DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY PUREE
Notes:
Do you love chocolate, raspberries, and almonds? Then this recipe is for you. Even though I’m posting this recipe in the last days of fall and raspberries are not in season, frozen raspberries are perfect and preferred for this recipe. This recipe is also gluten-free while still tasting delightful. A good dark chocolate and dark brown sugar bring an intensity of flavor that you’ll adore. The cookie is delicate and breaks apart easily, but is also tender too (i.e., not dry). The raspberry sauce is fresh, bright, and beautifully red, and you’ll have some leftover too. The recipe is very simple and the dough is super easy to handle since it’s not sticky. Make this one for the holidays! The effort to results ratio is worth it.
Equipment:
Stand mixer (preferred) or electric hand mixer
Medium sauce pan
Blender
1.5 inch diameter cookie scoop
Ingredients:
Raspberry puree:
Cornstarch: 2 tsp
Water: 1 tbsp
Frozen raspberries: 285 g (~2.5 cups)
Granulated sugar: 3 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Dark chocolate almond cookies:
Unsalted butter: 140 g (2/3 cup) + 1 tbsp for melting with chocolate
Dark brown sugar: 120 g (packed 3/4 cup)
Egg (room temp): 1
Dark chocolate (~70% cacao content): 128 g (1 cup)
Cocoa powder: 60 g (1/2 cup)
Fine almond flour: 220 g (2 cups)
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract: 2 tsp
Directions:
Raspberry puree:
Combine frozen raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in the sauce pan and turn on the heat to medium.
Whisk cornstarch and cold water together until the cornstarch is fully dispersed and then add it to the sauce pan and mix in.
Start mashing up the raspberries with a spatula as they begin to heat up.
Bring to a soft rolling boil for ~ 3 mins and stir as the mixture begins to thicken up.
Add vanilla extract right before taking off the heat.
Set aside to cool.
Once cooled blend thoroughly in a blender. You will see the color brighten as the mixture becomes somewhat aerated and homogenous.
Blending the raspberry puree.
Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and dark brown sugar together until thoroughly blended. Then add egg and mix in, followed by vanilla extract.
In a separate mixing bowl combine the dark chocolate with the extra 1 tbsp of butter and heat in a microwave for ~25 seconds to melt the butter. Mix in the butter then heat again in the microwave in a 20 second burst. Thoroughly mix the chocolate again giving all chocolate that has softened a chance to mix in, and follow with a couple more 20 second bursts, thoroughly mixing after each one. The melted chocolate will look smooth, glossy, and thick.
Right away, to the melted chocolate add the cocoa powder and quickly mix in then add to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix on low speed, followed by the almond flour, again mixing on low speed until everything is thoroughly combined and chocolatey.
Use a 1.5 inch diameter cookie scoop to portion the dough on the baking sheet. Level off the dough in the scoop with a spatula. The cookies will not really spread so you don’t have to leave much space in between. The recipe yields ~15-16 cookies.
Use a round tsp to create wells for the raspberry puree right before baking.
Bake for 10 mins and rotate pan half-way through.
The cookies are very delicate right after baking so let them cool on the baking pan for at least 10 mins before moving them.
Dollop the raspberry puree into the wells and you’re done. The colors are a feast for the eyes and the taste is even better.
*These cookies keep very well in the fridge, although the initial brilliant magenta red of the raspberry puree will darken after about a day, they’ll still taste amazing for several days. Just slightly warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Making wells.