Smoked almonds are a magic ingredient, upping the flavour in manydishes. I like them as a quick garnish (chopped and sprinkled over blanched broccoli with red chillies, say) or blitzed and folded through a cake batter. Here, they work well against the rich chocolate and torched marshmallows. I tested this recipe over and over again, which made my friends incredibly happy, but it also helped me get the salt levels just right.
Chocolate cookies with smoked almonds and torched marshmallows
Prep 25 min
Chill 4 hr
Cook 18 min
Makes 7
120g light brown sugar
180g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking powder
80g cold unsalted butter, cubed
50g smoked roasted almonds
100g dark chocolate chips
40g marshmallows
1 egg
40g molasses
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Add the cubed butter and mix with your fingertips, or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, until it disappears into the dry ingredients. The mixture should be finer than breadcrumbs, like sand.
Chop the almonds and chocolate into medium-sized pieces (or keep the chocolate chips whole if they are already smallish), then mix into the dry ingredients.
Scatter the marshmallows over a heatproof tray, then grill until toasted and bronzed all over (or use a blowtorch to scorch them all over), then leave to cool.
Add the egg, molasses and marshmallows to the cookie mix bowl and mix until it all comes together into a rough dough – do not overmix. Divide the dough into seven and roll each one into a large ball. Put these spaced apart on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and chill for at least four hours.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, bake the cookies for 18 minutes, then remove and leave to cool slightly before eating.
