Cookie Dough Snack Bars

Before shutting down the chocolate factory for summer, I decided to make chocolate bars again. More than a year ago, I made a layered bar with a walnut shortbread cookie and walnut gianduja enrobed in dark chocolate. The flavour was spot on, but I erred in the construction. You see, I baked the cookie layer in a silicone mold and then piped the gianduja on top, but when they were turned out and enrobed, the cookie was on the top instead on the bottom where it should be (or at least where I wanted it to be). Because the mold has slightly rounded cavities, I couldn't just turn the bars upside down to change the orientation (the bar would have a flat top and curved bottom). Well, I suppose I could have and called it avant-garde, but I didn't. And so Take 2. 

Using the same bar mold, I decided to make a chocolate chip cookie layer topped with dark chocolate ganache. After flipping through my chocolate library, I found a recipe for "American cookie dough" bars in Callebaut's 600-page book titled The Chocolatier's Kitchen. It was relatively easy and made just enough to fill the 30-cavity mold I was working with. The recipe was a little strange, though, in its measurements (32.2 grams of egg, for example). I also have no idea how one could possibly pipe the cookie dough into the mold as directed because it was a very thick paste. Nevertheless, nine minutes in the oven and step one was complete. 

Two days later, I made the second layer of the bar. While the Callebaut recipe suggested a vanilla buttercream layer that was fondant based, I decided to instead make a traditional dark chocolate ganache. The recipe I chose was one for slabbing, which I hoped would be firm enough to enable enrobing. When the ganache was prepared, I carefully removed each cookie from the silicone mold. Then I piped ganache into each cavity, filling them about half full. Finally, I inverted the cookies and gently pushed them down into the ganache. Ha! Now the cookies would be on the bottom! Pleased with myself (perhaps overly), I left the ganache to crystallize for 24 hours.

In fact, it was more like 48 hours before I got back to enrobe the bars -- but who's counting? Before beginning, however, I decided to try a technique from my chocolatier training to make it easier to enrobe the bars. Adding a chablon to the bottom of the cookie -- at least in theory -- would ensure the bottom of the bar was fully covered in chocolate (instead of having marks left by the dipping fork) and should result in the bar more easily siding off the dipping fork. I tempered a small amount of chocolate and with a pastry brush painted chocolate across the chocolate chip cookies. (I could have used an offset spatula or some other implement, but this seemed to be the easiest option at the time.)

Once the chablon was in place, I tempered my chocolate for enrobing. Now, it was here that things started to go ever so slightly off the rails -- on a few fronts. When I popped my bars out of the mold, some of the ganache was a little too soft and didn't release cleanly. This occurred in about 20% of the bars, but really was only noticeable in 10% of the finished bars. Thankfully, by dropping them ganache side down into the chocolate and then flipping them with the fork, it wasn't problematic (the fork was on the firm, cookie side of the bar). I also didn't temper enough chocolate the first time and so had to do that process twice. Slightly annoying, but it probably only added about ten minutes to the process.

Where things went very right was in the ease with which the bars slid off the dipping fork onto the wax paper lined tray. Incredible. No sticking. No fighting with the bar trying to get it off the fork. No need for a knife to push the bar off the fork. Just a smooth, controlled slide off the fork. The extra time and effort was definitely worth it. As each one came off the fork, I used the tines to decorate the top of the previous bar. As a result, a much higher proportion of the bars were of a quality I am willing to share. 

While the chocolate crystallized, I decided to try one of the few ugly ducklings with a cup of coffee. To my surprise, the cookie layer really did give the flavour and texture of chocolate chip cookie dough. The short baking time was long enough to make them safe for consumption and short enough to give the appearance of unbaked dough. The chocolate ganache layer, which was indeed softer than I'd anticipated, was a delicious pairing. Definitely an excellent flavour combination. 

A few hours later, I wrapped the bars in foil and applied a label. The astute among you will notice that this is a new design. More on that when next we meet... 

But for now, I have a box of chocolate bars to bring home with me and the factory is closed for the summer. 

Cookie Ornaments

For several years, I've been meaning to make cookie ornaments for my Christmas tree. I've had the best intentions (and we all know where that road leads). I even went so far as to buy the air dry clay and a set of Wilton's small Cookie cutters, but time got away from me and when I was finally ready to knead, roll, and cut, I discovered the air dry clay had become a rock solid brick. Another excuse to procrastinate. 

Three Christmases have passed without cookie ornaments for my tree.

So, yes, this blog post is a little off season. Am I spectacularly late for last Christmas or obnoxiously early for next? You can be the judge. But on my list of 2026 intentions was a set of cookie ornaments and as January comes to a close, I can happily report they are finished. 

I picked up a fresh package of terra cotta air dry clay and after all of last year's Christmas decorations had been put away, I found myself sitting in my office conditioning clay. Thinking I may want to use the cookie cutters for their original purpose in the future, I covered the rolled clay with a piece of plastic wrap so that the cutters wouldn't come into contact with the clay. I cut two of each shape and then a few extra for good measure. 

After letting them dry for a few days, I painted them with burnt sienna matte acrylic paint. Then I added the "royal icing" using dimensional paint. Unfortunately, the paint wasn't as puffy as I'd hoped -- it sort of collapsed as it dried. I decided to paint over it with glue and add glitter because glitter fixes everything. It also goes everywhere, so my final step was to spray them with a clear coat to limit future clean up. 

And voila! Little gingerbread cookies for my Christmas tree! 2026 Janice gets a gold star! ⭐

Orange Drop Cookies

For Christmas this year, I received a copy of the Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I was thrilled to unwrap it because it is a cookie bible of sorts. To be sure, it's obvious when you flip through it that it dates from the 1960s (1963 to be exact), but for that reason it contains a number of classic recipes for squares and drop cookies that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s (aka, my childhood).

The Cooky Book contains a wide variety of recipes, including those for the most popular cookies through the decades, beginning in 1890. It's interesting to see how tastes and circumstances have changed. It also includes large batch recipes for a church luncheon or similar event and helpful hints for how to package cookies for shipping. There are a few recipes that rely on Betty Crocker mixes that are no longer available, but that's a small segment of the book. 

I flipped through the book a few times and kept coming back to one of the first recipes -- orange drop cookies. A citrus lover, they sounded appealing particularly because they use orange zest and juice for flavour. I decided to try them. 

The recipe was relatively straightforward. But one element was confusing -- just how big were these cookies meant to be? The recipe said to drop the dough by teaspoons. Taken literally, that would be a very small cookie. I flipped through the cookbook again and found an illustration where teaspoons -- the kind you use to stir your tea -- were used. That suggested a cookie closer to a tablespoon or so. I decided to try portioning it with a small ice cream scoop (equivalent to two tablespoons). This resulted in the exact number of cookies outlined in the recipe. I had my answer.

The resulting cookies were cake-like. In fact, their texture reminded me of madeleines. Initially, I thought I would skip the orange icing, thinking it would be gilding the lily, but then decided to try it anyway. After all, who am I to question Betty Crocker? (Yes, I know she wasn't a real person.) For some I drizzled a zigzag over the top, for others I covered the entire surface. I quickly discovered that the icing took them over the top. A truly delicious bite!

Having made these, I can understand why drop cookies were recommended for shipping. They are sturdy cookies, for sure. But they also stay fresh for a surprisingly long time. After six days in an airtight container at room temperature, they were still just as good as the day they were made. The cake still moist, the icing still perfectly set. 

A solid start to my Cooky Book exploration. I can't wait to try the next one. 

C is for Cookie

I've been a fan of Pinterest since it first started. And I've spent an inordinate amount of time on the site as its infinite scroll served up inspiration for cupcakes and crafts. The height of my pinning was probably in 2015, when I had mono and spent three weeks alone in my apartment (which, in retrospect, was great training for the pandemic that followed five years later), but it's still my go-to for favourite recipes and new ideas. 

And so when I needed an idea for a friend's birthday treat this month, I turned to Pinterest again. I have a board titled "Baking and Dessert Inspiration," which seemed like a good place to start. As I scrolled, I was reminded of various treats I've made over the years -- a giant peanut butter cup, a Battenberg cake, a Robin Hood-inspired archery cake, a peanut butter layer cake, polar bear cookies... And I found a few ideas that I had forgotten. Like Cookie Monster Oreos.

Sandwich cookies dipped in colourful candy melts had a moment about six or seven years ago. Maybe a little longer. The designs were very creative. One of my favourites was the polar bear faces that used smarties for the ears and nose. I also thought the frogs, complete with sour candy tongue and pretzel legs, were adorable (and they were a hit with the recipient). Adding eyes and a mini chocolate chip cookie to make Cookie Monster? Brilliant.

Armed with Pinspiration, last Sunday I set off to buy a small package of Oreos at Dollarama, and then popped into Bulk Barn in search of blue candy melts. Unfortunately, there were none left, so I decided to colour white candy melts with some oil-based food colouring. I also picked up blue sanding sugar and a small bag of miniature chocolate chip cookies. 

A few days later, I pulled together my supplies and grabbed candy eyes from my stash. I cut the mini chocolate chip cookies in half, paired up eyes, opened the bag of sprinkles, and melted the candy coating. Then I added some (okay, a lot of) blue food colouring and a few drops of black. Stir, stir stir! Next I dipped an Oreo in the candy coating, pressed half a cookie into the mouth area, added the eyes, and sprinkled the blue sugar on top. 

I stood back to critique my work. Cute, but not quite right. The straight edge of the chocolate chip cookie didn't quite align with the curved side of the Oreo, and so it looked a bit off. 

I grabbed a paring knife and carefully shaved away some of the cookie, creating more of a crescent moon shape. And voila! 

Lather, rinse, repeat! Before I knew it, I had a set of Cookie Monster Oreos lined up like little soldiers, ready to go in the fridge for 10 minutes to set. 

Am I happy with the results? You betcha! They are cute and they taste great. Who wouldn't love a Cookie Monster Oreo? They're the perfect birthday surprise for a friend. 

And, upon reflection, dipped sandwich cookies need to make a comeback. 

Hazelnut Cookie Bar

Last night I was watching a seasonal baking competition on Food Network. One of the competitors decided to make a candy bar for the first challenge and I was surprised to see he chose a square silicone mold that I own. I bought it several years ago thinking it would be the perfect size for a chocolate bar. 

I hear you: Great minds think alike (and fools seldom differ). Which are we? It's hard to say, but it was the kick in the pants I needed to actually test out the mold. 

And so this week for my chocolate study, I started by making a simple vanilla sugar cookie. I found a recipe in my small batch baking book that said it holds its shape well and doesn't spread. I mixed it up, cut four square cookies that should fit perfectly inside the mold, and popped them into the oven. And of course, as I should have predicted, when I checked on them, they had spread to giant squares of bubbling cookie lava. I pulled them out of the oven and recut them (removing about a 5mm perimeter from each), and popped them onto a rack to cool.

Next I tempered 200 grams of dark chocolate. I poured about 50 grams into each of four wells and then brushed the chocolate up the sides of each. After tapping it on the counter a few times to ensure that any air bubbles had risen to the surface, I popped the silicone mold on a cookie sheet and tossed it in the fridge for 15 minutes to set.

Then I grabbed some gianduja that was left from another chocolate adventure and heated it gently until it became fluid again, stirring well. I poured 15 grams into each well, then added a cookie to each, and topped them with another 15 grams of gianduja each. I was careful to spread the gianduja so that it completely covered the bottom of the cookies and popped everything in the fridge to set.

Finally, I tempered 250 grams of dark chocolate to cap my bars and poured it over the set gianduja. And you guessed it: back in the fridge for 15 minutes!

The result?

This is a chonky hazelnut cookie bar. 

I like the size of the mold for a square bar (here cut in half diagonally). One big advantage is that you could pour a bar thin enough that it could be mailed in a slot box to anywhere! But the mold is also deep enough to allow for some layering of fillings -- which is great if shipping isn't a consideration. It would also work well for individual-sized chocolate bark instead of pouring the larger slab and snapping it into pieces. 

While I didn't quite nail the temper on the shelling of the mold (I rushed it -- my mind was somewhere else and the chocolate sensed it), the flavours are great together. The chocolate is probably a little too thick, but I don't know anyone who ever said no to more chocolate. The cookie adds a nice texture between the creamy gianduja layers. 

Frankly, these are very moreish. 

And since we'll soon hit that time of the year when all chocolate production ceases due to high temperatures (there's no AC in my apartment), it was nice to test out something new (or a variation on a theme, as it were). 

Have I mentioned how much I love gianduja?