Chicory Ice Box Cookies with Chocolate Glaze — Yum!

I just made some great melt-in-your-mouth cookies — “Chicory Ice Box Cookies with Chocolate Glaze.” I love baking cookies and am always tempted when I run across a new recipe. This particular ice box cookie recipe was featured in a recent Southern Living magazine along with several other desserts and beverages using chicory. Baking shortbread cookies has been on my “to do” list for quite a while. While ice box cookies aren’t exactly shortbread cookies — the ingredients are close enough. The key element of ice box cookies is that they are chilled in prior to baking — preferably in a log roll shape. Adding chicory gave a unique flavor twist to these cookies. Finding chicory is not difficult in Louisiana, since this ground, woody root is frequently added to flavor coffee. In fact, many native folks in Southern Louisiana see coffee with chicory as their “must have” morning beverage, especially in the New Orleans area. I had second reason for baking the cookies. White Lily^® brand flour caught my eye on a recent grocery shopping trip. This pastry flour is an old Southern brand used for making biscuits and pastries. I have never seen it stocked in grocery stores. Of course, I had to purchase a bag. Couldn’t wait to get started baking these cookies using my “new” pastry flour and chicory.

About Chicory Coffee

Coffee with chicory is readily available in Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans area. It is the type of coffee used in “café au lait,” that morning beverage made of equal parts of hot, steaming milk mixed with chicory coffee. We always enjoy stopping for a treat of café au lait and beignets when we visit New Orleans — even if it is late at night!

Chicory coffee is the dried, ground root of a perennial, herbaceous plant in the dandelion family. It adds a woody, nutty and distinctive taste to coffee.

Chicory coffee can be traced to the Napoleonic Wars in early 19th century France. Facing a coffee shortage during the wars when trade routes were disrupted, people began to substitute ground chicory root for coffee since the taste was similar. French settlers brought chicory coffee with them to Southern Louisiana when they emigrated to this country. During the Civil War, another coffee shortage developed. Chicory again gained popularity as a way to extend coffee. Eventually, coffee with chicory became a staple ingredient in households in the New Orleans area. Interestingly, chicory does not contain caffeine — so this coffee may not give the “zing” of dark roast coffee. And, it is important to note that chicory is now used as a coffee extender and flavoring — I have never found 100% chicory for coffee anywhere.

While it is easy to find coffee with chicory in Louisiana, I’m guessing that it may be difficult to purchase this coffee other parts of the country. So, you can easily substitute finely ground instant espresso powder in the recipe

Ice Box Cookies and Shortbread Cookies

Making shortbread cookies has been in my “to do” list and I have several tempting recipes to post in the future. However, it looks like ice box cookies are coming up first. These two cookie types are similar. A key element of both is that they don’t contain leavening — baking soda and baking powder. (However, I did find a recipe for ice box cookies containing a tiny amount of baking soda.) Shortbread cookies do not contain eggs. Both types of cookies make a dense, crumbly biscuit which doesn’t rise or puff up. They are rich, melt-in-your mouth cookies. They can be flavored in a variety of ways.

Shortbread cookies originated in Scotland. Although they have been known for centuries, the cookies were refined by Mary, Queen of Scots, during the 1500s when she brought French pastry chefs with her from France to Scotland. The ingredient proportions are traditionally one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour. “Short” refers to crumbly rather than “long” and stretchy.

Ice box cookies became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s. An “ice box” refers to an early version of the refrigerator. Prior to electricity, foods were kept cold using ice blocks placed in an insulated box. “Ice box” cookies were rolled into a log and chilled for at least 4 hours. Then they were sliced and baked. With an “ice box,” the dough could be prepared and kept chilled for several days.

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book

I referenced my “vintage” Better Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, a reproduction of the 1950 cookbook, for ice box cookie recipes. Sure enough, I found picture images and recipes for these cookies — along with shortbread cookie recipes. The recipe in the current issue of Southern Living magazine was almost identical to the one in the original Better Crocker Picture Cook Book. Yes, these vintage recipes are still relevant today.

Pastry Flour — White Lily^® Flour and Swans Down Cake Flour

Another element of my cookie recipe was using a specialty pastry flour in the dough. Although I have am familiar with the brand of White Lily^® flour, this was the first time that I have noticed it for sale in grocery stores. So, I purchased a bag to try out in several dessert recipes. This flour dates to 1883 and originated in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is made with 100% soft red winter wheat which has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour. With less gluten, the flour makes tender, flaky pastries including biscuits, cornbread, cakes, pie shells. White Lily^® flour has been a favorite of cooks in the Southern states for years. It is comparable to Swans Down Cake Flour which can also be used in this recipe.

Ingredients for the Recipe — A Small Batch of Cookies

Here are the ingredients for my recipe. I scaled down the quantities used in my reference recipe to make a “small batch.” As you can see, there is no baking powder or soda in the ingredient list. I used both granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Vanilla extract adds flavor. Dark Chocolate Morsels were melted to make a glaze for the cookies.

Coffee Grounds vs Chicory Coffee Concentrate

Chicory coffee is added to the cookie batter to give chicory flavor. And here’s the dilemma. Community brand Coffee & Chicory is not instant coffee. For my first batch, I added ground coffee directly to the cookie dough. It gave great flavor — but also added crunchy coffee grinds. No one seemed to mind. However, I wanted flavor — but not crunch. For my second batch, I steeped strong coffee by adding coffee grounds to boiling water. After letting it steep for about 10 minutes, I decanted and strained off the liquid to make “coffee syrup” and remove the grinds. To compensate for the extra liquid in the dough, I added two additional tablespoons of flour.

Mixing up the Cookies

This is a traditional cookie dough recipe. That meant getting out my small, inexpensive electric mixer to beat up the cookies. (I tried using a wire whip to mix up the dough — what a mess — soft butter doesn’t whip well by hand.) So, whip the butter and sugars together until they are light and airy.. Then add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, chicory coffee syrup and salt.

Last, add the White Lily^® flour (or Swans Down Cake Flour). Measure the flour carefully, leveling off the measuring cup and spoons. Mix only until combined — don’t over stir. The dough is crumbly and sticky.

Roll into a long, log and wrap in plastic wrap. Let the log chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. (You can let the dough chill longer including several days to overnight — and even freeze the dough.) This is important — don’t skip this step! The dough is sticky and impossible to slice without chilling.

I made two batches of cookies. The first time, I made a large, thick log (3″ diameter) — which resulted in 9 – 10 large cookies. (I’m pretty sure I ate some of the dough!) For the second batch, I made a thinner log (1-1/2″ diameter) which made 20 small cookies. Your choice! Here’s large log roll (left) and the second smaller log on the right:

When you are ready to finish the cookies — slice into disks.

Transfer to baking sheets and bake. Here are the small cookies.

Here are the large cookies….

These cookies are soft and crumbly. Make sure they cool completely before trying to handle — the cookies will become firmer as they cool.

Chocolate Glaze

The chocolate glaze makes these cookies special. Don’t skip the topping! It is made by melting Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels.

Melting chocolate chips or morsels takes a little technique. It you try to heat them too much — they will melt and “seize” up — ruining the chocolate. So, melt dark chocolate morsels in the microwave oven for just barely a minute until the morsels are softened. Don’t try to melt all the chocolate chips — they will continue melt as you stir the chips.

Spread the melted morsels on the cookies. That’s it!

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are delicious. Just enough chicory flavor. The chocolate glaze makes the perfect topping. I liked using the specialty flour in this recipe, the cookies were soft and buttery. These cookies didn’t last long!

Which cookies did I like better? Those with coffee with chicory grounds added directly to the batter or a chicory coffee syrup? The grounds added directly to the dough made a more pronounced flavor. If you don’t mind a few crunchy bits, this is the way to go. The coffee flavored syrup gave a much milder flavor.

Now, I can check off ice box cookies from “cookies that I want to try.” However, “Satsuma and Rosemary Shortbread Cookies” are still on my list to bake this winter when my satsumas ripen. And, perhaps “Blueberry & Lemon Cookies” for this summer. What other flavors can I think of….so many ideas.

Adding chicory to flavor the cookies made a nice “twist” on Ice Box Cookies. Enjoy a taste of Louisiana!