Vasili’s Blog

Dec 20, 2009Simply Delicious Chocolate Wafers

I'm not someone who really enjoys chocolaty things; especially when it comes to cookies. Most chocolate cookies are either way too sweet or are just bitter and disgusting. I've never had a chocolate wafer before, and since I needed to make them for my holiday dessert later this week, I thought it would be a nice weekend project for me.

Let me start off by saying these things were absolutely delicious. I always try the dough of things when I make them just to get a feeling of what the finished project will be. I seriously could have sat there and ate the whole log.

They were extremely simple to make — even though I made them in the mixer rather than the food processor which the recipe originally called for. You just let the butter sit out (or put it on top of the steaming hot espresso machine and come back in five minutes) until soft; add it to the flour, sugar, and cocoa. Mix that. Add some milk and vanilla and plop it into the fridge.

Slicing them takes a matter of five minutes. You also don't need to worry too much about the baking time because they'll just be more crispy and delicious.

I got my brother to help me take the final picture of them. We had a huge piece of poster board lying around, so I made him hold it because it kept wanting to roll up. After clicking the shutter button about 20 times with varying aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings, I finally told him he could eat the cookies on the plate.

If you're looking for a really simple slice-n-bake chocolate cookie recipe, you should definitely try these. I'm pretty sure that all of you have the ingredients on hand and could whip these up in a couple hours (not including chill time).

Recipe from smitten kitchen.

Makes 50 to 60 1 3/4-inch wafers.

1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2.4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (see Note)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl. Pulse several times. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup. With the processor running, add the milk mixture and continue to process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl or a cutting board and knead a few times to make sure it is evenly blended.

Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the log of dough into slices a scant 1/4-inch thick (I went thinner, closer to 1/8 of inch. If you’re trying to emulate the store-bought wafers, slice as thin as you can, and watch the baking time carefully, as it might be less.) and place them one inch apart on the lined sheets (cookies will spread). Bake, rotating the baking sheet from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through baking, for a total of 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will puff up and deflate; they are done about 1 1/2 minutes after they deflate.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on racks, or slide the parchment onto racks to cool completely. These cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks or be frozen for up to two months.

Note: These cookies should crisp as they cool. If they don’t, you’re not baking them long enough, says Medrich — in which case, return them to the oven to reheat and bake a little longer, then cool again.

I didn't count exactly how many I made, but I can assure you that it was plenty. I only needed 9 ounces, which was about two trays of them. I made four trays plus a little more. So much better than spending $5 on only 4 ounces at the store.

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