Serves: Makes ~50 cookies
Cost: €1.20
Preparation time: 20 minutes + 10 minutes cooking
Calories: ~75 per cookie
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #0B0B61;”]Greetings all – I’ve got a confession to make today. I’ve been feeling so exceptionally uninspired recently, and I really do hope that this hasn’t been reflected in the quality of my posts, but in case it has, I sincerely apologise! You’ll have to forgive me – the next few posts I have lined up are actually very simple posts. Very fun, for sure – useful, frugal posts, but definitely not the most exciting things in the world. I feel as well that all I’ve been doing recently is baking. Don’t get me wrong – I love baked goods, but my site is supposed to encompass more than just one aspect of kitchen activities.
I was even stuck as to what I could make for today’s post, but my wife came to the rescue and suggested these. We’d run out of cookies in the house (shock horror!) so a new batch of something was in order, and why not these? I know I said I was going to be leaving Sweden behind for a couple of months, but, well – I will after these, promise! :). Now, you might see these and think “oh, wonderful, another recipe using pearl sugar which I can’t get” – fear not! You can use chopped, flaked almonds – it’s just as good. Failing this, you don’t even necessarily need to top them with anything – you could wait until they’ve been baked and cooled and then pipe some icing or chocolate over them, entirely your choice! What are they, anyway, though? Chokladsnittar (singular: Chokladsnitt) literally means “Chocolate Slices”. It’s a bit like a firm cookie dough which is baked as a whole length, and then cut into slices while still soft from the oven, thus cooling to form cookie slices. Fast and easy to make, even easier to eat, I’d definitely recommend a few of these for your next coffee break!
To all you other couples out there, whether you hate the tradition or not – I hope you have a nice Valentine’s day, filled with cake! For all you non-couples – well, I hope you have lots of cake too! Have a good week everyone – See you back on Friday, and enjoy the remainder of today’s post!
Chokladsnittar (Chocolate Slices)
[learn_more caption=”Video Recipe”]
Ingredients
- 350g Plain Flour
- 210g Caster Sugar
- 200g Butter, softened
- 3 tbsps Cocoa Powder
- 2 tbsps Water
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Egg, separated
- Pearl Sugar or chopped, flaked almonds to decorate
Instructions
- Start off by pre-heating your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. While it’s heating up, add the butter and the sugar to a large bowl and cream together.
- Add the cocoa powder, the vanilla sugar, the water, and the egg yolk to the creamed butter and sugar and mix together well.
- Mix in the baking powder and plain flour and mix well to form a dough. You may find it easiest to use a food processor for this part, but if you’d rather do it manually, simply mix as much as you can and then knead it gently with your hands to push the dough together. You will find the dough is quite crumbly – this is nothing to worry about.
- Divide the dough into ~4-6 pieces. You will find that rolling them is difficult, so squeeze them out to lengths, about the same length as a baking sheet. Lightly rub the baking sheet with a little oil or butter and carefully place the strips of dough onto it. Press the dough down slightly on top – it should be about 1cm high and about 3cm wide. Brush the top of the strips with the egg-white and sprinkle on pearl sugar or chopped, flaked almonds and place into the oven. Bake for ~12 minutes – a bit less, or more, may be required, depending on your oven’s efficiency. Around the 8 minute mark they should be starting to spread a little width-ways, and cracking slightly on top.
- After they’ve baked, remove from the oven, and while still hot and soft from the oven, cut into slices, at a diagonal angle, about 2cm wide. Allow to cool on the tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully. Store in an air-tight tin when not eating. Enjoy! 🙂
Charles, I’m so sorry to hear you feel so uninspired. That’s not very usual of you! Whatever the reason is, I really hope that you will get back to your own self soon. The weather has been cold and it’s hard to be inspired. Don’t worry you will get back to regular Charles soon. I’ve been sick for a long time which cause me reluctant to blog a bit. Plus, so much going on with kids right now that I need to pay more attention and energy to them. Who said blogging and parenting is easy?! I guess one step at a time. We’ll be all thinking of you.
Now thank you for posting chocolate recipe for Valentine’s Day. You didn’t lose the spirit yet. 😉 Looks delicious and these slices would go quickly with my morning coffee. =) Take good care!
Thanks Nami – I’m slowly getting a bit of inspiration back – I guess I was stuck in a bit of a rut, but with the coming of Spring I’m feeling great again! 🙂 I will be posting some “dull” things for the next 3 posts… well, it’s not so dull, but they’re easy and fast, and it will give me a chance to catch up on things I think. Then I can throw myself into the new, fun things once again 🙂
1-I’m utterly uninspired these days as well. Changing destination (again) and packing is the only thing I’m busy with these days, potentially a positive thing…
2- A friend of mine said: happy valentine day for couples and happy independence day for singles!
Since i’m in need of chocolate, I’ll be making chocolate cookies, chocolate fondant, chocolate mi-cuit, and these chocolate things you just made except that fleur de sel will replace the pearls…because I haven’t got them as you may guess,..
Hi Nada – even if you say you’re feeling uninspired, I just jumped over to your site and the first thing I saw was olive tapenade and cheese shortbread……. omg! So yummy 😀
“Happy Independence day” – haha, I love it 🙂
Thanks for reminding me about mi-cuits… That’s (yet another) a thing that I’ve been meaning to make for some time too!
Thanks Charles, I will be moving soon again so making the big decision was a bit overwhelming, plus the packing (the story of my life)…but Hey, I get to meet new people, learn German and discover a whole new gastronomy..
Wow – I don’t envy you… I detest moving… it’s bad enough going to a new home in the *same* country, but moving to a new country… usch! I’ll have to do that in the future at some point, and although it’ll be good one day to move to Sweden, I won’t enjoy the move. Should I assume from this that you’ll be in Germany/Austria? If you ever find yourself up Paris way you should drop me a line! We can discuss the finder points of shortbread or “bara brith” 🙂
South Germany. I hate to live in temporary places because I never get to use my kitchenAid and other things that I have to keep in Morocco where I hardly go for a couple of months..Now, I have to leave other things behind and buy them again on the other side because it’s not a smart choice to ship them and pay for all that weight. I have to be selective.I’m kind of trained on this now. But I learned to live with less gadgets that way!
I can’t even pronounce the name of the town but it’s somewhere between luxembourg and strasbourg from the German side..
I’ll be definitely happy to meet! I also hope they are bloggers get-together in that part of the world. I know there is something similar in France.
You’re probably suffering from “after-a-great-holiday-I-wish-I-was-still-there” blues 😀
For whatever it’s worth, I think this is a great post even for someone uninspired. Perhaps this’ll perk you up some … I have some gifts for you on my blog. Hope you’ll accept them and feel better.
Hi Ping – thanks so much for thinking of me! I was lucky on the day I did these – the light was pretty good, and for once I got them in finished in a time so that I was able to photograph them well! 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try them!
We can´t always be inspired, the brain has to recharge and to be honest, I think this recipe looks pretty amazing! I´m still intrigued by the sugar and love that you cook these in slices then cut them up…Happy Valentine´s Day to you too 🙂
Thanks Chica – it was a case of wifey to the rescue! I was rolling around on the floor complaining about not having anything to cook or post – a real sight! 😀
Charles, your pictures are really fantastic. I particularly like the mixing bowl shots. I feel like I could reach through and lick the batter. 🙂 And for feeling uninspired – I’d say these look pretty great! And you can visit Sweden anytime you like. I always enjoy these posts (even if I don’t eat chocolate).
Haha, thanks so much Kristy 😀 Speaking of Sweden, I actually have a great post planned for Easter. A delicious treat with a funny back-story (did I say funny? I meant tragic :p ) so that will be a lot of fun – I never made them before though, so hopefully I won’t fail miserably :p
All I can say is that if this is what you do when you’re uninspired, you make us all look bad, Charles! I think the winter doldrums affect everyone at some point, but chocolate is definitely the answer! 🙂 These look wonderful and reminiscent of biscotti in a way, though not twice baked so probably moist and chewy? They look delicious. Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
lol, thanks Betsy! I was fortunate with the photos, and once I started baking I had a lot of fun, but besides that I was feeling generally down in the doldrums! They are a little like biscotti, a lot less “bready” though, much more cookie-like. Not really chewy either – like a regular hard cookie to be honest.
By the looks of these cookies, I’d say we don’t notice your “uninspiredness”… I think I just made up a word! It happens you’ll get that inspiration back! A wise blogger knows when to rest and not beat themselves up over it! 🙂
Cheers Jen – it’s true. I feel bad if I can’t post, but I shouldn’t feel obligated – nor should anyone. If you start to feel like that then it takes away all the pleasure!
Oh no not you! I felt that way last week, after recovering from a cold then to get hit again w/ stomach flu….I needed a break. Well, this recipe is perfect because it offers few ingredients that most of us have on hand and it’s super easy! I think I’m going to make this before the kids get home from school! Hope you and your wife have a great Valentine’s Day! 🙂
Hi Lisa – I hope you’re feeling better now, and you had a great Valentine’s Day! My friend made these without the pearl sugar on top and just dusted with icing sugar at the end – they sounded great! Hope you enjoy them 🙂
I think that you’ve done a good job of ‘faking it’ if that’s what you’ve been doing. 🙂 Another nice Swedish pastry treat by the way though I’m off chocolate for a while until I get a craving again. I hope to see the Indian desserts I suggested one day … if you need any challenges. I’m going to try to do some real cooking soon too and my menu is going to be Indian foods which reminded me of the gulab jamun and rasgullah.
Thanks A_Boleyn – what is this insanity? Off chocolate??? I’m sure that should be a crime! I didn’t even think it was possible 😀 The Indian desserts – absolutely… I haven’t forgotten, and frequently feel bad for not having made them. That’s something I’ll be adding to my to do list 🙂
Charles, these cookies look fantastic and just in time for Valentine’s day. Love the pearl sugar… The photo with the stacked slices is great – you get to see the scrumptious looking interior. I also really like the lighting in the last couple shots…so inviting… In short, please bolt to my house the next time you’re feeling uninspired ;).
Hehe, thanks Kelly – I was lucky with the lighting, though not lucky enough for foodgawker :p Apparently they think the photo was too tightly cropped :/ …… because everything should be taken from 8 metres away in order for it to be a good photo. Grumble grumble, no no, I’m not bitter at all :p
Ah, Charles, we all go through it: if we only wrote when we were inspired we would all post at exceedingly odd intervals. I make a simple cocoa shortbread (as thumbprints in its simplest form) — similar to your cookie, but no egg or water. This has got my mind wondering what egg does to rich cookies…
Hi Sharyn – welcome back! Did you enjoy your trip?!I never tried cocoa shortbread before – only regular, but that’s a great idea – why did I never think of putting cocoa in shortbread before? Thanks for the great idea! I think to be honest the egg just binds it a lot more, making it less “short”, so to speak.
I’ll leave a reply, since in brackets it says it makes you happy… maybe it’ll help switch on some inspiration. Probably means you’re not get out enough.
I have those days, too, I don’t want to blog anything, I don’t want to eat anything, and I don’t want to look at any other blogs, either. Like a total meltdown of foodie-ness.
How about you make next post middle-eastern inspired? 😛
These are great, I love the dough. You could roll them out and use a cookie cutter, too, right? It reminds me very much of the oreo cookie dough I made late last year 🙂
Hi Fati – it does indeed make me happy 🙂 I know what you mean – I find the trends which come and go can be amusing (as well as annoying). I love seeing what people are making, but when there’s some new, fashionable thing which everyone has seen on 101cookbooks.com or something and decided to make, and 70% of the blogs I follow are all making x, y or z it’s rather funny!
It’s interesting you should mention middle-eastern – I have a plan for that… I just need to find one ingredient and then I can make something which I’ve wanted to try for a long time!
I guess you could cookie-cutter these – they wouldn’t be the traditional shape anymore, and then they’d be more of a “chocolate cookie” instead of a “chocolate slice” – you may have to adjust the baking time as well since the dough is already quite crumbly and dry – I think they would cook *very* fast if cut out thinly.
Charles – These chocolate slices look yummy! I am very inspired by this, and now I want to make them.
Thanks so much Hyosun – I do hope you get a chance to try them 🙂
Charles, I know how you feel abut being uninspired. I don’t know if it’s inspiration or not, but somethings I can’t for the life of me figure out what to post next. Thank goodness for our supportive partners! Your wife certainly came up with a great idea for this one. Love these cookies! They look very moist and delicious! And hey – nothing wrong with easy. I love easy! 🙂
Thanks MJ – I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling uninspired sometimes. Some people make it look so easy – always posting such amazing things, always having such perfect photos… from speaking to a number of people it seems that they also suffer the same “blocks” sometimes 🙂
Hi Charles! This looks delicious! I actually have pearl sugar! You can get it from King Arthur Flour on-line here in the US! This is my sort of cookie! Happy Valentines Day!
Hi Ann! Welcome back from your travels! I can’t believe you went to Paris and didn’t drop by for a cup of tea 😀
Thanks so much for telling me about the pearl sugar – my other readers will be so pleased because it seems to be quite a mystery for some people where they can find it!
Sorry to hear you haven’t been inspired lately. I think we all go through times like that. And I’m not sick of seeing recipes from Sweden. I think these look gorgeous – and I say there’s never enough pearl sugar! They look a bit like biscotti to me, but with chocolate – even better!
Thanks Charlie 🙂 My next few posts will be a bit “easy”, but I have got some great inspiration already again now, so I’m looking forward to those ones in a week or so 🙂
Charles, I haven’t noticed any lack of inspiration here! All your posts look and sound as interesting as always! These cookies look really delicious and they are exactly shaped like my grandmother’s dry cookies… I’m still impressed by the video! No to mention the step-by-step photos. (By the way, they stopped selling pearl sugar in my Carrefour Market 🙁 so it’s a kind of ghost ingredient: it appears and disappears and you never know when).
I have also recently had a preference for simple dishes. I suppose the Winter (and especially this cold Witner) wears me off and I put so much energy into keeping warm, not getting depressed etc. that I cannot even think of complicated food. On the other hand I disagree with you: simple recipes can be exciting, so I’m looking forward to reading your future exciting posts 🙂
Thanks so much Sissi 🙂 It’s hilarious that they stopped selling pearl sugar in your Carrefour – I bet it’s just because you were telling me about it. You jinxed it, I’m sure! 😀
Thankfully, the weather is warmer here – it makes a nice change from going outside every morning and scraping off the frost from the car, having to put on a hat and gloves just to stop my fingers from freezing to the steering wheel :D. I really can’t wait for spring now – the wonderful things they will start to sell in the markets, instead of potatoes and carrots every week, and the beautiful buds which will start to appear on the trees!
These look delicious and I would call this serious inspiration. Chocolate slices, I love it. Hope you have a pleasant day.
Hi Suzi, thanks for dropping by and your kind comments 🙂 I hope you have a chance to try these, they’re really tasty (and almost all gone now 🙂 )
I was sure I left a comment on this post…if I did and it’s still in moderation, please delete as I’ll probably duplicate. I haven’t noticed any lack of inspiration on this blog, Charles…still well done and worth a read in my humble opinion. The photos look lovely and bright which makes me believe that daylight is staying around a little longer for you too. For the last two weeks, we’ve had to wear our sun glasses on our drive home at 5pm…just before Christmas it was pitch dark…so there is promise.
This cookie reminds me of biscotti, except that instead of twice baking, you rely on the continuation of the cooking after you cut it into bits. I love chocolate and therefore I would love one of these with an espresso in the afternoon. What exactly is pearl sugar, Charles? I’ve not heard of it before. Did Barb send you a pic of us with the little Swedish gnome? I hope she does, that little guy is so cute!
Hi Eva – I checked the pending comments, and the spam and found nothing alas… not sure what happened there 🙁 It’s definitely getting lighter. I was driving back at 5.30 today and it was hardly even starting to get dark. Of course, I’m looking forward to the balmy summers where it’s still light at 10pm, but this will do for now 🙂
The slices are a little like biscotti – though less doughy and bready – much more like a regular cookie. They’re really yummy so I hope you decide to have a crack at making them some time 🙂
Pearl sugar is sometimes called nib sugar – it’s like large crystals of cane sugar. Ann says in a comment above that US residents can buy it online from King Arthur Flour company – not sure if they ship to Canada but it’s worth a look. My friend made these on the same day I posted them and instead of putting on pearl sugar, dusted them with icing sugar when they were cooked – they looked really good, so that’s an alternative!
Now that I think of it, I probably commented at work, which I do from time to time…and if I get busy (you know, with work and all) I might forget and close out of the window prematurely. Glad I came back to take a look. I’ll check out the pearl sugar, thanks for the tip.
Honestly, I haven’t noticed a change in your blogging lately; you’re doing a fab job! Keep your head up (:
These chocolate cookies look so yummy. The pearl sugar looks so pretty sprinkled on top. Maybe I’ll try it with coarse sugar though, since we don’t have pearl sugar.
Ha, thanks Kyleen – you’re too kind! 🙂 Someone told me that in the US you can get pearl sugar from the King Arthur Flour company, ordered online. I’m not sure if you’re in the US or Canada (or somewhere else?) but maybe they ship abroad as well – worth a shot. My friend made these and just sprinkled on icing sugar when they were done – they looked fab like that too 🙂
Those chocolate slices look so delicious Charles. I can totally see myself enjoying these. Now, if you needed inspiration, all you had to do was ask ;). Since you have impeccable taste in food, have you thought about reviewing some eateries that cost less than 5 euros? Or maybe trying out cuisine from different regions for less. And I bet those upcoming post are great.. just like this blog :).
Thanks Kay – I think I’d have a job finding places where I could eat decent food for €5. I might be able to get a Big Mac (just the burger) for that price… not much more alas 🙁
I’ve been thinking of doing some restaurant reviews recently though – maybe I’ll look into that more 🙂
Thanks for stopping by today, and of course your kind comments, as always 🙂
I can relate to being un-inspirational — it’s been happening a lot recently. I hope you get out of this rut soon.
Yummy chocolate slices — glad your wife came to rescue you 🙂
Thanks Kiran – it’s nice to know I’m not alone. Maybe it’s winter blues – no doubt I’ll feel invigorated when Spring finally sets in 🙂
Charles, I understand those times of feeling uninsprired. Those days when I’m just not going to head into the kitchen at all…except for a cup of espresso! That’s when I know I just need to get out and about to bring back my creativity and passion! Now these are so interesting….they look like Biscotti!! And twice baked!!
Hi Linda – we’ve been even eating a fair bit of takeaway junk recently because I’ve been feeling “bored” in the kitchen, but it’s all coming back to me now… especially once Spring sets in, it’ll be all good!
Hope you try these cookies – they’re great 🙂
I know haw that can be this time of year my friend. SO happy that Spring isn’t far off…and with it will come sunshine. Which I REALLY need. I should wear one of those happy lamps as a hat 😉
This recipe looks completely wonderful!
~Melissa
Thanks Melissa – there’s a great business idea – hats with built-in daylight lamps 😀
I think those look pretty fabulous for uninspired!! And we all feel that way sometimes – so don’t be too hard on yourself.
Ha, thanks Jen – you’re too kind 🙂 I made some really fun things this weekend, and I have big plans for next weekend too – can’t wait!
So sorry to hear you are feeling uninspired. One wouldn’t know from your posts, I find them all very interesting and love the fact that through them I learn something new.
This recipe sounds really easy and delicious, I think there is the risk of them becoming addective
Thanks Sawsan – All the snow has disappeared and today was actually quite warm – I think spring is on the way now for sure! Really looking forward to next weekend’s cooking that I have planned!
Love how you always need to have cookies in the house!! These look easy and fun! A new cookie experience, to me at least 🙂
Thanks Stefanie – They were so easy to make – and they sure beat the things you can buy usually 🙂
Homemade always does 😀
It happens to the best of us! These cookies are so cute! You don’t seem too uninspired to me. Go get a new computer, set it up, figure out where all the stuff from your old computer is and how to transfer it, and by the time you’re done with that you’ll be ready to whip something up in the kitchen – maybe you’ll even be inspired. I speak from experience….Happy cooking!
lol 😀 I love how your suggestion of a “fix” to feeling uninspired is to buy a new computer :D. Actually my computer is fine, but I am feeling much more inspired these days! 🙂
You might not feel uninspired but this is certainly great comfort food!
Any time in the afternoon or night with a large cup of coffee!
Definitely – they didn’t last long, lol 😀
You are telling me! LOL
I think these slices look beautiful 😀
Never realized chocolate could also be devoured in this form 😛
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oh hellz yeah – I’m always happy to find new forms to eat it in as well – got any more suggestions? 😀
Perfect for fika! I brought back some pearl sugar from Sweden and have been wondering what to do with it!
Thanks Su-Lin – definitely… you should make some kanelbullar too! Thanks for visiting today 🙂
Charles, I think these look just the ticket for a ‘gift for teacher’ type present – are they as moist as they look, or are they quite dry inside? Also what is ‘pearl sugar’ called here in France?
Many thanks – Toady
Hi Toady – when I made them I made them in the little strip shapes you can see above and they ended up being dry (but in a good, delicious way… not in a “yuck, old bread” kind of way!). When my wife made them again recently she made them a bit bigger and baked them a touch less and they ended up being slightly more gooey. so it would be best to experiment to find your ideal balance I think.
As for the sugar – as luck would have it, I actually found, today, a place selling the stuff FINALLY! In France it appears to be called Sucre Perlé, or Sucre Casson – and I have found it here – they have wonderful flours and ingredients there, like chestnut flour, so it’s well worth a visit. Delivery isn’t too cheap, so I would recommend buying a few things to make it worth the delivery cost if you’re interested!
Happy baking, and thanks for your visit!