Chocolate Sandwich Cookies With White Chocolate Ganache Recipes

CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Cookies: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the machine running, gradually add the flour mixture until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a 1-ounce ice cream or cookie scoop, form 12 equal-sized pieces of dough onto each baking sheet. With damp hands, form the dough into balls. Flatten the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the tops of the cookies begin to crack slightly, about 14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Filling: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and vanilla together until fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Color the frosting by mixing in the food coloring, 1 drop of at a time, until the desired color is reached. Add water, if needed, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to make the consistency spreadable.
• Spread the frosting on the flat side of half of the cookies and put the remaining cookies on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the filling to stiffen slightly. Serve at room temperature.

SANDWICH COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Cut dough in half; roll out both halves to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a round 1-inch cookie cutter, rerolling scraps to get 72 cookies. Coat 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray; place cookies on sheets 1 inch apart and bake 1 batch at a time until firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Simmer chocolate chips and half-and-half in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring once or twice, until chocolate melts and is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes; remove from heat. Let cool 1 minute. Spread 1/2 teaspoon chocolate ganache on a cookie; press a second cookie on top to form a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and ganache.

CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar until soft and creamy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each in plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares using a cookie cutter. Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Gather any scraps, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes before rerolling and cutting into squares. Bake until edges just begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
• To make the white chocolate ganache, bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add 9 ounces white chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, and stir until completely smooth. Place in the refrigerator, and chill until thick enough to spread, about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread ganache on half the cookies; top with remaining cookies.
• Melt remaining 3 ounces white chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make a small cone out of parchment paper, or fit a small pastry bag with a coupler and #2 Ateco tip. Fill, and decorate as desired.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND STRAWBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Stir the 2 cups chocolate chips and butter in a medium bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water until the chocolate mixture is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl and set aside. The mixture may be thick.
• Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat the egg mixture using an electric mixture, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Stir the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips into the batter. If the batter is very soft, chill for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the batter to firm up slightly. The batter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Let the batter stand at room temperature at least 1 hour before continuing.
• Using a small cookie scoop, drop the batter in rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2-to-2-inches apart. Bake the cookies until slightly firm to touch and crackled all over tops but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets.
• For the white chocolate ganache: Bring the cream to simmer over medium heat in a heavy small saucepan. Remove the pan from heat and add the white chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth. Chill the ganache until firm enough to spread, 1 to 2 hours. The ganache can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled. Let the ganache stand at room temperature 2 hours to soften slightly before using.
• For the strawberry preserves: Mix the preserves and the lemon zest in a small bowl.
• Spread about 1 teaspoon ganache onto the flat side of each cookie to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon strawberry preserves on the ganache side of half of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top, ganache side down, to form sandwich cookies. Chill until the ganache is firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Insert lollipop sticks into the ganache filling, if desired
• For the white chocolate drizzle: Place the white chocolate in a small bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of one side of each sandwich cookie, using a fork. Chill until the chocolate has set, about 10 minutes. The drizzle can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight in the refrigerator.

DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half and form each piece into a 6-inch square, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Make ganache while dough chills:
• Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan, then stir into melted chocolate. Stir in butter and vanilla until smooth. Cover surface with parchment paper and chill, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 30 minutes.
• Cut and bake cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into a 14- by 10-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick). Slide dough in parchment onto a tray and freeze until dough is firm, about 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Cut out as many rounds as possible from first chilled square with cutter, reserving and chilling scraps, then quickly transfer cookies to a buttered baking sheet, arranging them 1/2 inch apart. (If dough becomes too soft, return to freezer until firm.)
• Sprinkle half of cookies with decorative sugar (if using), then bake cookies until baked through and slightly puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely (cookies will crisp as they cool).
• Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once).
• Assemble sandwich cookies:
• Beat ganache with an electric mixer at high speed just until light and fluffy. Transfer to a sealable plastic bag (snip off 1/8 to 1/4 inch from 1 corner with scissors). Pipe ganache onto flat sides of plain cookies, then top with sugared cookies to make sandwiches. Chill, layered between sheets of parchment, in an airtight container until filling is set, at least 1 hour.