I use crushed mini chocolate Easter egg candies to serve as the chocolate chips in this cookie recipe. You can use any brand that you have on hand. You can also use another chocolate candy with a crisp candy shell. I find that the whole pieces are a bit too large for cookies, so I crush them to create pieces that are closer in size to a chocolate chip. The mix of slightly larger and smaller chunks adds a nice texture to the cookies. I like to press the powdery, tiny bits of the candy coating created when breaking apart the chocolate eggs into the top surface of the cookie dough before baking. This isn't necessary, I simply like the way the cookies look with the pretty colored candy on top.This recipe incorporates my homemade substitution for cake flour. Cake flour's lower protein content helps to create a more tender cookie. A few years ago, I discovered that I could easily make my own cake flour substitute using All-purpose flour and cornstarch. If you prefer, you can omit the cornstarch and use 2¼ cups of All-purpose flour instead.
Author: Jennifer from 1840 Farm
Ingredients
10ouncescandy coated mini Easter egg chocolate pieces
1cupbutter, room temperature
1cupbrown sugar
½cupgranulated sugar
1largeegg, room temperature
2cupsAll-purpose flour
¼cupcornstarch
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
Instructions
Prepare the chocolate candies by chopping or crushing. I like to place the candies on a square of parchment paper and use a cast iron skillet to break them apart. The bulk of the pieces should be approximately half the size of the whole eggs. They tend to break apart a bit more when they are mixed into the dough. I like to reserve the powdery, tiny fragments of the candy coating to sprinkle on the top of the cookies before baking. This isn't necessary, I simply like the way the cookies look with the pretty colored candy on top.
Place the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle or dough beaters. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is completely smooth, approximately 2-4 minutes depending on the temperature of the butter and strength of the mixer.
Add the egg to the bowl and beat on low for 30 seconds, just until combined. The batter may break up a bit, but don’t worry. It will come together when the dry ingredients are worked into the mix. Scrape down the bowl and beaters if necessary to gather the batter together before continuing.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Use a dry whisk to mix the dry ingredients and break up any small lumps. You can sift the dry ingredients if you prefer.
Add the dry ingredients in one addition to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients have completely integrated into the dough. This should only take 30-60 seconds depending on the strength of your mixer. Take great care not to overmix the dough as it will encourage the dough to strengthen the gluten in the flour and become tough.
Add the crushed candy pieces to the dough and mix on low speed just until combined and well distributed. Reserve the tiny fragments for adding to the top of the cookies if you wish.
At this point, the batter can be baked, chilled in the refrigerator for baking in a few hours, or portioned and frozen for baking at a later date. I often make a batch of dough and keep it in the refrigerator, baking a single evening’s cookies each night. Portioned balls of dough can also be frozen on a small tray and then transferred to a freezer bag for long term storage.
When you are ready to bake cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the oven racks to the top and bottom third of your oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat style reusable baking liner.
Create balls of dough by using two tablespoons of the chilled dough and rolling into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly to help encourage even baking and place four to six balls on each baking sheet, spacing evenly to prevent the cookies from merging as they bake. I like to press the powdery, tiny bits of the candy coating created when breaking apart the chocolate eggs into the top surface of the cookie dough before baking. This isn't necessary, I simply like the way the cookies look with the pretty colored candy on top.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to help to ensure that the cookies are evenly baked. The cookies should bake up to an even thickness and dry ever so slightly on top. They may appear to be under baked, but they will firm up upon cooling to room temperature.
Remove the cookies from the oven, allowing them to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet to set up. As with any cookie, these are even more delicious when eaten while still warm with a cup of coffee or tea or with a cold glass of milk.
Notes
Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. Dough can be refrigerated for one week and frozen for several months. Frozen dough can be baked straight from the freezer by simply adding about two minutes to the baking time.