Is there anything better than a chocolate cookie? I would argue that there is and it’s a chocolate sandwich cookie stuffed with vanilla creme.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love chocolate as much as anyone. Probably more than most people, in fact. But I always prefer treats that offer two flavors instead of just one. I’d rather have a cream cheese brownie than a plain brownie. A chocolate chip cookie is so satisfying because of the combination of cookie and chocolate. And what’s a cupcake without frosting? (I think it’s just a muffin and a muffin is not dessert.)

In that vein, these chocolate sandwich cookies are just utterly irresistible. The cookie is rich and decadent, made with both melted bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder for a chocolate one-two punch that cannot be beat.

But the vanilla creme filling takes this chocolate cookie to another level. The sweetness of the vanilla icing might be cloying on its own, but paired with the bittersweet chocolate, it’s perfection. The cookies are slightly crisp and crumbly; the filling is soft and dense. It’s just so satisfying to sink your teeth into one of these babies.

The cookie recipe is adapted from the Deluxe Double Chocolate Cookie recipe in Tartine, the first cookbook from the husband-and-wife team behind the iconic San Francisco bakery of the same name.

I was lucky enough to eat at Tartine, the bakery, twice this year and both meals — if you can call stuffing your face with pastries first thing in a morning a “meal” — were totally memorable and lived up to the bakery’s considerable hype. Indeed, as I said to my husband at the time, my only regret about eating at Tartine was that I did not eat more.

(Funny story about our second trip to Tartine: my husband’s main goal in returning a second time was to have the bread pudding again. He’s a bread pudding aficionado and found Tartine’s version, that we sampled in March, to transcend the category. But when we returned in July, the bread pudding was made with raspberries, a fruit my husband does not like. So he wouldn’t order it. Isn’t that sad? The bread pudding was the main reason he wanted to go back! Of course, he consoled himself with like three other things.)

On my second trip to Tartine, I sampled a chocolate cookie made with rye flour that was so simple yet so unusual and tasty, that I wanted nothing more than to have another one. And since I don’t live in San Francisco, trying to recreate the cookie at home was my only option. So, even though my bookshelves were groaning, I purchased Tartine, the cookbook, where I found the recipe for their Deluxe Double Chocolate Cookies.

The Deluxe Double Chocolate Cookies in the book were clearly not the same as the Chocolate Rye cookie I purchased at the bakery — where is that recipe, Chad and Elisabeth? — but since they were the closest thing I could find to that recipe, and one of the simpler recipes in the book, I made them. The cookies were delicious but my first thought upon trying one was: “it needs something.” It was too much…chocolate.

In Tartine, the authors suggest sandwiching the cookies with chocolate ganache, but I think the last thing these cookies need is more chocolate. Again, I like my chocolate best when it is paired with a different, complementary flavor. (Chocolate and vanilla, chocolate and mint, chocolate and raspberry.) So, my resident pastry chef, Zuzu, and I decided to turn these chocolate cookies into chocolate sandwich cookies with a vanilla creme filling. And something new was born.

To be clear, the cookie part of this recipe is adapted from the one in Tartine. I added a few things, changed the order slightly and I cook my cookies for longer than called for in that recipe because I need them to be firmer than the ones in Tartine to hold up to being stuffed with icing. But, if you have Tartine — and if you like to bake, you really should — the cookie recipe will look familiar.

The filling recipe is similar to a vanilla buttercream frosting but slightly stiffer with more powdered sugar and less liquid. (Be sure to sift your powdered sugar well.) I use butter, not vegetable shortening as you will see in a lot of recipes for sandwich cookie filling, because I never have vegetable shortening in the house and I think it adds a greasy texture and odd flavor. But the result will be a cream-colored filling, not a bright white filling. Do you care? I sure don’t.

These Deluxe Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are the kind of thing your family cannot believe you made for them. “Are these for us,” they will cry in disbelief. And prepare for the whoops of joy when you answer in the affirmative. One of these cookies packed into a lunch box will make your child the absolute envy of his or her table. Guaranteed.

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Yum

Deluxe Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

Cookie
• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids)
• 1 cup + 1 TB flour
• 10 TB cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup plus 2 TB sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 TB vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole milk
Filling
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 4 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 TB milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line three baking sheets with parchment or Silpat liners.
2. Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan set over the lowest possible heat, such as "Simmer." Stir frequently to prevent scorching and remove from heat as soon as the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder, if using, and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer for several minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, and mix until combine.
6. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and mix until combined.
7. Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix. Lastly, add the milk and mix just until combined.
8. Using a small cookie scoop or large spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, a dozen to the sheet. You should get between 30 and 36 cookies depending on size but make sure you have an even number.
9. Bake the trays one at a time for nine minutes. Allow the cookie to cool on the sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.
10. Make the filling. In a standing mixer, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla. (The mixture will seem dry and crumbly at first, but will eventually begin to clump together.)
11. Add the milk, beating until smooth and spreadable. (The filling should be stiff but still spreadable.)
12. Carefully spread a small amount of filling on bottom of one cookie and top with a second, similarly sized cookie and gently press down.
13. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

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