Description
Delight in these rich and indulgent Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies featuring soft, fudgy chocolate cookies filled with a luscious raspberry cream cheese frosting. Perfectly balanced between the deep cocoa flavor of the cookies and the tangy sweetness of fresh raspberries, these sandwiches are an irresistible treat for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet or dark
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen (not in syrup)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 oz full-fat cream cheese, brick style
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined to ensure an even distribution of leavening and cocoa.
- Cream the Butter and Sugars: In a separate large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter with both brown and white sugars until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well aerated, which helps create tender cookies.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in the large room-temperature egg and vanilla extract thoroughly to incorporate moisture and flavor into the dough.
- Combine Flour Mixture with Wet Ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry flour mixture into the butter mixture in about two halves. Mix just until combined, as over-mixing can toughen cookies.
- Fold in Chocolate Chips: Stir in the semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips evenly throughout the sticky dough for bursts of chocolate.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or overnight to firm it up, which helps enhance flavor and prevents spreading during baking.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Form Cookies: Shape the dough into balls about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons in size, roughly a bit smaller than a golf ball, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until the cookie tops look set but still soft to the touch, ensuring a moist, tender texture.
- Prepare Raspberry Puree: Add the raspberries to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Press the puree through a fine mesh metal sieve using the back of a spoon to remove the seeds, ensuring a smooth frosting.
- Reduce Raspberry Puree: Transfer the seedless puree to a small saucepan over low heat. Bring gently to a boil while stirring occasionally, and reduce until the mixture thickens like a jam, yielding a few tablespoons of concentrated flavor. Let cool completely.
- Make Frosting Base: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until soft and creamy. Beat in the full-fat cream cheese until smooth and combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar and Salt: On low speed, gradually incorporate about 1 cup of powdered sugar and the salt into the butter and cream cheese mixture.
- Incorporate Raspberry Puree: Mix in 1 tablespoon of the cooled reduced raspberry puree to add natural raspberry flavor and color to the frosting.
- Finish Frosting: Continue mixing in the remaining powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments, adding an additional tablespoon of reduced raspberry puree as you go, until the frosting is smooth, thick, and spreadable.
- Assemble Sandwich Cookies: Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of the raspberry cream cheese frosting on the bottom side of one cookie and sandwich with a second cookie. Repeat until all cookies are filled, making about 14 sandwich cookies in total.
Notes
- Chilling the cookie dough is essential to prevent spreading and to enhance flavor; preparing the dough the night before and chilling overnight is ideal.
- If short on time, substitute fresh raspberry puree with 1-2 tablespoons of seedless raspberry preserves or jam and skip the reduction step.
- Store the finished sandwich cookies in the refrigerator to preserve the freshness of the cream cheese frosting; they will keep well for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich cookie
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 16g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
