“Happiness is a plate of chocolate snowflakes... and someone you love to help you eat them.” Kasha
I had some left-over ganache (both dark chocolate and white chocolate) so I decided to experiment with it and find out if dipping cookies in chocolate ganache would be successful. The dark chocolate ganache,which was 3:1 chocolate to cream ratio, worked perfectly and the dipped cookies set up nicely. The white chocolate ganache was more of a challenge, as it remained a bit sticky. In order to stack the cookies, I had to come up with a way to keep them from becoming a mound of snowflakes clumped together. Sparkling sugar came to my rescue and the resulting crunch was an added bonus. The result? Delicious, pretty, and easy!
Cookie specifics
Shortbread. The combination of European butter and vanilla bean makes this shortbread cookie one of the yummiest cookies I make. It’s buttery, crumbly and light. Adding chocolate made them extra special and oh, so delicious.
Sizes
3-inches. (2½ to 3 inches is my favorite size for decorating and eating!)
Shapes
I used a set of snowflake cookie cutters that have the cutouts as part of the cookie cutter itself. I purchased them from amazon.com.
My Own Family Recipe
This Shortbread recipe was developed over several months in my quest to duplicate the taste and texture of a shortbread cookie from a now-closed bakery in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Dark and White Chocolate Ganache. I prefer to use Guittard chocolate for almost all of my baking that calls for chocolate. I love the flavor of their chocolate and the way it melts and sets up. Someone once told me to use the brand of chocolate that I like to eat, so that’s what I do.
Cookies
Shortbread: flour, butter, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Sprinkles: Big-crystal sparkling sugar to put the “snow” on the snowflake!
White Chocolate Ganache: sugar, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, vanilla; full-fat coconut milk.
Dark Chocolate: rich bittersweet chocolate (63%); full-fat coconut milk
Plate, Box or Bag?
Plate. I simply put these on a plate and let everyone give them a try. They were eaten with enthusiasm and gone quickly. I love my taste testers!
What I’ve learned...
I discovered that in order to set up, the ratio of chocolate to cream in white chocolate ganache must be much higher (as high as 3:1) than the ratio of chocolate to cream in dark chocolate ganache (where 1:1 ratio works well for me). I found this post about White Chocolate Ganache on the Sugar Geek website very informative and helpful.
Also, these cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in small batches. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
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