recipe as a base to try normal chocolate chip cookies. I could substitute the cocoa powder with vanilla pudding mix and nuts (in that case I’d also leave away the vanilla extract).

The recipe, adapted from Orangette:

Ingredients

• 1 + 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour (all-purpose works fine too)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 125g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 7 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two baking trays with cookie sheets.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Melt the butter (either in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove). Add the sugars, and sift in the cocoa. Stir to blend well. (The mixture will have the consistency of wet sand) Add the yogurt and vanilla extract. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients, and stir to just combine. Fold in the chocolat chips.
4. Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool down for 10 minutes. (Do not skip this step, it is very important that you let them cool off a little because when they come out of the oven they are very soft still). While you let one batch cool down, spoon some cookie mixture on the other cookie sheet and repeat the same procedure. Remove the cookies from the baking trays and put them on wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 15-20 cookies.