I remember making these for the first time. It was the 80’s, and my mom had torn the recipe out of a woman’s magazine. We loved them! We have made them the exact same way ever since. They are a Winters clan tradition. It would not be Christmas without the bon bons. The year I had a 2 month old infant and was packing to move 300 miles, I still made these cookies. This year, my sister told me to just give her a box of these for Christmas. I have searched google looking for the original recipe and couldn’t find it. I may be the last person on Earth making these cookies. Do you know these cookies? Do you make them?
disclaimer: no-one seems to love these cookies as much as we do. I have given them to friends and they liked them, but…I also mentioned to my nephew the other night that I had made them. He said “Which one are those?” So, nostalgia might be the secret ingredient here.
bon bon cookies
ingredients
for cookies:
- 1 & 1/3 c. unbleached flour
- 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
- 2 tbl. whole milk
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
for decorating:
- 1 & 2/3 c. confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 c. whole milk
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. light corn syrup
- red food coloring(optional)
- 4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
Sift flour and salt into a small bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together on medium-high in an electric mixer. This will not fluff the way granulated sugar and butter will. Add milk, then almond extract, mixing well after each. Turn mixer to low, then slowly add the flour mixture until well combined. Put dough into bowl and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough into small ball( i make each ball .65 ounce. Yes, I AM a little OCD…it makes the perfect two bite cookie). Use your thumb to make a cavity in the ball. Put 3 chips in the hole, then roll back into ball shape. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 15 minutes, then cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet on rack. Remove from sheet and cool completely on rack.
To decorate, melt the chocolate over double boiler and whisk to smooth(use any leftover chips from rolling the cookies here). To make the icing, whisk the sugar and milk in a bowl. Add the extract and corn syrup(this gives the icing a little shine). Add more sugar, a little bit at a time, if the icing seems to thin. Add food coloring and whisk to get to desired color.
Dip each cookie in the icing, scrape the bottom against he side of the bowl, and place on a wire rack to dry. I put a cookie sheet under my rack to catch any drips. Let cookies dry, then dip again. Twice is enough here, or the cookies will be too sweet. Put melted chocolate into a pastry bag with a small tip, and make a small swirl on the top of each cookie.
8 batches made, 344 cookies, 698 to go.
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MAKES 2 DOZEN: I forgot to say that my recipe, which uses 1 3/4 c flour, 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1/2 c butter, 2 T milk, 1/2 t almond extract, and 1/8 t salt, says it makes about 2 dozen cookies. This recipe says to use 2 rounded teaspoons of dough molded around 6 chocolate chips. The rest is the same as Krista’s recipe posted here.
I have made these for years and years and years too. And yes, I cut the recipe out of a woman’s magazine and glued it to a recipe card. On a lark, I decided to see if I could find them online tonight. I am excited to know others out there are as crazy in love with them as I am.
MY RECIPE: The recipe I have calls for 2 rounded teaspoons of dough (MUCH smaller than a ping pong ball) to be shaped around SIX chocolate chips and I really like this amount of chocolate on the inside of this yummy treat. My daughter asks me to make these every year. They are a family favorite. It would NOT be Christmas without them at our house.
Beth, I made them this year even with a two week old new baby! They are worth the effort!
How many does one recipe yield?
Yes – I know these cookies! I recognized them right away! They are a tradition in our family as well – we must have them every year! In our family we call them “pink cookies” but I have the original recipe photocopied and they are indeed called “Bonbon cookies” . Ours have a squiggle on top instead of a swirl – I think I’ll try the swirl this time (they are cooling as I write!). On a whim I thought I’d look them up on the internet to see where the recipe came from (although I have a photocopy it doesn’t give the name of the magazine or an info. on the origins of the recipe) and I stumbled upon your website. Glad to hear we are not the only ones obsessed with these cookies!
Nadine- I’m so happy to hear we are not the only family obsessed with these cookies! I’ve experimented in the past with using different flavor chips and extract. Peanut butter chips and using vanilla instead of almond extract came out pretty well!
Hi! I don’t have a scale so about how big is .65 ounces? Is there something size wise to compare them to? Also, if I want to give some away how far in advance can I make these ones?
Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to make these!
Nicole-think ping pong ball size. 🙂