Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cream Cheese Chewy Cookies

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This article was published 17/12/2016 (3574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This recipe produces a batch of cookies that are chewy and rich-tasting, although they are relatively low in fat.

The raspberry and chocolate doughs are fairly soft. If you have problems scooping them or forming the marbled dough, refrigerate them for 30 minutes to firm up. And there’s a lot of handwork involved, so deputize someone in the kitchen to help you.

Chocolate extract is available at specialty cooking stores, some upscale grocery stores and online. If you can’t find it, substitute 10 ml (2 tsp) of vanilla extract. Raspberry extract is available on the baking aisle of many supermarkets.

Make ahead: The unmarbled doughs can be frozen (separately, wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed in a freezer-safe zip-top bag) for up to one month; defrost in the refrigerator overnight. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days; after that, they lose their softness.

Adapted from Marbled, Swirled, and Layered: 150 Recipes and Variations for Artful Bars, Cookies, Pies, Cakes, and More, by Irvin Lin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016).

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cream Cheese Chewy Cookies

96 cookies

Ingredients

For the raspberry cookie dough
170 g (6 oz or 1 ¼ cups) fresh or frozen raspberries
325 g (375 ml or 1 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp)granulated sugar
85 g (6 tbsp or 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
57 g (2 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder
2.5 ml (½ tsp) baking soda
2.5 ml (½ tsp) kosher salt
10 ml (2 tsp) raspberry extract (see note)
5 ml (1 tsp) balsamic vinegar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
375 g (810 ml or 3 ¼ cups) flour

For the chocolate cookie dough
170 g (180 ml or 12 tbsp or 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
115 g (4 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
200 g (250 ml or 1 cup) granulated sugar
220 g (250 ml or 1 cup) packed dark brown sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
5 ml (1 tsp) kosher salt
10 ml (2 tsp) chocolate extract
5 ml (1 tsp) balsamic vinegar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
110 g (250 ml or 1 cup) natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
280 g (580 ml or 2 1/3 cups) flour

For assembly:
200 g (250 ml or 1 cup) granulated sugar, for rolling

Steps for the raspberry cookie dough: Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

Combine the raspberries and 10 ml (2 tbsp) of the sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, crushing the berries with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon and stirring constantly, until the berries have broken apart.

Cook for about five minutes, until the mixture darkens a bit and thickens to form a jam. Remove from the heat.

Combine the butter, cream cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 375 ml (1 ½ cups) of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer. Beat for about three minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bowl.

Add the raspberry extract, vinegar and egg; beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl.

Add the egg yolk, beating until incorporated, and then the cooled raspberry jam, scraping down the bowl between additions.

Add the flour; beat on low speed until the dough starts to absorb some of it. Increase the speed to medium; beat until the flour is completely incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a separate bowl, cover and refrigerate (to firm it up) while you make the chocolate cookie dough.

For the chocolate cookie dough: Combine the butter, cream cheese, both sugars, baking soda and salt in the mixer bowl (no need to clean it).

Beat for two to three minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bowl.

Add the chocolate extract, vinegar and egg; beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl, then add the egg yolk and beat (medium speed) until incorporated.

Reduce to low speed; add the cocoa powder and beat until the dough starts to absorb some of it.

Increase the speed to medium; beat until completely incorporated.

Add the flour and beat, starting on low speed and then increasing to medium until incorporated.

For assembly: Pour the granulated sugar into a small bowl.

Pinch off about 5 ml (1 tsp) of the chocolate dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat with another teaspoon of chocolate dough. Then do the same with the raspberry dough, so that you have four balls of dough.

Line them up in a row, alternating chocolate, raspberry, chocolate, raspberry.

Now squish them together and roll the whole thing into a ball. The ball should look like marbled dough.

Roll the ball in sugar and place it on the baking sheet.

Repeat with the remaining dough to form a total of 96 marbled balls of dough, spacing them about five cm (two inches) apart on the baking sheets. Bake (middle rack) one sheet at a time for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges of the raspberry part of the cookies start to look golden; do not overbake.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for four to five minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure the baking sheets have cooled before using them again.

— The Washington Post