Chocolate Babka Cookies Recipe

Chocolate Babka Cookies

 When it was time to get started on this book, I wanted to call in the biggest guns I knew for support, and I count my lucky stars that pastry wizard and longtime friend Zoë Kanan replied with a “Heck, yes!” Though she has spent some time in the Milk Bar kitchens, her POV on pastry is so different from mine, due in part to her Texas Jewish upbringing in addition to her unbridled curiosity.

When we kicked off our recipe planning, these babka cookies were at the top of her wish list and quickly became a favorite of mine. Flaky, chocolaty, with a flavor that will remind you of the buttery, bready side of babka (and absolutely stunning to behold), they are well worth the little extra elbow grease they take to produce. Just don’t call ’em rugelach. Another way Zoë and I differ:

While I would personally pour on the glaze, Zoë loves them light on glaze or with no glaze at all! So you do you and glaze them as much or as little as you want.

©Pixabay

This cookie has yeast in it for flavor, texture, and a different tenderness from most cookies. It needs a little time for that flavor to develop in the fridge and the texture to relax, so no shortcuts, babe!

Ingredients:

• 65g sugar ¼ cup + 1 T (divided)
• 21g instant yeast 2¾ tsp (1 packet)
• 75g warm water ⅓ cup
• 168g unsalted butter, softened 12 T (divided)
• 140g cream cheese, softened 4 oz + 2 T
• 360g flour 2½ cups + more for dusting
• 4g kosher salt 1 tsp
• 1 recipe Chocolate Babka Filling (recipe follows)
• 1 recipe Glaze, optional (recipe follows)

Instructions:

 In a medium bowl, combine 13g (1T) sugar, yeast, and water and stir together with a fork. Some small lumps are okay and will dissolve naturally. Let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together 140g (10T) butter, cream cheese, and 50g (¼ cup) sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth. 

Add the flour and salt and paddle on low speed until curds form but some dusty flour bits remain about 30 seconds. 

Still on low, pour the bloomed yeast mixture into the bowl and paddle to incorporate. Increase the speed to medium for 30 seconds to form a smooth and cohesive dough. 

Tip the dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Place each half onto a large piece of plastic wrap and pat into a flat square. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and ideally overnight. 

Heat the oven to 350°F. Pan-spray or line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 

Use masking tape to secure or simply place a large piece of parchment on your work surface and dust it lightly with flour. Roll 1 piece of the dough into an 8 × 10-inch rectangle, the 8-inch side facing you, continuing to dust with flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the rolling surface. 

With the 8-inch side still facing you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter. Unfold the top third, the section farthest from you, and make a mark at the two-thirds point.

Use an offset spatula or spoon to spread half (125g) of the chocolate filling over the two-thirds of the dough closest to you, leaving a small section of dough around the edge bare.

The top one-third farthest from you should be bare. 

 Fold the dough like a letter again, beginning by folding the unfilled top third in first, then the bottom chocolate-filled third over to form alternating layers of dough and filling.

If the dough feels warm or sticky after folding, transfer it to a halfsheet pan and chill for 10 minutes, until it begins to firm back up. 

Re-roll the dough into an 8 × 10-inch rectangle, dusting lightly with flour to avoid sticking to the work surface. 

 With the 8-inch side still facing you, use a ruler and a pizza cutter or chef’s knife to mark and cut the dough away from you bottom-to-top into strips ¾ inch wide. You should get 10 strips about 10 inches long. 

Pick up 1 strip of dough and tie it into a simple knot by crossing the ends to form a loop in the middle and pulling one end through the loop. Pinch the ends together to fuse and place the cookie on the prepared pan with the pinched ends underneath.

The thinner the strips, the easier they are to tie and fold. If you’re having a hard time, try trimming down the strips’ width slightly. Repeat with the remaining strips until all the cookies are formed. 

Repeat the filling and rolling process with the second piece of dough or double-wrap it and freeze for up to a month. 

 Bake the cookies at 350°F until they puff and open slightly to reveal stripes of filling and are firm to the touch with just a little color, 15 to 16 minutes. 

Melt the remaining 28g (2T) butter, and immediately brush the still-hot cookies with it. Glaze while warm if that’s your thing. 

Transfer the cookies to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.