EASTER EGG MALT COOKIES WITH STRAWBERRY GANACHE
With Easter tomorrow, there are so many Easter candies all over, especially in the grocery stores. If you have a lot of Easter eggs lying around, these cookies are a MUST make. My favorite kind are the Cadbury mini Easter Eggs. They use a milky chocolate inside, and biting into that hard shell to reach the milky center is a nice surprise!
I use malt powder in the cookie batter. Malt powder is made by drying barley malt, and then grinding it into a slightly sweet powder, that tastes nutty and caramely at the same time. Malt powder is available at grocery stores, or you can even find it online on Amazon, linked here.
I also stuff the cookie with a strawberry ganache, so when you bite into the cookie, you will get a strawberry surprise in it! The fruity taste of the ganache, along with the caramely taste from the malt, and milky chocolate from the Easter eggs, makes this cookie irresistible and to die for!
WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS IN THE EASTER EGG MALT COOKIE?
The ingredients in the Easter Egg Malt cookie are:
- All purpose flour: I generally use Bob’s Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour. I have been using the same one for a few years now!
- Baking powder and baking soda: Baking powder and soda are leaveners used to make the cookie rise and expand
- Malt Powder: I use the Carnation Milk Powder that is available online or in grocery stores.
- Salt: Salt is always used to balance out the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter in cookies, so I can control the amount of salt in it.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: I add a little bit of brown sugar along with the granulated sugar, so that the cookie gets a bit of a chewy bite.
- Eggs: Egg and the egg yolk bind the dough to the right consistency, to hold the cookie together.
- Easter eggs : I use the mini Cadbury Easter Eggs, that are so delicious with the milky chocolate inside.
- Strawberry Ganache: I use strawberry ganache to fill the cookies. The ganache is really simple to make and comes together within half an hour.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY GANACHE?
Strawberry Ganache has a few simple ingredients:
- Freeze dried strawberry powder: I use freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joes and grind it to make a fine powder. It gives a potent flavor to the ganache.
- Strawberry puree: The puree is made with fresh strawberries. Ofcourse the sweeter the strawberry the better.
- White Chocolate: I use the Varhona White Ivoire 35% chocolate bar, which is available online or at Whole Foods. This chocolate melts beautifully, and forms a smooth ganache.
- Light Corn Syrup: Added in a small quantity for a smooth uniform ganache.
The ganache is really easy to make. The white chocolate is melted. In it we add a mixture of the strawberry puree, freeze dried strawberry powder and light corn syrup that have been heated in a pot for a couple minutes. The entire mixture is emulsified with a blender to form a smooth ganache.
The ganache is stored in the fridge to solidify slightly, and then used to stuff in the cookie and baked to perfection.
Before removing the cookie, add a few eggs on each cookie for the finishing touch. These cookies are to-die-for, and SO good. I hope you get to try them.
If you do try them, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
HAPPY EASTER!
XO
Amisha
Easter Egg Malt Cookies with Strawberry Ganache
Ingredients
- Makes ~16 cookies
- Strawberry Ganache
- 200 grams Valrhona White Chocolate, chopped into coarse pieces
- 100 grams strawberry puree
- 20 grams freeze dried strawberries, ground into fine powder
- 20 grams light corn syrup
- *Cookies *
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 (250 grams) cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (40 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (360 grams) all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (40 grams) malt powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 2 blood oranges
- 8 oz of Cadbury mini eggs, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- Garnish
- 5 oz Cadbury mini eggs, chopped into half
Instructions
- Strawberry Ganache:
- In a microwaveable bowl, add the white chocolate and microwave in 30 second increments upto 1.5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to almost smoothen out the mixture.
- Meanwhile in a small pot, on medium to low heat, add strawberry puree, strawberry powder and light corn syrup for a minute or two until there are tiny bubbles at the edge.
- Add strawberry mixture to the chocolate, and mix to combine.
- Add the mixture to a tall jar, and using a hand blender, blend the ganache using an immersion blender, to emulsify for 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture will look smooth and homogenous.
- Pour the mixture onto a ⅛ baking tray. Spread it with a rubber spatula. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Next day, place it in the freezer until ready to use.
- Cookies:
- In a medium bowl, add the all purpose flour, malt powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Starting on low and then gradually increasing to high, mix until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to bring the mixture in the center.
- Add the egg and the egg yolk and the vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Now add the dry mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Add the mini eggs into the dough and mix on low until combined.
- Place the mixture into the fridge for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a 1 scoop cookie scooper, scoop out all the cookies onto a baking tray with parchment paper. You will get about 16 cookies.
- Remove the ganache from the freezer. Place a bowl with granulated sugar on the side. Make a deep hole in cookie dough. Add about a heaped teaspoon of ganache in the center. Seal the top to form a ball between the palm of your hands such that the ganache does not seep out. Seal with dough pinched from the sides if ganache seeps out. Roll it in the additional sugar.
- Place on another baking tray with parchment paper.
- Repeat for all the cookie doughs.
- Place about 4 or at the most 5 at a time, 2 inches apart on the tray with parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven on the middle rack for about 16 to 18 minutes in total, turning the tray mid way for even baking OR until light brown on the edges.
- Remove the tray, using a large enough cookie ring, scoot the cookie to secure the round shape. You can use a spatula to secure the round shape by nudging it all around. Bang it against the counter a couple of times too. Add 3 to 5 mini egg pieces on the top.
- Rest the cookies for 10 minutes. Place the cookie on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat for the remaining cookies.
- Once completely cool, place in an airtight container for upto 5-7 days.
- Quick Tip: Warm the cookie in the microwave for 10-15 seconds for the best results, before eating!
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