As soon as we spotted these bat cookies, we knew we had to get the recipe to make them for our own Halloween parties. Lucky for us, Chef Thomas Keller, executive chef and owner of the Bouchon Bakeries, took us under his wing and showed us exactly how to create his scream-filled, ahem, cream-filled treats.
With locations in New York City, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas, the Bouchon Bakeries churn out hand-crafted chocolate confections, fluffy croissants, and a million other glorious ways to cheat on your diet. All their recipes are based on traditional French techniques, including these adorable bat cookies!
“Playing on the idea of Oreos, one of my favorite cookies, Sebastien [Rouxel, our executive pastry chef] devised this cookie in my honor for the Bouchon Bakeries,” Chef Keller told us. “I mean, who does not love an Oreo cookie? Cookies make me reminisce about my youth and incorporate all of the flavors and textures we love best: crispiness, chewiness, sweetness, and flavors we adore—from chocolate to caramel and vanilla cream—all wrapped into a little package that fits into your hand and makes you smile with every bite.”
The delicious result? The Thomas Keller Oreo! “Our TKO (Thomas Keller Oreo) is a bit more sophisticated than what we had as a child,” says Keller. The mouthwatering cookies are available all year long at Bouchon and take on a festive turn during the holidays. “[We make] bats for Halloween, hearts for Valentine’s Day—but any day of the year, this is one seriously good cookie!”
Read on for the delightfully batty recipe from Chef Keller!
Chocolate Shortbread
Ingredients:
1 3/4 plus 1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/8 teaspoon baking powder
8 oz. unsalted butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Place flour to medium bowl and sift in cocoa and baking soda.
Whisk to combine.2. Place butter in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low until smooth. Note: this can be done with room temperature butter without the paddle mixer.
3. Add salt and mix for about 30 more seconds.
4. Add sugar and mix for 2 minutes.
5. Add dry ingredients in 2 parts and mix each time for about 30 seconds on low or until just combined and the dough begins to come together.
6. Mound the dough in a work surface with the heel of your hand.
7. Make a block cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until hard—but note this can be done and left for 2 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer to make later.
8. When ready to make unwrap, place block of dough in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll left and right, and up and down while turning the dough as needed with the rolling pin until you have 1/8 inch think sheet.
9. Cut into bat shapes with a cookie cutter (crateandbarrel.com, $2).
Note: Don’t let those leftover trimmings go to waste! Chef Keller recommends pushing the extra dough together and refrigerating until firm again for a new batch. Or grind the baked trimmings into cookie crumbs to use over ice cream or to make a cookie cracker pie crust.
10. Preheat oven to 325° and line pan with parchment paper, Silpat (williams-sonoma.com, $27), or other non stick product.
11. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, turning the pan around half way through baking.
12. Set aside for 5-10 minutes then remove and place on a cooling rack to completely cool before filling.
Cream Filling
Ingredients:
4.5 ounces white chocolate, chopped
.5 ounces unsalted butter
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon heavy cream
You’ll also need a pastry bag with a 3/16 inch tip
Directions:
1. Melt chocolate and butter together, stirring constantly.
2. Meanwhile, bring the cream to just under a simmer.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk to combine.
4. Pour into a container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or up to one day) until completely chilled.
Assemble Your Cookies
1. Remove filling and beat until smooth. Then, transfer into the pastry bag.
2. Line the center of the cookies with a thin layer of cream—with teardrops around the edges (approximately 1/4″ to 1/8″ from the edges) for a more finished look to the filling if you want.
3. Top each with another cookie and gently press.
4. Blood red icing or red hot candies can be used to give your bat cookies appropriately spooky eyes. Happy haunting!