Brownie Roll-out Cookies

What does one do when they are craving cookies but one isn't really well enough to bake? Well, I searched through Google and delicious for "easy chocolate cookie" and "simple chocolate cookie" and found a recipe for these browne roll-out cookies at Smitten Kitchen.

It was easy, simply combine the wet ingredients in the mixer and the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the dry to the wet. Chill the dough, then roll out and cut out. I halved the dough and put the other half in the freezer for later.

I had trouble with the rolling and the cutting. My cutting board defies all efforts to make it non-stick and normally I roll out between sheets of baking paper. That wasn't working very well (probably because of me) so I ended up rolling it out on the floured board. I tried using a cookie cutter, but the shapes kept sticking and in the end, I just cut it into rough rectangles. I cooked them too long, which meant that the softness that Deb talks about wasn't really there once the cookies cooled. Crispyness notwithstanding, I took Deb's advice and made them into icecream sandwiches anyway, and the melting icecream (it's been hot here) softened them nicely.

A few days later I defrosted the frozen dough and tried again, this time working a little bit more slowly. I used my baking paper method for rolling out but took it in stages, working with a smaller lump of dough each time and it was much more successful. I tried cutting down the cooking time but since I was making little sakura-shaped cookies, they were much smaller than my initial rectangle cookies and these little guys still were a little over-cooked. However, they did retain a small amount of softness and were much more successful than my first batch.

In hindsight, a roll-out cookie probably wasn't the best choice for someone wanting an easy cookie recipe. I was looking at the mixing method and didn't think further than that. My impatience and frustration didn't do these lovely little cookies justice. Their potential is huge and the cocoa flavour really comes through well. They are perfect with a glass of milk. I might give them another try when I'm baking at full-strength again.

See this post at Smitten Kitchen for the recipe.

Does anyone have any foolproof, easy, non-technical biscuit recipes that they can recommend?