FMITK x Pigment: Ginger Brownie Thins with Preserved Lemon

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To me, the best part of a brownie is that thin crispy layer on top and the crunchy corner bits. *This* is *that*, without the rest of that brownie guilt! Thin, crispy little chocolate wonders, these are. It’s a brownie. It’s a thin. It’s the skin of the brownie!

The preserved lemon adds an unexpected (but totally awesome) salty, citrus-y burst. Think about it as sprinkling a little sea salt on top of your favorite brownie or cookie, except it’s lemon flavored salt and amazeballs. You can find preserved lemons at Whole Foods, specialty ethnic markets, or just order it online at Lemon Bird Jams.

You’ll need sugar, flour, preserved (salted) lemons, vanilla extract, butter, and dark chocolate.
I used Taza’s Ginger Chocolate Mexicano Disc and Lemon Bird Jam’s Preserved Meyer Lemons from shoppigment.com

Preserved lemons are traditionally found in Moroccan food. They’re quite pungent and salty and are usually used in savory foods. But you know FMITK can’t do anything “normal”, so into a dessert it goes!

A little goes a long way – you’ll only need 1/4 of a preserved lemon for 24 cookies. Rinse and soak in cool water for 5-10 minutes to get rid of a bit of the saltiness.

You’ll need 2 oz of chopped chocolate. If you’re using a Taza Chocolate Disc, it’ll be both discs except for 3 wedges.
Yes, you can eat those now.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second bursts.

Add in sugar and egg.

And the flour.

Dry off the preserved lemon, remove the seeds and most of the pulp and chop finely.

After letting the batter rest for 10 minutes, place teaspoonfuls of the batter on a buttered baking sheet. Place a piece of greased plastic wrap over top and use your fingers to pat down the circles to about 2 1/2″ wide. You can also use a heavy-bottomed glass to flatten.
Note: I found that buttering the baking sheet AND using a buttered piece of parchment paper ensured no stickiness. Not necessary but if you’re worried about the cookies sticking, use the parchment. A silicon mat also works very well here.

lol @ all my finger prints.

Add a few bits of the preserved lemon on top of each brownie thin.

Bake for 7 minutes and let cool on the sheet an additional 3 minutes. The residual heat will continue to cook the brownie thin. Remove from sheet with a large, thin spatula and let cool on a rack.

Ta-dasies! BOOP!

MMM. Think of the preserved lemon as adding a little bit of sea salt on top of the cookie – except it’s a bit of deliciously lemony saltiness. MMM

Ginger Brownie Thins with Preserved Lemon

makes 24 cookies in 30 minutes

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ounces Taza Ginger Chocolate Mexicano Disc,  chopped (note: one disc is 2.7 oz, so all but about 4 wedges of one disc = 2 oz.; can substitute your favorite dark chocolate)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of flaky sea salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Lemon Bird Jam’s Preserved Meyer Lemons, rinsed, soaked and finely chopped

Directions

Position rack in lowest third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Take half of a preserved lemon and rinse under cool water. Soak in cool water for about 5 minutes. Pat dry and remove seeds and most of the pulp. Chop into a very small dice. Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium-high power  in 30 second increments until almost completely melted (about 1 minute total, there should still be a few bits of unmelted chocolate and butter when you pull it out of the microwave – let the residual heat melt this.). Whisk until smooth and completely melted. Add sugar and egg and whisk until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Add flour, vanilla extract, and salt and stir to blend. Let batter stand 10 minutes.

Scoop rounded teaspoonfuls of batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving a good amount of space between each cookie so that there are only 12 per sheet. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap lightly with nonstick spray. Place plastic wrap, sprayed side down, over cookies. Using fingers, press each mound into 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch round. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle with a few bits of chopped preserved lemon over each cookie. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until slightly darker at edges and firm in center, about 7 minutes. Cool on sheet 3 minutes. Using a large, thin spatula, ransfer cookies to rack; cool completely.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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