Vanilla
Madagascar Chocolate Vanilla Cookies
Cookies soft in the center, crisp at the edges, flavored with Bourbon vanilla and generously loaded with dark chocolate chips.
- Prep 20 min
- Cooking 12 min
- Total 32 min
- Serves 12
- Difficulty Facile
Méthode
Préparation
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In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and fleur de sel. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk the softened butter with the brown sugar and caster sugar for 2 minutes until creamy and slightly pale (no need for an electric mixer, a spatula is enough).
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Add the whole egg, the yolk, the vanilla powder and the vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute until fully combined.
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Pour in the dry mix in two batches. Fold in with a spatula, without overworking it, just until the flour is incorporated (an overworked cookie turns tough).
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Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand. The dough should be thick and sticky.
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Cover the dough with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour (ideally 12 hours). This rest is essential: it hydrates the flour and concentrates the vanilla flavour.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
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Shape about 12 dough balls of roughly 50 g each (about the size of a large walnut). Space them 6 cm apart on the trays, they will spread as they bake.
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Bake for 11 to 13 minutes: the edges should be golden and the centre still pale and slightly domed. This is intentional, they finish cooking as they cool.
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Let cool for 5 minutes on the tray (the cookies are fragile straight from the oven), then transfer to a rack. Enjoy warm for maximum softness.
Astuce du chef
Le petit plus qui change tout
For 'New York bakery style' cookies, increase the weight to 80 g per ball, space them 8 cm apart, and bake for 14 minutes. You will get XXL cookies with an impressively gooey centre. White chocolate variation: replace the 70% dark chocolate with a half dark, half white chocolate mix and add 1/2 tsp extra vanilla powder, vanilla is especially good with white chocolate. To freeze: shape the raw dough balls, freeze on a tray, then store in a bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the baking time. Storing baked cookies: 4 days in an airtight tin with a wedge of apple to keep them soft.
Questions fréquentes
À propos de cette recette
Why chill the dough before baking?
Resting lets the flour absorb the butter and eggs, giving a denser, chewier texture. More importantly, it concentrates the flavours: the vanilla and chocolate infuse into the dough. A cookie baked straight away tends to spread too much and lose its aroma.
What's the difference between vanilla powder and vanilla extract?
The powder brings roasted notes and the visible black flecks in the dough; the extract brings the liquid, rounded aroma that develops during baking. Using both together creates a depth that neither gives on its own.
Can salted butter be replaced with unsalted butter?
Yes, but then add an extra 1/2 tsp of fleur de sel. Salt is not a minor detail: it brings out the vanilla and balances the sweetness of the chocolate. Without it, the cookie tastes flat.
My cookies come out too flat, why?
Three main causes: butter too warm (almost melted) when mixing, dough not chilled long enough, or an oven that isn't hot enough. Check your oven's temperature with a thermometer, many home ovens run 10 to 15°C below the set temperature.
Can a shop-bought extract be used instead?
We would advise against it. Most shop-bought 'vanilla extracts' contain synthetic ethyl vanillin. A natural Bourbon vanilla extract from Madagascar offers an incomparable aromatic range: without it, the cookie loses what makes it distinctive.
