Ok, so how do I justify the alluring name for these Easter cookies?

Surprising

They are definitely surprising, unless you are either the creator of these cookies; or you’ve issued a spoiler.

They look just like ordinary double dark chocolate cookies… alright, maybe with a bit of a lump in the middle. But a whole chocolate egg hidden within the depths of the rich, dark cookie dough? Well, for the unsuspecting, it’s a surprise.

Forbidden

And they are forbidden. Well, at least in the United States they are illegal. Or at least British Cadbury Crème Eggs are illegal in the USA. And, yes, there is a difference between Cadbury’s and the competition. The principal ingredient in the British version is milk, whereas over the pond, in the locally-grown Hershey’s version, it is sugar. The result makes British eggs creamier and fudgier, which some people (74% in fact, in a Royal Society Taste Challenge) prefer.

There’s nothing wrong with the British version, that makes it in some way unsafe to eat in the States. It’s all down to a licencing agreement and Hershey trying to ‘protect its trademark rights’. But in the UK, a country beleaguered by Brexit bans on innumerable treats from Bordeaux to Brie, it’s comforting to know there’s another nation which is cut off from yearned-for treats.  I’m aware that’s not a very seasonally Christian sentiment!

Dark

And ‘dark’ is obvious. Everything about these cookies is daringly dark: dark brown sugar, Dutch cocoa and, of course, dark chocolate.

Over the last year or so, baking has become The Thing. So this Easter don’t just give bought chocolate eggs…. Instead make something of them, give a little more, give an experience!

NB: YOU NEED TO FREEZE THE CHOCOLATE EGGS FIRST!!!! It takes AT LEAST an hour.

Here’s how.

Surprising and forbidden dark Easter cookies

Makes about 12 cookies

Print

Ingredients

• 12 mini Cadbury’s crème eggs – FROZEN
• 100g/4 oz butter
• 150g/¾ cup dark brown (Muscovado) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 eggs
• 225g/1½ cups plain flour + ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda: or use self-raising flour
• 3 tbsps Dutch cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 200g/7 oz dark chocolate (70% +)

Instructions

1. Make sure your eggs are good and frozen.
2. Preheat the oven to 210°C.
3. Using an electric whisk (or whatever you have) beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. Then add the vanilla paste and the eggs, beat again to mix in.
4. Then fold in the dry ingredients: the flour, bicarbonate of soda (if you are using plain flour), cocoa powder, cornflour, and salt.
5. Chop the chocolate roughly and fold that in too.
6. Using a couple of desert spoons, divide the cookie dough into twelve, and put onto a large baking tray lined with silicon or baking paper. Allow space around each for spreading. If you have a small tray or oven you may need to cook your cookies in batches.
7. Cool your hands under a cold tap, and, drop one frozen egg onto each cookie, then hide it within the dough. The egg needs to be completely covered by the cookie dough which will insulate it against the heat and stop it dissolving completely (it’s the same principal as what the meringue does for the ice cream in a Baked Alaska).
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes – you want them fudgy, not brittle!

This post is dedicated to Ayla Eddery.