White Chocolate Caramel Ganache Cookies

After the Chicken Farm Baker’s Project: Valentine Chocolate

! I still have a White Chocolate Caramel Ganache in my fridge, and I know that I have to find the way to use it. So I adapted this recipe from: …………….

The original recipe is called Alfajores de Dulce de Leche, which is the cookie with Dulce de Leche filling. But I think the cookie that use this kind of sweet filling can be a good companion to White Chocolate Caramel Ganache too.

So, I change the filling, (I think that if you can’t buy already the Dulce de Leche in a can, my filling is easier and take less time to make too). The cookie is very easy and take very little time to make, and the dough is very easy to handle, you can reroll it without making them become tough. I use the egg wash to make the cookie’s color better, because the dough use very little sugar, the color will be too pale. But if you feel a bit lazy to do it, just sprinkle the sugar is enough to give a cookie an extra sweetness.
Anyway, I add the Dulce de Leche recipe, just in case that you really want to make it, ^ ^.
If you use the White Chocolate Caramel Ganache filling, it will be better to keep the cookie in the fridge after filling it, because the ganache will melt in hot climate.

White Chocolate Caramel Ganache Cookies

Makes 84 couples

Cookies
540g	all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
50g	confectioners’ sugar
340g	chilled salted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup	water
	Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Egg wash (optional)
1	Egg yolk
1tbsp	Water

White Chocolate Caramel Ganache
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g)	granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g)	heavy cream (35% fat content)
¼ tsp	Salt
5 oz (135g)	white chocolate, finely chopped

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat (such as Silpat).

Sift together flour and confectioners’ sugar. In a food processor, pulse together flour mixture, sugar, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 20 seconds. With machine running, pour in the water in a slow stream, and process just until the dough comes together, about 20 seconds.

Form the dough into two flattened disks and wrap well in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On a well-floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough to a scant ¼-inch thickness. Using a 1½ inches round cookie cutter, cut out rounds from the dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Gather up the scraps from both batches, and reroll and cut.

If using egg wash: mix the yolk with the water, then pass through a sieve. Pour the mixture into the bottle with spray nozzle.

Spray the egg wash over the cookies rounds.

Sprinkle the rounds with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the White Chocolate Caramel Ganache:

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces, and put in the bowl.

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color.
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream and the salt until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.

3. Pour the hot caramel-cream mixture over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. The chocolate should be smooth and shiny, let the ganache cool completely before using.

About 30 minutes before serving, spread 1 teaspoon of the cold White Chocolate Caramel Ganache (or the Dulce de Leche) on the cookies. Place the sugared cookies on top to make sandwiches. Serve immediately. Unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Optional: Dulce de Leche filling

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

Empty milk into the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until the milk is thick and amber in color, about 5 hours. Remove from heat, and beat with a wooden spoon to smooth out. Transfer to a clean bowl, and refrigerate several hours or up to 3 days