Chocolate Fudge Squares (Day 9)

Name: Chocolate Fudge Squares (Day 9)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 1 Vanilla spiced cookie dough recipe (day 1); 2 tbsp Cocoa powder; 50 gm Dark chocolate; 100 ml Heavy cream; 15 gm Butter; Melted dark chocolate; Sea salt

These squares are brownies in cookie form. The cookie is flavored with cocoa powder and sandwiched with dark chocolate ganache, drizzle with more melted chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt.

Welcome to day 9 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Series. We are keeping things chocolatey with these chocolate fudge squares. It was impossible for me to make 12 cookies and not have a chocolate cookie recipe in there somewhere. I absolutely love anything chocolate and these cookies are no exception. The dough is flavored with cocoa powder and we make a dark chocolate ganache that we then sandwich together. Drizzle some more melted chocolate on top and sprinkle with salt. You are done. And these babies are so indulgent!

What ingredients do we need to make these Chocolate Fudge Squares?

Cookies –

The cookie dough used to make this recipe is my no fuss Vanilla Spiced Sugar Cookie, it was the foundation recipe for day 1 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Recipes. To the dough I add cocoa powder and knead it well. This takes a little effort as we don’t want a marble effect we want the dough completely flavored with cocoa.

Cocoa powder –

I have used dutch processed cocoa powder to make this recipe, it gives the cookie a deep dark chocolate flavor and intense dark brown color. You can use any cocoa you have on hand but it must be unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder.

Ganache –

To make the ganache we need dark chocolate, whipping cream and butter. You can use milk chocolate here but I wouldn’t recommend it as the dark chocolate gives it that brownie flavor. The cream has to be heavy or else it won’t set well to pipe later and you could use coconut butter. If you want to keep the filling vegan you can use coconut cream to make it.

What equipment do we need to make these Chocolate Fudge Squares?

We need a mixing bowl to starting kneading the dough, I like to use a clean kitchen counter and my hands to get dough combined. We also need cling wrap to roll the dough with a rolling pin. I don’t have a square cookie cutter hence I use a scale and sharp knife to help me get those squares. We baking the cookies in a baking tray lined with baking paper In the oven. To make the ganache we need a microwave safe bowl and spoon. I like to pipe the ganache into the cookies but you could spread them with the back of a spoon.

How to make these Chocolate Fudge Squares?

Preheat the oven to 170℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper. We start by crumbling the cookie dough into a bowl and add the cocoa powder. Start mixing this with your hands in the bowl and then turn out the contents onto a clean work surface. Knead the dough well to ensure all the cocoa powder is mixed through. This might take a few minutes so be patient. Roll the dough out between two sheets of cling wrap and a rolling pin to 1/8th of an inch in thickness. We want this fairly thin as it will be sandwiched with ganache filing. Cut into squares and transfer to the lined baking tray. Bake at 170℃ for 6-8 mins until done. Let them cool down.

To make the ganache filing we need to heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 40-50 seconds until steaming hot. Add the chopped dark chocolate into the cream and let it sit for a minutes before stirring to combine. Add the butter and stir again. Let this set for 5 mins in the fridge before transferring to a piping bag and sandwiching between two cookies. Drizzle with more melted chocolate on top and sprinkle over sea salt. Serve with a glass of milk.

How to store these Chocolate Fudge Squares?

Once the cookies are baking and not filled with the filling, you can store them in air tight containers for 8-10 days. The raw cookie dough can be wrapped in cling film and stored in the fridge for about a week and the freezer for over a month. Cookies that have been filled will last for 5-6 days stored in an air tight container. You can make the filling and the cookies ahead of time and assemble when ready to serve.

Pro tips for making the perfect Chocolate Fudge Squares-

Cookie dough –

The dough should be fridge cold while crumbling into the bowl or else while kneading it will give out excess grease. If this happens, place the bowl in the fridge every now and then between the kneading to ensure the dough isn’t realizing too much fat while mixing.

Kneading –

You need to knead the dough well or else the cocoa powder will not get mixed into the dough giving you a marbled effect. Which is not bad, but it is not what we want.

Rolling –

The dough should be rolled out fairly thin as we are sandwiching these cookies and don’t want them to be too thick in comparison to the filling ratio. They must have a snap when we bite into them and that comes from the thinness of the dough. Use an offset spatula to transfer them to the baking tray. If they aren’t holding their shape well, place the dough in the fridge for a bit and then continue. As a chilled dough will always hold its shape better.

Ganache –

The heavy cream HAS to be steaming hot in order for the chocolate to melt evenly. Hence if your microwave doesn’t make it hot enough after 40 seconds let it go longer. Chilling the ganache will help keep the mixture set and get firm enough to pipe. You can make this ahead of time.

Piping or Spreading the filling –

I prefer piping not only cause of the design it gives but also because of the consistency. Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before they are filled and make sure the filling Is firm before it is piped as it will just slide off the cookie other wise.

Now that we have covered how to make these Chocolate Fudge Squares, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more holiday baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.