... Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

First off, I'm baaaaacckkkk!  Yea!  I don't know if you're as excited as I am, but I'm pretty pumped.  I'm not sure what happened to April, but it was a whirlwind of a month.  The 8 to 5, the 8 to 5 after-hours, a trip to the beach.  I know... it's tough.  ;)  And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

When Mom sent me this recipe I knew I had to make it because, well, I.love.malt.  A lot.  So, how could I go wrong with Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies?  You're right, I couldn't.

Smooth chocolate malt whipped frosting sandwiched in between two chewy, chocolate malt cookies.  It's definitely not lacking in richness... or chocolate.  And you'd think with malt powder in both the cookies and the frosting, that'd be enough.  But I think I'll use a little more next time.  What, did you think I was exaggerating my love of malt?

And what's even better is that I could celebrate Taylor Made's 100th post with these tasty little numbers. Yea!

Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

makes 24 cookies

For the cookies:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 cup plain malted milk powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons hot water

For the filling:

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup plain malted milk powder

3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt.  With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.  Mix in egg, sour cream, and hot water.  Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture.

Space tablespoon-size balls of dough 3 1/2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake until flat and just firm, 10 to 12 minutes.  Let cool on parchment on wire racks.

To make the filling:

While the cookies are baking, melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring.  Let cool.  With an electric mixer, beat malted milk powder and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth.  Gradually mix in half-and-half, chocolate mixture, and vanilla.  Refrigerate, covered, until thick, about 30 minutes.  Beat on high until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  (After chilling, the filling will be very thick and dark, but as soon as you start to beat it, the color will begin to lighten and the filling will become very fluffy.)

To assemble the cookies:

Match up cookies of similar sizes into pairs.  Using a tablespoon-size cookie scoop, scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of one cookie.  Sandwich with another cookie until the filling pushes to the edges of the cookies.  Repeat with remaining pairs of cookies.  Cookies can be kept at room temperature between layers of parchment in airtight containers up to 3 days.

Taylor's Notes:

Although a little time consuming, these are really easy cookies to make.  They're really tasty, too, but so rich that one will do the trick.  Ooh, did I just admit that one usually isn't enough?  Well, come on, who are we kidding?  When is one cookie ever enough??  I digress... great, easy, rich cookies.  Make them, especially if you're a fellow malt lover.

Enjoy!