Wrinkled Chocolate & Anise Cookies
(A Whisper of Cardamom p.112)
Star anise does not live up to its starry name here; rather, it’s very much the support act. The flavour is hard to put your finger on – challenge people to see if they can taste it. What they will notice is how it intensifies the dark chocolate, bringing out the umami and giving an almost smoky depth. Spicing is a great trick to make average chocolate taste more expensive.
These very grown-up, chewy, salty-not-too-sweet chocolate cookies are some of the best around, and so simple to make. You can make the dough in advance and chill it until you’re ready to cook.
Serve with strong coffee or, better still, caffè corretto (coffee with a splash of sambuca) to up the anise ante.
Makes 20 cookies
60g (1⁄4 cup) unsalted butter
4 star anise
60g (2 1⁄4oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
200g (7oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large egg whites (80g/2 3⁄4oz)
150g (51⁄2oz) best dark chocolate, 70%
Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Spice Switch
The butter is the carrier for flavour so you could try variations with any whole spices: black and pink peppercorns; bay leaves; cardamom; juniper; lemongrass and cumin; lavender flowers; chilli. Don’t expect the spice flavour to be strong; it will intermingle with the complexity of chocolate. Alternatively, add a teaspoonful of Chinese five spice powder to the cookie dough.
Melt the butter with the star anise over a medium heat. Heat for a few minutes to let the butter sizzle and foam, swirling to keep the milk solids from burning. Leave to cool and infuse for 30 minutes, then scoop out and discard the stars.
Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan (350°F). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
Sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in the fine salt. Stir through the infused butter and egg whites to make a thick paste.
Chop the chocolate into a rubble with both finer dust and larger shards, then add to the mixture.
Dollop spoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheets, each about 4cm (11⁄2 inches), spacing them to allow the cookies to flatten and spread. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt.
Bake for 8–10 minutes or until the tops look glossy, wrinkled and just set. Leave to cool completely on the tray. They’ll taste just as good the day after baking.
Recipe by Eleanor Ford from A Whisper of Cardamom
Photo: Ola O. Smit
