Caramelized White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
Caramelized White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies are going to be your new favorite cookie! An instant summertime classic, this unexpected cookie combines toasty caramelized white chocolate with freeze-dried raspberries, all in a soft and chewy sugar cookie base.
Servings 24 cookies
Ingredients
For the caramelized white chocolate:
- 250 grams high-quality white chocolate*, chopped
For the cookies:
- 1 ½ cups (192 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon raspberry extract
- 1 cup (150 grams) caramelized white chocolate, chopped, plus more for topping**
- ½ cup (13 grams) freeze-dried raspberries, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons (4 grams) freeze-dried raspberries, crushed, for topping
Instructions
Caramelize the white chocolate (video tutorial HERE):
- Line a half-sheet pan with either parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate until melted, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. If your microwave is higher wattage than 1000W, use 70% power. Stir until smooth, then place back in microwave at 15-20 second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth again. Use a hot pad when handling bowl as it will become hot the longer it’s microwaved.
- Don’t panic as the chocolate will become thick. It may feel like it’s starting to seize up and even look like it’s about to burn, but keep stirring. It will eventually smooth out. Continue heating and stirring every 15-20 seconds until the chocolate reaches an amber color, about 10 minutes. Time will vary based on the power of your microwave. Use the sensory indicators and not timing to confirm. You’re looking for amber color (almost like melted peanut butter), lightly toasted smell, and you should be able to smooth the chocolate completely.
- Using a spatula, spread chocolate onto prepared baking sheet as evenly as possible, to ¼-inch thickness. Place in the fridge to cool completely and solidify, about 20 minutes. Chop the chocolate into bite-sized pieces, measuring out 150 grams. Reserve remaining chocolate for topping cookies.
Make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add egg, beating on medium-low speed until combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add extracts and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix on low until fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add the caramelized white chocolate and mix on low until just combined. Fold coarsely chopped raspberries into the dough.
- Divide the dough into 1 ½-tablespoon sized balls using a medium cookie scoop and drop onto prepared baking sheets. Garnish the top of each cookie ball with a few pieces of caramelized chocolate.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden and the center appears set. Once cookies are removed from the oven, immediately use a round biscuit or cookie cutter slightly larger in diameter than the baked cookies to reshape into perfect circles. Sprinkle crushed raspberries over cookies. Cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
*Chocolate with at least 28% cocoa solids, like Callebaut White Chocolate, works best when caramelizing. However, this recipe has been successfully tested by Team HTH using Ghirardelli Baking Chocolate, which is 20% fat content. The lower the fat content, the dryer the chocolate will be in the process of melting. It will still work, but you may need to stir longer after each interval and trust the process that much more faithfully.
**You can also use regular white chocolate in this recipe, though your cookies will be slightly sweeter as the caramelization process drastically lowers the sweetness of the white chocolate. Using white chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks or chopped white chocolate baking bars works fine as a 1:1 ratio in place of the caramelized white chocolate, if preferred.