Recipe: Chocolate Wafers

Chocolate Wafers
From: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts
Makes 36 2 3/4 inch cookies

These cookies may be crumbled to make a delicious chocolate-cookie crumb crust. If you make them for that purpose roll out the dough and then just cut it with a long knife into large squares; don't bother to use a cookie cutter.

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 ounces (1/2 stick) sweet butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons light cream or milk
1 egg (graded large)

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat to mix well. Add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated. Then add the light cream or milk and the egg and beat to mix well. On low spead add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until incorporated.

Place the dough on a piece of wax paper, fold the sides of the paper over the dough and press down on the paper to flatten the dough to a scant 1-inch thickness, wrap in the paper and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes -- no longer or the dough will crack when you roll it out. (However, if you do refrigerate it for longer -- even overnight -- let it stand at room temperature for about an hour before rolling it out.)

Adjust two racks to divide oven into thirds and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

Flour a pastry cloth and place the dough on it. (If you have doubled the recipe, roll only half of the dough at a time.) With a floured rolling pin -- which should be refloured frequently to avoid sticking -- roll the dough out until it is only 1/8-inch thick (thin).

I use a round cookie cutter that is 2 3/4 inches in diameter -- use any size you like, and cut the cookies as close to each other as possible.

Place the cookies 1/2 inch apart on the aluminum foil. (It might be necessary to transfer the cookies from the pastry cloth to the foil with a wide metal spatula -- handle them carefully in order to keep them perfectly round and flat.)

Leftover pieces of the dough should be pressed together and rerolled.

Bake two sheets at a time for 7 to 8 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to insure even taking. Bake until the cookies feel almost firm to the touch. These are supposed to be crisp (they will become more crisp as they cool) and they should not be underbaked, but watch them carefully to be sure they do not burn. (If you bake one sheet at a time, bake it on the upper rack.)

With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks to cool. Store airtight.