Tuesday, February 10, 2009

White Chocolate Whalers


Alright enough of that healthy stuff eh? Forget about the spinach balls I just posted about (though they were yummy too) and let's get back to the baked goods!!

I think what drew me to these cookies is that there's rice krispies in them. I was really curious as to how they would turn out. The first time I made them I used puffed brown rice (no sugar) - and while the cookies were good, they weren't quite right and they looked really weird with all these giant pieces of puffed rice sticking out. So I finally made them for a second time with rice krispies, and opted not to roll the cookies in the rice krispies this time. The cookie is definitely better with real rice krispies. Unfortunately no the rice krispies don't stay very crispy, so perhaps it's more of a novelty thing.

The flavour of the cookies however is outstanding. White chocolate + orange + soft cookie = yumyumyum. These cookies are supposed to be giant but the second time I made them I made tiny ones - so really the size is up to you. On a somewhat related note, I'm enjoying my journey through Carole Walter's Great Cookies. So far I've only made pecan tassies and these and they've both been really good.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Orange Berry Muffins
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Cheesecake

White Chocolate Whalers
Adapted from Great Cookies

Makes 18 4-inch cookies (or more if you make them smaller)

If you decide to make your cookies smaller, check them around 10 minutes instead of leaving them for the recommended 16 to 18 for larger cookies.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tbsp grated orange zest
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups crispy rice cereal
10.5 oz white chocolate, chopped, or 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

1. Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 325F. Line the cookie sheets with parchment or silpat.

2. Melt the butter with the orange zest over low heat. Set aside to cool to tepid.

3. Combine the flour and salt. Set aside.

4. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg yolks and whites on medium speed until thick and lightened in colour. Add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until well blended, about 1 minute more. Slowly pour in the butter-zest mixture, then add the vanilla. Mix for 1 minute longer to combine, scraping down the bowl as needed. The mixture will thicken as it is beaten.

5. Using an oversized rubber spatula, fold in the crispy rice cereal. Strain the dry ingredients over the batter, folding gently with the rubber spatula, until just combined. Fold in the chocolate pieces.

6. Place the remaining crispy rice cereal in a flat dish (a pie plate works well). Using a #16 ice cream scoop, drop mounds of dough on the cookie sheet (6 per sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart). Using the hell of your hand, flatten into 3 inch disks.

7. Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. To ensure even browning, two-thirds of the way through baking rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Let rest for 10 minutes, or until firm enough to handle, before loosening with a large metal spatula. Transfer to cooling racks.

24 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Haha, hell yes for DELECTABLE treats!!

Elyse said...

i love the combination of white chocolate and orange! this cookie looks delicious!

Bunny said...

I wanna make these! They sound so good, bookmarking!!

Anonymous said...

I got that book for Christmas and have yet to make anything from it. I know, what a waste huh?! I've been eying the peanut butter balls, but with this salmonella scare, it might not be a good idea.

Anonymous said...

Too delicious looking! I must find some dairy-free chocolate.

Pearl said...

woww :)

Amy said...

Mmmmm white chocolate and orange sounds heavenly!

Patricia Scarpin said...

These look like they would easily become a favorite of mine - I love white chocolate and orange!

Cakespy said...

Oh my goodness, these look AWESOME! I have got to try this one.

Chris said...

Way to read my mind: the only time I'll eat white chocolate is with citrus. Otherwise I find it too cloying! :) Any reason they're called whalers?

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine how delicious those are! I want a bite!

Snooky doodle said...

these look so nice. I love the flavour too :)

Anonymous said...

Orange zest is a great way to offset the heavier side of white chocolate. Such a good idea. The cookies look outstanding though. We'd like a dozen please!

Steph said...

I like your healthy recipes, but nothing beats the full fat version! I always wanted to konw what would happen if I added rice krispies to cookies.

kickpleat said...

this does look really great! i've got white chocolate too and i'm sure later i'll want a snack. might be the perfect thing to make this week!

Unknown said...

wow, this is something different and worth trying... :)

Anonymous said...

That is a neat idea, but too bad they didn't stay crispy! But soft cookies are always good--esp with white chocolate ;)

Sara said...

These look really good, I'm intrigued by the rice krispies.

Johanna GGG said...

I bought some healthy puffed rice instead of our rice bubbles (like your rice krispies) recently and they were not at all crisp and were horrible in the slice I tried - so am interested to hear you also didn't finda substitute any good

Oh and these do look delicious

Anonymous said...

these look and sound lovely. I like the idea of the rice crispies, do they stay crispy?

Fitness Foodie said...

I have really started to like white chocolate lately... love the ric crispies in it.

Colleen said...

These look great! White chocolate is my fave and the orange zest and rice krispies look like an interesting combo!

CookiePie said...

YUM - those sound fabulous! LOVE white chocolate and orange - delish!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I love the idea of adding RK to a cookie recipe. Looks so good.