If you ever dine out with me, you will notice I order my food with a request for no added salt. And you’ll judge me for it. Salt is flavor, you’ll say. Are you sure? No salt, at all? Does the food even taste like anything?
Yes. I’m sure. No salt. At all. And the food tastes like so much. It tastes, like, you know, what it actually is. Because my palate is incredibly, overly sensitive, kind of like my sense of hearing and sometimes my sense of smell too, if there is salt, particularly in excess, on my food it is all I will taste.
And if you have ever watched Food Network or peered into an open kitchen, you know excess salt is how chefs roll, and it’s how a lot of people have come to like their food, almost having been trained for it.
I’ll admit to liking a hint of salt, which for me goes an incredibly long way. At a restaurant there’s more than enough in sauces or dressings, foods that have been prepped before my request. But any more than that and I taste salt and only salt, instead of the rich, fatty, funky dry aged steak or the sweet and delicate scallop, or the nutty and ever so slightly bitter brussels sprouts.
But what is truly the craziest thing about food (and so many other things in life), is that we all have wildly different tastes. If you love salt, use it. Go for it. Eat what you like, how you like it.
These hot fudge sundae cookies have been on my to-bake list for a long time, and for me, after one single bite, I got all things ice cream. Sure the texture is way different from ice cream, but the flavor is pure vanilla creaminess.
However, someone I shared these cookies with didn’t think they were at all reminiscent of ice cream in any way, shape, or form, let alone a sundae. Of course, if you add ice cream, more fudge, and some cherries on top, they become a lot more sundae like 😉 But way before that, these screamed ice cream for me.
And I hope they do for you, but even if they don’t, they are fabulous, giant, soft and chewy sugar cookies with hot fudge and cherries baked right in. That’s a cookie that’s hard for any palate to resist.
Hot Fudge Sundae Cookies
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
Description
Giant sugar cookies made with vanilla ice cream and loaded with homemade fudge chips and candied cherries for sundaes on the go.
Ingredients
Fudge
¼ cup carob or cocoa powder
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2/3 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 ounces carob or dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coconut or dairy butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cookies
1 cup coconut oil
½ cup maple sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs
1 heaping cup frozen vanilla ice cream
4 cups paleo flour blend (2 cups almond flour, 1 ¼ cup tapioca starch, ¾ cup coconut flour)
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
Amarena cherries
Instructions
Make the fudge. In a small saucepan, stir together carob or cocoa powder, sugar, honey, cream, salt, and half the chopped carob or chocolate. Place over medium low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, until thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and stir in remaining carob or chocolate, butter, and vanilla until carob and butter are fully melted. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.
When cold, take half the fudge and break it into tiny “chips” to place in the cookies are you would chocolate chips. They can be different shapes and sizes, but none should be too big. Place the chips on a parchment lined tray and freeze until firm.
Make the cookies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/325 degrees F convection. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
In a large bowl, cream oil, sugar, and vanilla until combined and light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the ice cream until barely combined. Stir in the flour and baking soda.
Take roughly ¼ cup portions of dough, roll into a ball and break in half. Place a couple frozen chips inside. Mush the dough back together, place on the tray, flatten slightly and top with a couple more chips and a couple cherries. Repeat with all the dough and chips.
Bake about 18 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm or cool completely on the tray. Cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
Restaurant cooks really do use a lot of salt, don’t they? Anyway, what a neat, fun cookie. This is really creative. And looks incredibly tasty. Thanks!
Ugh, so much salt … too much salt. Thanks, John!
What a great idea for a cookie! Looks like a sundae and I would love one right now!!
★★★★★
Thanks, Debbie!