These plump and chocolatey cookies are among those I particularly like. At Christmas, they are still part of the cohort of 13 varieties of cookies that I offer for the occasion. This is my Quebec version of the 13 Christmas desserts from a distant Provençal tradition.

This recipe comes from an old issue of Châtelaine from December 2003. It can also be found on the Châtelaine website.

Double chocolate cookies

Ingredients:

250 ml (1 cup) butter

200 ml (3/4 cup) sugar

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

7 ml (1 1/2 teaspoons) instant coffee

450 ml (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour

125 ml (1/2 cup) quality cocoa

For the ganache:

90 g (3 oz) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

45 ml (3 tbsp) unsalted butter

7.5 ml (1 1/2 teaspoons) corn syrup

Preparation:

Cream the butter and sugar.

Stir in vanilla and coffee.

Sift together flour and cocoa.

Stir into first mixture.

Shape 32 balls of 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of dough.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them 4 cm (1 1/2 inches).

Press down each ball with a fork.

Bake in the top of the preheated oven at 350 degrees F, 12 to 14 minutes or until the center of the cookies is still slightly soft.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Repeat if necessary.

Heat all ganache ingredients in a double boiler over low heat until chocolate is melted.

Leave to cool.

Place 7 ml (1/2 tablespoons) of ganache on each biscuit and form sandwiches.

Makes about 18 plump cookies.