Duck Fat Cookies

duckfatcookiesthumb.jpgAugust 2014 - a bit of an experiment that I have been wondering about for a while - what happens if you make chocolate chip cookies using duck fat instead of butter?

The Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 125g Duck fat
  • 125g Caster sugar
  • 100g Soft brown sugar
  • 225g Self-raising flour
  • 100g Dark chocolate
  • 75g Milk chocolate
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

duckfatcookies1.jpgPut the fat and brown and white sugar in a large bowl and cream them together with a wooden spoon.

At room temperature, duck fat is quite soft - almost melting - so it's quite easy to combine with the sugar.

duckfatcookies2.jpgBeat the egg a little and mix it with the sugar/fat mixture.

Add the vanilla and mix this in.

duckfatcookies3.jpgSift the flour into the bowl and stir carefully until fully combined - the result should be a soft, slightly sticky dough.

This is a good point at which to preheat the oven - 170C.

duckfatcookies4.jpgCut the chocolate into smallish chunks.

This is easier to do if the chocolate is chilled in the fridge a little - this makes it snap into pieces.

duckfatcookies5.jpgMix the chocolate pieces into the dough.

duckfatcookies6.jpgTake walnut-sized pieces of dough and flatten them slightly - then place on a baking tray on greased paper (I used a reusable nonstick sheet).

Leave space between the pieces of dough as they will spread during cooking.

Place in the oven for 7 minutes.

duckfatcookies7.jpgRemove from the oven when the cookies are just starting to turn light golden brown at the edges.

They may seem soft and underdone if you touch them when they are hot, but if you leave them any longer, they will be hard, crunchy and burnt-tasting when cool.

duckfatcookies8.jpgLeave to cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Duck Fat Cookies

duckfatcookies9.jpg

Despite containing a notionally quite savoury ingredient, these cookies are quite sweet.

As an experiment, I would say they are a success, but next time, I think I may use half butter and half duck fat - as they were very rich-tasting.

Another thing I might consider is to use only milk chocolate pieces - as dark chocolate seems to have an almost savoury taste in this context.

Why Duck Fat?

As with Mum's Chocolate & Raisin Jumbles (which use a combination of lard and butter), the result is a crisp, yet rich and somehow succulent bake.

duckfatcookies10.jpgThe duck fat I used in this recipe came from a tin of duck confit that I brought back on a recent trip to France - I always reserve the fat from these anyway, as duck fat makes excellent roast potatoes.

duckfatcookies11.jpgA large tin containing 4 generous portions of duck typically also yields more than a pint of fat - which I just heat up until clear, strain and pour into a jar - it will keep for months in the fridge, if necessary.