Recipe: Holiday Dark Chocolate Marzipan Cookies

If you've like me, you've already excited for all the desserts you’ll get to devour this holiday season. If you've also like me, you want to dress (er, bake) to impress when you show up with your own plate of goodies. This year, walk up with something so easy you can do it singing yuletide jams; but so delicious they'll swear it took you all day.

These Marzipan Dark Chocolate Cookies are the love child of salty dark chocolate goodness (you know, the kind you pay $6 for) and classic marzipan richness. The generous pinch of salt on top of each cookie cuts through any cloying sweetness from the almond, and lands you in holiday harmony.

Dark Chocolate Marzipan Christmas Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup marzipan
• ½ cup packed brown sugar 
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 large eggs 
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (or 2-3 chocolate bars, cut into chunks)
• Flaky salt to taste

Method

Add room temperature butter to a large mixing bowl. Cut or crumble marzipan into small pieces and add to the bowl with the butter. 

Mix the butter and marzipan until evenly distributed. Add both sugars, mixing until combined. Do not over mix. Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract.

Add all-purpose flour and baking soda and mix until almost combined, but you can still see some flour streaks. (This prevents overmixing when you add in the chocolate chips.) Stir in the chocolate chips until all is combined.  

Using either a scoop or a large spoon, drop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If using a spoon, roll dough into balls. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of each cookie and put in the fridge until cold (about 20 min). During this time preheat the oven to 375F.

When the cookie dough is cold, bake for 14 min; until the edges are golden but the center is still soft. The cookies will be too soft to handle at first – let them cool for 10 minutes on the tray before transferring them to a wire rack. 

Makes 14 cookies

Additional Note: 

For those of you who like nuts in cookies, these are a great vehicle for them. Almonds are the obvious choice here, but I think pecans elevate with a toasty flavor that really brings everything together. Make sure to chop them up so that they’re the same size as the chocolate chips.

P.S. don't roast your nuts beforehand: there'sa chance they'll burn on their second trip into the oven.