We tricked you. Those tablea rounds in the photo aren’t just plain tablea. They’re already our tablea cookies—shaped to look exactly like the tablea that they’re made of. This quick, easy recipe walks you through how to make these cute little bite-sized snacks. First things first though, know that these cookies are shortbread cookies (aka cut-out cookies), not drop cookies. Shortbread cookies have a less wet batter, so they’re easier to shape into different things. Drop cookies, on the other hand, are set in a way that all you have to do is drop them on a sheet tray, then they’ll just form into a circle as they bake.
We made these tablea cookings using a SMEG stand mixer. But if you don’t have a stand mixer at home, you can easily make this in a bowl with a spatula. You only need five ingredients for this recipe: butter, powdered sugar, egg yolks, flour, and tablea.
Start by adding your softened (room temperature) butter, powdered sugar, and egg yolks into a bowl. It’s important that your butter is soft so that the other two ingredients incorporate more easily into the mixture. Beat the mixture until it’s light and fluffy, which should only take around five minutes. That means that it should have gone one to two shades lighter and that you have aerated it enough that it has doubled in volume. Don’t be impatient; keep the mixer at medium speed or else it’s going to splatter all over.
When the butter mixture is ready, add your flour and grated or powdered tablea. Tablea usually comes in small rounds. You can grate them by pushing them through a strainer or by running them through a regular grater. Make sure you use unsweetened tablea for this recipe. We’ll be using a lot of sugar, so it won’t account for extra sweetness if you use sweetened tablea. If you don’t have tablea, you can use dark cocoa powder in the same amount. Mix everything (at low speed first) just until combined. You don’t want to overmix your dough because that’ll yield tough cookies—and not in an idiomatic “I’m strong” type of way.
We formed our cookies using a polvoron mold. You can find these online or at most supermarkets; and it helps make perfect uniform circles. But if you’d rather not use one, you can always roll the dough into a long, thin log (about an inch in diameter), then slice them into half-inch pieces.
Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This step helps the butter set so that the tablea cookies don’t spread when you bake them later on.
Bake the cookies in a 350-degree oven for eight to ten minutes—just enough until the tops are set; then let them cool before serving. The cookies should be a bit crisp around the edges and still a bit moist inside.
These tablea cookies are great for snacking. We recommend dunking them in milk to get them a little bit softer! They’re also great to give as gifts. Just remember to label them as tablea cookies, or else people might melt them into tsokolate.
