WHITE CHOCOLATE CHAI & COCONUT COOKIES – Recipe

CHAI INFUSED BUTTER

• 20g Loose Leaf Chai (I used Masala Chai)
• 180g Unsalted Butter

 

Method:

1. Add room temperature butter to a pot and on lowest heat setting melt it to liquid state.
2. Add loose leaf tea and barely simmer (see small and slow bubbling on the edges, ever so slightly.) for 5 minutes.
3. Cool off heat for 5 minutes.
4. Strain and chill the butter until solid again in a cling wrap-lined container for easier removal.
5. NOTE: Be gentle with the infusion or you will evaporate too much butter and not have enough for the recipe.

 

WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT GANACHE

• 240g White chocolate
• 80ml Coconut Cream

 

Method:

1.  In a small bowl, combine coconut cream and white chocolate of choice. If you use a bar you’ll need to chop it coarsely.
2. Microwave in stages by nuking on 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between until smoothly combined. You can also use a double boiler.
3. Place cling wrap directly over surface of ganache and chill in fridge until needed.

 

CHAI COOKIES

• 150g (3 sticks) Chai Infused unsalted butter, at room temp
• 110 g (1 cup) sugar
• 1 egg yolks, at room temp
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 260 g ( 3.75 cups) all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Milk, as needed

 

Method:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, turns paler in colour.
2. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and scrape down the sides before beating to combine.
3. Add salt and flour and beat on slow till it comes together.
4. If it doesn’t really come together into a smooth dough when the flour is incorporated, add milk in teaspoons and beat for 20 seconds before checking.
5. The dough should be a smooth bread-dough like look, and form into a smooth disc when flattened in between your fingers. I used two teaspoons or so of milk.
6. In a silicone 2 x 2cm cookie mold add 1 teaspoon worth of dough and firmly push it in to fill all the base. Try to even it out before adding 1/2 teaspoon worth of white chocolate ganache on top.
7. Carefully pinch 1 teaspoon worth of dough and flatten into a disc shape and wrap it over the ganache, then start to press and seal in the ganache whilst filling in the rest of the mold to form the rest of the cookie.
8. Chill for 30 minutes in freezer whilst preheating oven to 200C (400F).
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes straight out of freezer until nicely golden around the edges of the cookies. Turn around once half way through.
10. Cool for 10 minutes or until lukewarm before turning out onto a tray or rack. You may need to lightly and carefully push the base to release the cookies.

 

COCONUT CARAMEL CRUMB

• 120g Honey
• 120g Caster Sugar
• 50g Desiccated Coconut, Unsweetened

 

Method:

1. Drop the temperature to 180C (F).
2. On a baking tray line baking paper and pack down a flat layer of dessicated coconut, unsweetened.
3. Toast them until golden and remove. Transfer to a plate or bowl and you can reuse the baking paper and pan.
4. Stir together sugar and honey until combined, place onto the baking pan and bake until it begins to bubble and turns a golden caramel colour.
5. Once its nice and brown, sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top liberally to cover all the caramel.
6. Remove from oven and cool completely before processing.
7. Blitz the cool caramel into fine crumbs as to your liking.
8. To do the final assemblage simply add the smallest amount of ganache (gently nuke in microwave to make it more glaze consistency but don’t make it hot) over top of cookie and sprinkle generously with the crumbs.
9. Enjoy! These cookies can be kept airtight and taste great up to a week. Be aware caramel will soften with humidity though.