Unless you live under a rock, you have probably seen these cookies-that-broke-the-Internet floating around Instagram and the web. Does anyone still call it that? Okay, so maybe you don’t consume the excessive amounts of food media that I do and follow every foodie/food blogger/chef on Instagram, but these are wildly popular so you may have just stumbled across them somewhere.
Cookbook genius and resident low-key comedian on Instagram (you should really follow her if you enjoy food and laughing…and if you don’t, I’m sorry for you) Alison Roman decided the world did NOT need another chocolate chip cookie recipe, so she gave us these delicious little buggers. Buttery shortbread cookies stuffed with chocolate chunks (not chips!), rolled in Demerara sugar to form crunchy edges and topped with a sprinkle of sea salt.
But here a problem lies: I could not get these cookies to work for me. I tried three or four times, but each attempt produced a very frustrated Amanda and a dough that would not hold together, form a solid log, or cut into any shape that actually looked like a cookie. Most of the time I resorted to pinching the dough together to form alien-like blobs, shrugging my shoulders and baking as-is. Was it just me? Am I not the decently capable baker I thought I was?
The resulting cookies were always so buttery and delicious…VERY edible even if they don’t look at all like they should and are not Instagrammable, but I too wanted to attain those picture-perfect cookies that everyone else had.
So I turned to my culinary and lifestyle idol (and best friend, even though she doesn’t know it), Ina Garten. I used her plain shortbread recipe and added Alison’s touches of chocolate chunks, Demerera sugar coating and sprinkle of salt.
Alison’s have a 78.2% butter-to-flour ratio while Ina’s has a 81% butter-to-flour ratio; a seemingly minuscule difference, but it was just enough to help my cookies stay together. You still have all the flavors of the original cookie, but slightly less frustration and a perfectly shaped cookie to post on your Instagram.
A couple tips:
- As with any baking recipe that provides weights, you should always weigh your ingredients. It is much more accurate and I promise it will improve the quality of your baked goods. You can purchase a relatively inexpensive digital scale and once you get used to it, you will use it for everything. I do!
- Use a high-quality chocolate (that you chop yourself) and European-style salted butter, like Plugra or Lurpak. Trader Joe’s has an excellent French cultured butter at a reasonable price!
- Make sure to cream your butter and sugar together as described in the recipe-until very light and fluffy. This will help the flour to absorb better, producing a more workable dough.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the dough to ensure they hold they’re shape.
These would be a perfect complement to any 4th of July extravaganzas you may be planning…maybe with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream in between?! Or just standing in front of your refrigerator with just a big glass of milk.
*I found a detailed post here with a some step-by-step pictures and a great idea for forming that dreaded cookie dough log. If you want to try the original recipe (which you should just for comparison’s sake!), it’s posted all over the Internet or in Alison’s cookbook, Dining In. Let me know what works for you!
[tasty-recipe id=”31534″]
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