Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Beurre Noisette
- Place your unsalted butter in a light-coloured saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, then continue to cook, whisking constantly. It will foam up, then subside as the water evaporates. Look for golden-brown specks (toasted milk solids) at the bottom and a rich, nutty aroma.
- Immediately pass the butter through a fine mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl and allow to cool until it reaches a soft, "pomade" consistency (not rock hard, but not liquid).
Raspberry Pépin
- Into a mixing bowl add sugar and pectin and give it a whisk to distribute the pectin through the sugar, set the bowl a side.
- On a low-medium heat add frozen raspberries into a pan and cook until all the juice have released, raspberries have broken down and juice come to a gentle simmer.
- Once the raspberries have come to a simmer add in the sugar-pectin mixture, stirring the puree simultaneously until the sugar has completely dissolved in. As the mixture comes to a boil continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid any burning.
- Pass half the jam through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and reintroduce it to the other half, mix together and place into a container. Surface wrap with cling film and leave it to set in the fridge for 2 hours.
Cookie Dough
- Preheat your oven to 180°C. Spread half of your peanuts on a baking tray in a single layer and roast for 8–10 minutes. Watch them closely; you are looking for a deep golden hue and a fragrant, oily sheen. Allow to cool completely. Take the remaining raw peanuts and crush them using the flat side of a chef’s knife. Reserve these to be topped at the final stage.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: Plain flour, bread flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt. Set aside for later.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream this beurre noisette with the smooth peanut butter, light brown sugar, caster sugar and vanilla paste on low-to-medium speed just until the mixture is smooth and fully emulsified. It is crucial to avoid over-creaming at this stage.Note: Unlike traditional cookies that rely on aeration for lift, we want to limit the incorporation of air to ensure the cookies remain heavy, fudge-like, and "gooey" rather than light or cakey.
- Once the butter and sugars are fully emulsified, incorporate the vanilla bean paste and the eggs one at a time, beating on a low speed until just combined. In two parts add in the dry ingredients on a low speed just until the white streaks disappear, followed by the roasted peanuts.
- Divide your dough into 170g portions and roll them into rough spheres. Transfer your chilled raspberry pepin (jam) into a piping bag, then create a deep crater in the centre of each dough ball. Pipe 25g of the pepin directly into the cavity and carefully pinch the dough to seal it, ensuring you maintain a craggy, rough texture on the surface rather than smoothing it out. Press the base of each ball into your reserved raw crushed peanuts, place them onto a parchment-lined tray, and finish with a generous sprinkle of sea salt. Repeat until all balls are filled, then transfer the tray to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours
Baking
- Preheat your oven to 200°C and bake dough balls directly from the fridge for exactly 5 minutes.After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 180°C and continue to bake for a further 4-5 minutes. Once finished, allow the cookies to rest on the tray for at least 15–20 minutes to "carry-over" cook and set their structure before moving them. Allow the to cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
Notes
1. The Brown Butter (Beurre Noisette) Precision
- The Scent & Sight: When browning your butter, stay vigilant. Once the butter stops sizzling and the foam subsides, the milk solids will turn golden brown within seconds. Immediately transfer it to a cold bowl to halt the cooking process, as residual heat in the pan can quickly turn "nutty" into "burnt."
- The Pomade Texture: Do not use the butter while it is liquid. Chilling it back to a "pomade" (soft ointment) consistency is vital. This state allows the butter to emulsify with the peanut butter and sugars without incorporating the excess air that leads to a cakey, rather than fudgy, cookie.
- Roasting half the peanuts at 180°C for 8–10 minutes is non-negotiable for depth of flavour. It triggers the Maillard reaction, providing a sophisticated smoky note that cuts through the sweetness of the raspberry pepin. While the raw peanuts will roast in the final bake without burning.
- The Rough Texture: When sealing the 25g of raspberry pepin inside the dough balls, resist the urge to roll them into perfectly smooth spheres. A craggy, uneven surface creates those iconic "mountain peaks" that catch the high heat of the oven, resulting in varied textures from crispy ridges to a soft, molten core.
- Density Control: In bread science, over-creaming creates a fragile crumb. By mixing "just until smooth," you keep the fat molecules tightly packed, ensuring these heavyweights hold their height in the oven instead of spreading into flat puddles.
- The Thermal Shock: Starting the bake at 200°C for 5 minutes "shocks" the exterior, setting the crust immediately. This prevents the high-fat peanut butter dough from melting outward.
- The Gentle Finish: Dropping to 180°C for the final 5 minutes allows the heat to penetrate the centre slowly, ensuring the raspberry centre is heated through without over-baking the delicate edges.
- Patience on the Tray: These cookies will look under-baked when they first come out. Do not move them. The "carry-over" heat from the tray finishes the setting process. Moving them too early will cause the structural walls to collapse and the molten jam to leak.