Thursday, December 4, 2008

Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies


I finally picked up some chocolate Ovaltine (you can use regular Ovaltine, chocolate, or just malted milk powder) so I could make these. I was walking around the grocery store thinking I'd get some Whoppers (chocolate covered malt balls) to add to the cookies, as per the recipe, and then thought why? I don't even like Whoppers. Besides, I had some strawberry milkshake Whoppers at home that I wanted to put in cookies. (Yes I know I just said I dont like Whoppers but who can resist the call of a little container of strawberry milkshake Whoppers? They're really sweet by the way. A nice thing to try but won't get them again.) So my plan was to make half the batch with these strawberry Whoppers and chocolate chunks, and the other half with just chocolate chunks. Well the strawberry Whoppers made a bit of a mess, and were just so insanely sweet. The cookies with just the chocolate chunks on the other hand, oh wow. Perfect. Just so very very perfect.


They're really soft kind of poofy cookies, which I don't usually like (like cakey banana or pumpkin cookies) but they tasted so good! And the next day, the seemed to be even moister and more perfectly delicious. They're like a soft, moist, cakey brownie in cookie form. And I wasn't sure if I'd like the batter (as I don't always like chocolate dough cookies) but oh yes these were good. The only disappointment? The cookies don't taste like malt at all. But you will be quickly consoled by how super chocolatey and yummy they are. I think it's really important that you use a bittersweet/very dark chocolate for the chocolate chunks, otherwise the cookies would be too sweet. I imagine there could be many delicious variations on this recipe - the first that come to mind for me are adding some coconut or macadamia nuts. Or some black tea! Mmm. Actually I've never made anything that combined chocolate with black tea, but it sounds good.


I already plan to make these again and again and again. And again. To make these more Christmas-y you could add chopped up Andes mints mmm I think I must do that. These cookies freeze well so they'd be perfect to have on hand when people drop by unexpectedly. I'm submitting these cookies to Food Blogga's Eat Christmas Cookies Season 2 event. To see all the other cookies that people have been making, go here.


If these sound good you might also like:
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Intense Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Fudge Souffle Bars

Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours

The original recipe is called "Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops" and calls for 2 cups of chocolate covered malted milk balls, coarsely chopped + 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped. I think it's a lot better with only bittersweet chocolate chunks so I'm putting up that version. And for the malted milk powder, I used chocolate-flavoured Ovaltine.

Makes 25-30 cookies.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder (or Ovaltine, regular or chocolate-flavoured)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 3 tbsp (11 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled - it will even out when the dry ingredients are added. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. The batter will look more like fudge frosting than cookie dough - and that's fine. With the mixer on low, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chopped chocolate.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between spoonfuls. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 6 minutes. When done, the cookies will be puffed and set but slightly soft to the touch. Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before using a wide metal spatula to transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

24 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Those cookies SCREAM perfection.

Anonymous said...

They look great! (And the Whopper ones are funny) ;) I don't usually like cakey cookies either, so maybe I will like these.

Anonymous said...

These look great! I loved them when I made them for TWD. I didn't know about the Christmas cookie event, so I'm going to have to make some cookies soon so I can participate :)

Anonymous said...

Oooo I have a cookie swap coming up, I might just have to use this recipe.

Bunny said...

You can see how moidt these are! I am bookmarking these to make...love this recipe!!!!

Evie said...

Earl Gray Tea is pretty tasty with chocolate, you should come up with a recipe for an Earl Gray cookie.

Anonymous said...

oooh those look amazing! but i haven't seen ovaltine in my grocery store in forever!! i thought they stopped selling it!

Johanna GGG said...

Looks delicious - I love the idea of chocolate covered malt balls in the cookies but don't like sweet cookies so am torn between what is the better option for me - maybe I need two batches!

kickpleat said...

i love ovaltine but haven't had it since i was a kid. maybe it's time to buy a tin and try these cookies!

Sara said...

Your cookies look great, I have this book but haven't tried this recipe yet!

grace said...

never have i ever even tasted ovaltine. is that odd? meh, i'm tempted to buy some just to make a batch o' cookies--they look incredible.

Anonymous said...

i love these cookies. they make me think of my grandpa. when he was still alive, he would eat a pint of whoppers every day. they were his favorite candy.

Steph said...

I didn't have sucess with these cookies.. but yours look great! I guess the best part is the texture is uniform throughtout.. no need to worry about losing crispy edges! haha

I'm not too into chocolate cookie dough either... I think it's the cocoa powder, too chocolatey maybe?

Anonymous said...

I love the taste of malt, and although it's hard to find it without milk, I may have just the thing... I need to experiment with veganizing these cookies, they sound so good!

Deborah said...

I found that with these cookies, the malt flavor comes out a lot more with malted milk powder instead of ovaltine. They are a favorite at my house!!

Anna said...

I'm like you in that I'm not a poofy-cookie person, but the texture of these does look amazing. I love the photos!

Cakespy said...

I love me a big fat cakey cookie (yes, I just said that) ... these look perfect!

Anonymous said...

These look delicious!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

I have never even heard of strawberry Whoppers? Where have I been? My brother would love these, since Whoppers were always his favorite Halloween candy. I'll be sending this recipe his way. Thanks for submitting them. They look super good! :)

Usha said...

These cookies look absolutely fantastic, loved the idea of adding malt to them !

Anonymous said...

I love a soft cookie and I especially like chunks of chocolate in a cookie. Can't wait to make them. Also liked the idea of using Whoppers as an ingredient.

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one that can't see the baking temperature??

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Sorry I just added it. I think I didn't put it there in the first place because the cookbook doesn't mention it. I baked them at 350F.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. I'm planning on making these today with my son.
Oh, more cat pictures.