Dark chocolate dough and a white chocolate center. At the Van Stapele bakery in Amsterdam they sell only one type of cookie and, even so, the queue is always miles long, rain or sub-zero degrees. It is not a saying, I have verified it myself with my own eyes. Only 3,000 are baked (and sold) per day and you can only take a maximum of seven per person.
The unit costs three euros and the packaging alone (a bit Bridgerton) is worth it in itself. However, just as people from all over the world come to Rokin Street and wait as long as it takes to try them, there are also many of us who automatically leave as soon as we see the queue outside. That is, we have to either forget or do them at home. Those who have already tasted them say they taste like Oreo, but with the touch of a melted center. Here is pastry chef Estefi Colombo's recipe to recreate them wherever you are.
The first ingredient to make the dough is butter, which must be creamy. Or what is the same: at room temperature, with a creamy and soft texture. If it is not at this point yet, we stir it with a spatula so that it is very soft.
Next, we add brown sugar, white sugar and begin to beat everything until the sugar crystals dissolve (or what is technically called “cream”). The goal is to obtain a soft, fluffy and voluminous mixture. By the way, it is important to use both varieties of sugar because they add a lot of moisture to the cookie.
When we have creamed well, it is time to add the eggs. It is important that these are at room temperature so that we do not have temperature changes within the preparation. We integrate until everything is unified.
We add vanilla essence and now it's time to add the dry ingredients but always sift them. We start with the four zeros flour, corn starch and powdered milk. We can sift these last two at the same time. Of course, the main protagonist of Van Stapele cookies cannot be missing either: pure cocoa that is of good quality.
There will come a point where some cocoa balls will form in the strainer, use a spoon to break them up. However, so that these cookies are crackled and expand towards the sides like the originals, we then add baking soda and, to enhance and enhance the cocoa flavor, also a pinch of coffee.
Next, we begin to mix everything little by little and patiently. This is a dough that becomes hydrated as we integrate, but it is important not to knead it excessively. The final perfect texture must be sticky but malleable at the same time.
We put parchment paper on a baking tray and with the help of a spoon we make a ball with the dough. We take an ounce of white chocolate (that is of good quality) and place it in the center of the cookie. Press down gently and cover with another small portion of dough that we take out of the bowl. Once closed, we form the ball again with our hands and leave it on the tray.
We repeat the process with all the dough and put the tray in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, we preheat the oven to 180 degrees. After this time, we give the final touch to the dough by putting a few pieces of milk chocolate on top (they can be ounces broken from a bar).
We put them in the oven and, when they have baked, we take out the tray and let them cool a little before eating our delicious chocolate cookies that are still warm.
Cover photo | Van Stapele
