Chocolate Dipped Mango Cookies

Juicy mangoes and bitter dark chocolate are not something that I would think to pair together, but sometimes the most unlikely matches are the best kind. This month's We Should Cocoa, hosted by Shaheen at Allotment 2 Kitchen (though the challenge was created by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog and Chele at Chocolate Teapot) is all about pairing chocolate and mangoes. Though I've failed a couple of times this year already, this is the one challenge I try to enter every month, so I took a leap of faith that Shaheen knew what she was doing when she set the challenge.

                   

Luckily, Shaheen was correct. I decided to used dried mango in these cookies because mangoes are so moist and I didn't want them to end up too soft. I don't often cook with dark chocolate, but it worked very well here in contrast with the sweet pieces of dried mango. Rather than chop the chocolate into the cookies, I decided to dip them into it. This was partly to shake things up a bit, and partly because it looked more interesting.

These are very moreish, and would make a good snack or post-lunch treat. I think the dark chocolate could be exchanged for milk, but white might be too sweet.

Makes 8

Ingredients

• 100g Plain Flour
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 100g Butter
• 1 Egg
• 80g Dried Mango
• 80g Dark Chocolate

Recipe

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan, and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
• Finely chop the mango, or use scissors to cut it into small pieces. Place it to one side.
• Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the egg.
• Stir in the mango pieces, followed by the flour to form a sticky dough.
• Use a tablespoon to measure out chunks of the dough, placing them onto the parchment paper. Use the back of the spoon to flatten the dough.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to firm up. Place on a wire rack to cool.
• Melt the chocolate by breaking it up into small chunks and placing them in a microwaveable bowl. Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.
• Dip the cookies into the chocolate, using a teaspoon to help cover the sides. Place the cookies back onto the wire rack, placing a sheet of parchment paper underneath to catch any excess chocolate.
• Leave the cookies until the chocolate has set.

I'm posting something special on Wednesday because it's my mum's birthday, so make sure you check back then!