More delicious cookies are piling up in the kitchens of the Tuesdays with Dorie online baking clan. This week we indulged in Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops. Oh yes, it was off to the candy isle to stock up on a big carton of whoppers!
photo by David Peterman
I love malt and whoppers so I knew these would be a big hit with me, though I also know from experience that desserts with candy mix-ins run the risk of being cloyingly sweet. I am not a fan of the sickly sweet stuff, so I hedged my bets with extra bitter 70% dark chocolate chunks in place of the bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips that Dorie calls for. I am happy I did. The cookies are rich and chocolaty, and the sweet hits of melted malt balls are nicely tempered by the bitter chocolate chunks. Additionally, I topped them with a light sprinkling of Murray River Flake Salt as a final counterpoint to the sweet candy and a flavor enhancer to the chocolate.
The biggest factor for these cookies slipping from “ooh-ahh” reviews to “eh” is baking time. They are a bit of a cakey cookie and the difference between soft and gooey or dry and cakey could be as little as an extra thirty seconds to a minute in the oven. Error on the side of underdone and they will be “ooh-ahh”‘ good.
photo by David Peterman
So now that I have a big jar of leftover malt powder in my cupboard what do I do? Oh, sure I could make more cookies, but it’s not like the extra whoppers are going to even last until tomorrow, so I thought I had better come up with another plan. My need for a future-use plan is due to the last time I had a jar of malt; it languished in the back of my cupboard for about five years and the remaining contents was so rock hard I finally tossed it out a few months ago. Feeling a bit guilty, I decided to put it behind me and move on. Then this recipe comes along forcing me to face my demons! I vow to use the entire jar of malt and not let a single bit go to waste. Or should I say every bit will go to waist!
The first thing that came to mind is a spicy malted hot cocoa. Like it or not the air is starting to have that crispy nip of fall, at least here in the Northwest where we never really even had summer this year, and hot cocoa is one of my favorite cold weather treats.
Wed. 8/17 – I have updated the recipe now that I have been drinking it for a few more days. I decided it needed more malt and more cocoa.
Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa Mix
1 cup malted milk powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. Store in an airtight container.
To make a spicy hot beverage, heat one cup of milk and whisk in 3 Tablespoons of Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa Mix. Relax and enjoy.
This has a pretty good kick, so if you don’t like spicy cut back on both the ancho chile and cayenne pepper. Hot cocoa is the perfect place to use a high quality dutch processed cocoa powder if you can. After tasting this, I am not the least bit worried about that extra malt powder languishing in the cupboard this time. I may even need to buy another jar before the winter is over.
Thank you to Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart for this week’s recipe selection. You can find the recipe for Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops in Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours.
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there’s a bit of nip in the Manhattan air, too – I love the idea of your hot cocoa mix!
Great idea about adding malt to hot chocolate mix.
yum, they look great! awesome spicy hot cocoa idea, i will have to give it a try! 🙂
Ooh, I can’t wait to try this cocoa mix! I was trying to think of something to do with all this malted milk powder. Thanks!
That spicy hot chocolate is a great idea! Wonder if it would work with Ovaltine? Hmm, I’ll have to give that a try. Meanwhile, your cookies look fantastic! 🙂
That hot cocoa sounds fantastic. I for one am saving the malt powder for some chocolate malteds, but to each their own. I agree about the baking time thing too – I underbaked, and they came out wonderfully fudgey.
Those look amazing! My husband is very jealous and wants me to make the cocoa. Delicious!
I can’t wait for the fall weather to hit! The cocoa sounds delicious I will help you use that jar all up! Cookies look great
Mmmm, yours look perfect. I think I’ll have to try them with a little salt on top, that looks good!
Extra malt powder says to me…. vanilla malts (i.e. vanilla ice cream shake with malt powder, my favorite).
Woah! Way to go with the cocoa suggestion. Never thought about malting up a good cup of cocoa before, but it seems like the perfect match!
These were so good and yummy. I am with you on the baking time. I would say go for a plain old chocolate malt with malted powder. You can’t beat it!
I love the sound of your Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa, very creative! I have to suggest that you give David Lebovitz’s Malted Milk Ice Cream recipe a go, if you’re looking to use up your malt powder. It’s fabulous I made a liter last night and I can’t wait to cozy up on my couch and eat a bowl of it tonight!
Thanks everyone for the malt use ideas. I am feeling ever so confident that this jar of malt will be thoroughly enjoyed!
love those dark cookies, and malty cocoa sounds delish!
You know, I was thinking about a little salt, too. They look delicious.
Looks and sounds good to me. I made ice cream sandwiches out of mine. YUM! 🙂
That hot cocoa mix sounds delicious and I totally agree with underbaking the cookies!
Thanks so much for the cocoa recipe! I also have left over malted milk powder….and I was debating what to do with it! I plan on trying the recipe soon! 🙂
These look great! What a wonderful idea about the cocoa mix!
Thanks for the idea for using up the malt — I was wondering what I was going to do with it. I agree, these were best a bit underbaked.
I tried the cocoa! Delicious!