Swagg Cookie

Another lesson today on Good, Better, Best  :)
Remember the (Almost) Swig Cookie recipe I posted last summer? If you haven't made it yet, you need to get busy. I've had dozens of people tell me they love to make the cookies at home, since they don't live close to the famous Swig cookie shacks. So how do you improve on a good thing?
One word.
Chocolate.

naked, before frosting ;)

I love the simplicity of the (Almost) Swig Cookie. It's easy to throw together, scoop, flatten and bake. Speaking to women here: you and I both know, there are times a sugar cookie won't fill our want  need. We need chocolate.
In the interest of making a good thing better, I played with my original recipe and made a few adjustments. After a couple of test batches, I came up with the (Almost) Chocolate Swig Cookie...but that's a mouthful, so I named it the Swagg Cookie. It's a little bit short-bready (technical ABK term) on the sugar coated edges, soft in the middle, lots of dark chocolate flavor, topped with a bit of creamy chocolate-sour cream frosting. If that's not swagg, I don't know what is.







Here's the deal.
Good:  Cookie from cookie stand :)
Better: (Almost) Swig Cookie, baked in your kitchen
Best:    Chocolate Swagg Cookie
You choose.

*updated 6/2014 to yield 18 large or 30-32 small cookies

Chocolate Swagg Cookies
A Bountiful Kitchen
print recipe

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening, (butter flavor is best)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon almond or vanilla flavoring ( I like almond)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

for shaping cookies:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
cooking spray
*glass with flat bottom, see notes below

Preheat oven to 350 or 325 on convection setting.
Cream butter, shortening and sugar together.
Add sour cream and almond flavoring. Mix. Add the cocoa and mix again until smooth. The mixture should be creamy, with no specks of white. Turn the mixer off.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt all at once. Mix just until all of the flour disappears, on the lowest setting. This should take about 20-30 seconds.
Using a 1 3/4 inch to 2 inch scoop, place the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Lightly spray the bottom of a glass with cooking spray. First press the glass against a cookie, then dip the bottom of glass in sugar to flatten cookie a bit. Continue dipping the bottom of the glass into the sugar after flattening each cookie.
After all of the cookies are flattened a bit, go back and lightly sprinkle sugar on top of each cookie.
Bake for about 9-10 minutes at 325 convection, or about 10-12 minutes at 350.
The cookies should be barely firm on top. Do not over cook!
Let cool completely on cookie sheet. Frost when cool.
Yield about 18 large cookies or 30-32 small to medium cookies.

Sour Cream Chocolate Swagg Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoon sour cream
3 1/2  cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
milk to thin, about 2-3 tablespoons

Cream butter, sour cream and powdered sugar. Add cocoa and vanilla, beat until smooth. Thin frosting with milk a  tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

Tips:
-To achieve an edge on the cookie, or "lip" * :
1. Generously fill the cookie scoop, extra dough will help form an outer edge on the cookie.
2. Choose a glass with a flat bottom. Look at the bottom of the glass, if the bottom is not flat, the dough will not press out properly.
3. I use a 2 1/4 inch glass bottom for my smaller 1 3/4 inch cookie scoop; and a 2 3/4 inch glass bottom  when using a 2 inch cookie scoop .
4. Flatten the cookie ball with the bottom of the glass, twisting the glass gently as you flatten the dough ball. The dough should no longer be mounded. The cookie should be about 1/4 inch thick after flattening with glass.
-I use Dutch Process Cocoa, which I highly recommend for this cookie.
-This cookie will keep well refrigerated for a few days. Frost after cool, refrigerate in a single layer until the frosting is set, then stack in layers between parchment or wax paper, cover tightly.
-If you want to mail this cookie, I would add a cup of chocolate chips to the batter and use all butter flavor  shortening. It will stay fresh longer and travel better. Sprinkle generously with sugar on top and leave the frosting off of the cookie. Perfect for missionaries, college students or military care packages!
-Be very careful to not over bake this cookie. It will be slightly firm to the touch when done. Because the cookie is so dark in color, it cannot be judged by color when it is finished baking. See the photos at the top of the page for example of cookie after removing from oven, but before frosting.

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