Not too long ago, for a girls’ weekend away, I made these Malteser Brownies and they were, not surprisingly, a hit. I mean, chocolate with more chocolate and half-melted Maltesers – what’s not to love?
Riffing off the success of the brownies, I wanted a cookie version: Malteser Cookies. Initially, I went full chocolate again and amped things up with the addition of Milo to the dough. Unfortunately, they did not live up to what the ingredients promised in my mind. They still got eaten – I do have two teenagers who will happily devour almost anything involving chocolate – but they weren’t worth putting here.
I am stubborn though, so I wanted another crack at getting the cookie recipe worthy of sharing.
Then we encountered the second issue. I wanted some malt flavour in the dough, but the Milo hadn’t quite worked, so I pivoted to malt powder. After searching several shops, I could not find the elusive stuff anywhere.
Eventually, I did find malt extract. And when I did, I stood staring at that tin for a good five minutes debating whether it was worth the $10. It’s a big jar and I wasn’t entirely sure I’d use more than a few teaspoons of it.
Did I mention I can be stubborn?
Logic eventually left the building and the malt extract came home.
I have attempted a few other recipes with it since – more on that later – so I’m working on justifying the purchase. But if you aren’t up for your own adventure trying to find malt extract, leave it out. You’ll still have a cookie worth making, just one that’s slightly less malty.
Worth Making?
- Yes – if the idea of slightly melted Maltesers gets you as excited as it does me!
- Yes – the malt extract gives the cookie itself a subtle malty flavour, rather than relying on the Maltesers to do all the work.
- Yes – if you like your cookies chewy in the middle, lightly crisp around the edges and finished with a little salt to cut through the sweetness.
- Skip it – if you prefer a straightforward chocolate chip cookie. The malt is evident.
- Skip it – if you’re after a very thick, chunky bakery-style cookie. These are on the thin and crispy side.
Malteser Cookies
Ingredients
- 170 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 125 grams brown sugar
- 70 grams caster sugar
- 30 grams liquid malt extract (about 1 1/2 tbsp)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 grams plain flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 130 grams maltesers, roughly chopped
- flaky sea salt to finish
Instructions
- Beat the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes until creamy and slightly lighter.
- Beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add malt extract and mix until combined.
- Whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add to the butter mixture and mix just until almost combined. Fold through the chopped Maltesers.
- Portion into 60–65g balls and refrigerate for 30–45 minutes.
- Heat oven to 175°C fan / 190°C conventional and line baking trays. Space the cookies well apart and bake for 10–12 minutes.
- Finish with a little flaky salt and leave on the tray for 8–10 minutes before transferring to a rack.
Make it your own way
- More chocolate – add 75–100g roughly chopped milk chocolate if you want these to be more like a chocolate chunk cookie.
- Dial back the malt – leave out the malt extract for a simpler brown sugar Malteser cookie or if you can’t find it/don’t want to buy it just for these cookies.
- Go darker – add chopped dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate to temper the sweetness of the Maltesers.
- Play up the salt – be a little more generous with the flaky sea salt after baking if, like me, you prefer the sweet-salty contrast.
- Can’t find Maltesers? – Whoppers or another chocolate-coated malted milk ball will work.
