Thomas Keller TKO Cookies

These cookies are sold at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, California, and are so delicious, I'm surprised how simple they really are. The salty, sandy cookie is perfect on its own, if you don't want to bother with the white chocolate filling.

I only had one complaint about these cookies when purchased fresh from the bakery: They were too large -- about the size of an English Muffin! That actually makes them too sweet as they don't divide easily, so you're essentially eating three very sweet cookies in one. By making your own, you can select the size of your choosing.

Cookie

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp AP flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
15 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

Filling

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped


Directions:

For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for at least 6 hours to thicken up.

For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-sized pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Separate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

To Assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate and fluff up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges.

Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover.

Caramel Coffee Pecan Sea Salt Cookies

Caramel Coffee Pecan Sea Salt Cookies

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup cinnamon flavored butter spread (I used Shedd's Country Crock)
1 tablespoon instant coffee
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup caramel bits

1/2 cup sugared or spiced pecans (I used Trader Joe's glazed pecans)

Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside. In another bowl, beat sugars and butters until creamy. Add coffee, eggs, and vanilla, and mix gently. Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour mixture to and mix until combined. Add caramel bits and fold in. Scoop by measured teaspoons onto the parchment lined sheet. These cookies spread quite a bit, so do not crowd. Bake for 5 minutes at 350, until they have melted and spread. At this time, I opened the door and pressed a pecan bit into each cookie, so that it would be joined to the dough, but, not absorbed by it. I also lightly sprinkled sea salt at this time, and baked another 10-12 minutes. Cooking time will depend on your oven -- and this was a hard one to judge. The cookies are thin and sticky, so the doughy factor was hard to gauge. The first batch wasn't done after 10 minutes, so I increased the second batch to 20, which a bid too long. Ultimately, the third batch took about 16-18 minutes for the crispy texture I like.

Taste: I can't really say for sure. I have a bad cold, but, they seem to be good. They smell good. Texture is nice -- crispy and chewy at the same time.

Repeat? Probably not. I just don't like making cookies, it bores me.

Skill: Too much effort for me. I'm not a cookie maker. Or maybe it's because I am sick and shouldn't be cooking (and spreading my cooties in the process).

Easy Variations: If you don't have a bag of caramel bits, you could cut up sea salt caramels by Trader Joe's, or use butterscotch chips. I used Country Crock Cinnamon Spread because I had a little tub languishing unused forever and wanted to use it up. You could substitute shortening. You could mix diced pecans right inside. You could sprinkle the coffee powder on top.

See you. I'm going back to bed.