Chocolate Bonbon Cookies

I’m amazed at my mom’s creativity, seriously! Just when I thought she couldn’t do any better, she introduced me to this recipe for chocolate bonbon cookies, cookies that are very simple to make, but definitely unlike anything I’ve ever tasted!

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, I decided to make this recipe with my mom’s help to show you the beauty of these cookies and the creativity they involve. Check out the final result in the image below and tell me if they don’t look spectacular!

My mom makes these cookies every Christmas (she makes them with Ferrero Rocher, because I love them), and I can assure you that they are a huge hit on our Christmas table. Since we’re approaching Christmas, I thought it would be a great time to finally introduce this recipe to the world!

This recipe came straight from my mom, with her own tweaks and tips. I have to admit that I didn’t change much of the recipe; I’ll just give you a few golden tips that will ensure the cookies turn out perfect every time!

Ingredients For Chocolate Bonbon Cookies

The ingredients needed to make these cookies are very simple! The only difference here is that we’ll need a bonbon to place in the middle of the cookie. Below are all the ingredients. I just have to apologize because I forgot to include the egg in the photo, but I didn’t omit it from the recipe.

• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (120 g) – It’s essential to use very cold butter! If we use room-temperature butter, the dough won’t be as firm and won’t be able to hold its shape while baking.
• ½ cup powdered sugar (60 g) – It’s crucial that you use powdered sugar because it simply tastes better in cookie recipes. It melts much more easily into the dough, creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture!
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 g) – It’s essential to use all-purpose flour here. I tried bread and cake flour, and the texture wasn’t the same. So don’t change the type of flour in this recipe.
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (40 g) -It gives the dough its rich chocolate flavor and color. It’s important to use high-quality cocoa powder. My favorite brand is Guittard, but you can choose other brands.
• ¾ cup white chocolate (150 g) – Used to drizzle on top of the cookies. Besides providing a beautiful contrast, it adds a touch of incomparable flavor.
• 1 pinch of salt – It’s not just used to make the cookies “salty”, as many people think, but also to intensify the flavor of other ingredients, such as chocolate.
• 1 medium egg – The famous egg I forgot to photograph, but you can’t ignore it in this recipe! It adds moisture to the recipe, and also acts as a binder, holding the dough together.
• Small round chocolates – Frozen for at least 3 hours. You can use a chocolate of your choice, like Lindt truffles, Rolos, Ferrero Rocher, or similar.

Let’s Make These Delicious Bonbon Cookies!

Shall we get straight to the point?

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Transfer to a food processor, add the cold butter and salt, and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the egg and blend again until the dough starts to come together.

Joge usually helps me take photos, but he wasn’t home, so I forgot to take photos of the food processor steps. Oops!

Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. This helps firm up the dough and improves the cookie shape during baking.

This is when I usually preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C), because it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the cookies to be ready for baking.

Now comes my favorite part, wrapping the surprise bonbon in my delicious cookie dough!

Take a piece of dough, flatten it slightly in your palm, and place a frozen chocolate in the center. A really VERY important tip I want to give you is that you should freeze the chocolate for 3 hours (at least) before wrapping it in the cookie dough.

This will help the chocolate stay firm while baking. I’ve tried this with room-temperature chocolate, and the recipe was a disaster because the chocolate melted and mixed with the cookie dough. If you freeze the chocolate before using it, the cookies will always come out perfect!

Now, simply wrap the dough around the chocolate and roll into a smooth ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Now you just need to put the cookies in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. To know if they’re ready, you need to see if they’re slightly firm on the bottom but still soft on top. If they are ready, place them on the wing rack to cool.

If you’d like, you can end the recipe here! The cookies are ready to serve and enjoy, but if you’re like me, you like to take things to the next level… I love to top them with white chocolate, they look beautiful in photos, and delicious!

Melt the white chocolate using a double boiler or microwave at low power, since Jorge wasn’t there, I had to do it in a hurry and didn’t have time to take a picture, because the chocolate hardens very quickly (sorry!).

Transfer it to a piping bag or a small plastic bag with the tip cut off. Once the cookies are fully cooled, drizzle the white chocolate over the tops. Let set before serving!

And there you have it, your bonbon cookies are ready! I hope you enjoyed my recipe. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can comment below.

Don’t make the same mistakes I did!

Don’t make the same mistakes I did! I’ve tested this recipe enough times to know what can go wrong, so here are the errors to avoid if you want perfect cookies every time.

• You really have to freeze the chocolates before putting them in the cookie dough – I made the mistake of putting room-temperature chocolates in the cookie dough, and it was a disaster. When the cookie went in the oven, the chocolate center melted and fused with the cookie dough, ruining the whole concept of the recipe.
• Don’t use overly large chocolates – I recommended using Ferrero Rocher at the beginning of this article, but you really need to be careful because they’re large. What I usually do is remove the chocolate layer around the chocolate, so I only use the small hazelnut ball in the center of the Ferrero Rocher.
• Skipping the chilling step – It’s tempting… I know… I know so well that I already skipped this part once, and I regretted it! If you don’t chill the dough, the butter will soften too much and the cookies will spread, losing their shape. The half hour wait is worth it, believe me.

These were the mistakes I made while making these delicious bonbon cookies. Actually, I could have made more, but my mom taught me well from the beginning!

You’ll love these variations!

I’ve actually already told you about some of the variations I used throughout this article, but I’ll use this section to summarize my favorite variations.

• Ferrero Rocher – As I mentioned throughout this recipe, a bonbon that works incredibly well in these bonbon cookies is Ferrero Rocher! With a Ferrero Rocher, these cookies are ready for the holidays in no time, perfect for Christmas and even Thanksgiving dessert.
• Peanut Butter Truffles – I love peanut butter recipes… So of course I tried this flavor! I had some Peanut Butter Truffles in the drawer, froze them for 3 hours, and decided to give them a try… The bonbon cookies were spectacular!
• Pistachio Filling – It’s so trendy that I couldn’t help but try it!It’s impossible not to try it, right? There are thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram about this trendy filling! I bought ready-made pistachio filling, made little balls, and froze them for 5 hours. I have to admit, I didn’t really like the final flavor, but if you really like pistachios, I’m sure you’ll love it.

These were some variations I tested.

You don’t need to make a separate batch of cookies for each variation. Do as I do, place different chocolates in the center of the cookies, and then… It’s a surprise! It’s even funny to see your guests choosing the cookies without knowing what’s inside!

And we’ve reached the end of another recipe, but don’t worry, my oven is almost always on! I have a new recipe for you tomorrow!

Before you go, if you’re looking for more recipes perfect for Christmas and the holidays, you can check out these peanut butter balls with just 4 ingredients and these no-bake goodie bars.

These holiday bonbon cookies are a family favorite in my kitchen, and I’d love to hear what you think of them too! Drop your thoughts in the comments, or let me know if you tried a fun variation.