Also known as "the little schoolboy" cookies, petit écoliers have decadent dark chocolate paired with a buttery French biscuit for a sweet bite-sized treat.
1cuphigh quality dark chocolatechopped (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, mix together egg, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt with a wooden spoon.
1 egg, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender (or a fork - that'll just take longer). I can't emphasize enough that the butter needs to be cold - even frozen will work.
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
As this point, you'll probably need to use your hands to combine all the ingredients - if the butter starts to get melty due to the warmth of your hands, place the bowl in the fridge for a little bit until it firms up again.
Turn the dough out on a flat surface covered in wax paper. Set another piece of wax paper on top and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to around 1/2 cm. Place flattened dough in the freezer for 1 hour.
While the dough is chilling, prepare the chocolate tablets. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 15 seconds or so until melted and smooth. Pour melted chocolate into mold and place the mold in the fridge for an hour.
1 cup high quality dark chocolate
Remove dough from freezer and use a rectangle cookie cutter to cut out each of the biscuits. Place them back in the freezer for another 15-20 minutes and start preheating the oven to 350º F.
Place biscuits on a baking sheet prepared with a silicon baking mat and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.
When biscuits are completely cooled, remove each of the chocolate tablets from the mold. Melt a little bit more dark chocolate and add a couple drops to the center of each biscuit, then place a chocolate tablet on top.
Store in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting. Enjoy!