Dark chocolate ganache & almond butter cookie slab
FOR THE GANACHE:
100g double (heavy)
cream
100g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:
100g caster
(superfine) sugar
175g light brown soft
sugar
140g unsalted butter,
soft
2 tsp vanilla bean
paste
1 egg
50g smooth almond
butter
210g plain (allpurpose) flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of
soda (baking soda) 1 tsp fine sea salt or flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
This slab deserves to be served in the centre of the table with spoons to dig in straight from the tin, topped with scoops of good vanilla ice cream. If you’re making it to post, make sure to include a note recommending that they put it in the oven for 5–10 minutes at 180°C to reheat it just enough to bring it back to perfect warm, oozy gooeyness.
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 20 x 30 cm tin. 2
To make the ganache, put the cream in a small pan over a medium-low heat and heat until just starting to bubble and steam. Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl, and pour the cream directly over the top. Leave for 5 minutes without stirring, then stir the mixture a couple of times until it comes together into a smooth ganache. If you overmix the ganache and it starts to split, add teaspoons of milk one at a time, stirring between each addition, until the ganache comes back together and is smooth and glossy. Put the ganache in the fridge to firm up whilst you make the cookie dough. To make the cookie dough, put the caster sugar, light brown soft sugar, butter and vanilla bean paste in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the mixture until soft and creamy. Crack the egg into the bowl and beat until incorporated, then add the almond butter and beat again until smooth and well combined together.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and fine sea salt, then tip the flour mixture into the bowl with the butter, egg and sugar mixture and mix again until you have a soft, smooth cookie dough. Tip the cookie dough into your prepared tin and use your fingers to press it into a smooth, even layer, ensuring that the dough fills the tin right to the corners.
Remove the ganache from the fridge and use 2 teaspoons to dot the ganache over the surface of the cookie dough. Transfer to the oven to bake for 30 minutes, until puffed and golden. If you are making this to enjoy at home, simply dig in straight from the tin! If you are making this to post, leave the cookie to cool to room temperature (don’t worry if it sinks a little), then remove from the tin and slice into bars.
Wrapped in airtight packaging, this will keep well for 10 days.