I have a weakness for collecting kitchen tools. Especially all kinds of pastry and mithai molds and I have been known to pester friends and relatives all over the world to get hold of them. I know I really don’t need all of them but can’t help myself, they look so pretty and intricate! I had been obsessed with the petit ecolier-like cookie molds for quite a while and was on the hunt. Saw a few online but balked at their price and stepped back. Then serendipitously, a wrong turn while strolling in a new city brought me right by a kitchen supply store. And since I can never, ever walk by one without stepping in, I opened that door 🙂
It was like walking into Disneyland!! They seemed to have everything one could ever want and if I could, would have picked enough to fill a truck! But the reality of trying to fit stuff in a single suitcase had me content with simply gawking. And then, walking by all the bread and cake and cookie pans, there it was. The cookie mold I had been coveting …..and with a pretty spring theme too! It flew back with me and colorful chocolate cookies to herald spring were on my mind.
I couldn’t make these in time for the first day of Spring but finally got around to baking them now. And the pastel colors seemed so appropriate for Easter too! I used natural colors like freeze-dried blueberries & strawberries and coffee, matcha and turmeric powders, which turned a beautiful pastel in the white chocolate. This is certainly not a quick and easy cookie to make. Needs a bit of patience and planning and I’m not sure how often I would make them. But they are great for a special occasion or as a gift for someone special!
The butter cookie base is very flaky and tender. The dough might seem a bit crumbly but it will come together…I promise 🙂 Making them a day or two in advance helps to streamline the process a bit. The white chocolate toppers are also not too hard to make but can be a bit of a messy process…or maybe it’s just me.
The molds in different patterns are available online like here. You can also use food colors instead of the fruit and powders. Just adjust the amount to get the color of your liking and remember that the colors typically get darker upon drying.
I used a double-boiler for melting the chocolate since I find it more reliable. If you are comfortable with using the microwave method, certainly go ahead and use that. Also, make sure to spread the chocolate thinly and evenly over the mold. I learned the hard way that too thick and uneven of a layer will make attaching it to the biscuit harder. If that does happen, take a vegetable peeler and very gently scrape the back to even it out.
The oppressive heat of summer is not yet upon us and we are still enjoying crisp early mornings with the sound of chirping birds, so a belated Happy Spring and also Happy Easter!!!
Ingredients
- For the biscuit (Cookie):
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
- 1/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp water
- For the chocolate:
- 12 oz vanilla flavored white chocolate chips or wafers ( I used Ghirardelli)
- 1/4 tsp matcha powder
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder ( I used Bru coffee)
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries (I used the Trader Joe's brand)
- 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
For the biscuit:
Mix the all-purpose flour, milk powder, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.
Cream the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes until it gets a bit fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. I used a stand mixer but you can do this with a hand-held mixer too.
The dough will look crumbly at this point. Add a tbsp of water and mix. It will still feel dry but should hold together. Add another tbsp of water if needed.
Dump the mixture on a clean counter and start bringing it together with using your hands. The warmth of the hands will melt the butter slightly and help the dough come together nicely.
Pat it into a rectangle and wrap with cling film. Refrigerate for about four hours.
Preheat the oven to 340 degrees F.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
Cut using the cookie cutter from the set and transfer to a cookie sheet.
Gather up the scraps and re-roll until you have used up all the dough.
Put the cookie sheet back in the fridge for 20 mins.
Remove and bake at 340 degrees F for 14-16 mins, until the edges turn golden brown. Watch it from about 12 mins because the time can vary depending on the oven.
When the cookies come out of the oven, they will feel very soft. Leave them on the cookie sheet for about five minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. They will crisp up nicely upon cooling.
*Chocolate Topping:
Powder the freeze-dried fruit and keep aside.
Set up a double boiler. Add half a cup of the white chocolate wafers and wait for it to start melting. Then add the respective powder and mix well until it has completely melted.
Pour over your mold and spread in a thin, even layer.
Transfer the mold to the fridge or freezer for the chocolate to harden. This takes just a few minutes in the freezer. Unmold and trim off the excess with a sharp knife. Keep them aside.
Assembly:
Melt some chocolate and spread a little in the corners of each cookie using a spoon. You will want to match it with the corners of the chcolate topping.
Place the chocolate of top of the cookie and wait for a few minutes for it to harden.
Enjoy!
Notes
*The size of my mold gave me six rectangles for every half cup of chocolate. Depending on the size of your mold, you will get more or less.
