I wouldn't call this particular effort a failure in any way, but it did get a little messy towards the end - I think mostly because we didn't completely follow the recipe. (My ridiculous and time-consuming fastidiousness occasionally pays off...?)
I've been hearing all these things about gluten-free baking lately and when a friend of mine suggested we make coconut macaroons, I got really excited. Someone suggested we try dipping half of each cookie in melted chocolate, which did not really work because the cookies hadn't cooled completely and therefore had not set. So we ended up having bits of the macaroons floating in a giant bowl of melted chocolate. We managed to deal with that though.
coconut macaroons with an
enormous dollop of melted chocolate
Coconut Macaroons
adapted 500 Cookies
2 cups shredded or flaked coconut
4 egg whites
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine all the ingredients except the cherries in a heat-proof bowl. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir constantly for about 6 minutes or until the egg whites start to thicken (and the batter holds its form and the consistency is the same throughout).
Remove the bowl from the pan, add the cherries, and crop large spoonfuls on the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the macaroons are golden.
Slide the parchment papers onto a wire wrack and allow to cool completely.
coconut globules
this was our problem...
the egg whites were not thick enough so they seeped out
Timo working hard at scraping those cookies
The Tony awards took place the other night. It was strange and exciting to watch this award ceremony that included all these amazing shows and performers that I saw a month ago. On the other hand, I was incredibly frustrated because there are still so many shows that I did not have time to see during finals. So here's a song from Jersey Boys, my first Broadway show even if it was not part of the Tony Awards. It is a song by Frankie Valli and The Four Season called "Beggin'":
Vanstone, Philippa. 500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005. Print.
My family has two holiday seasons. The first holiday season is the traditional one - Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's... At the moment, we're in the middle of the second, mid-year holiday season. Basically, we celebrate my parents' anniversary, my dad's birthday, my birthday, and my sister's birthday in one 26-day period. And in case we feel as if we have not consumed enough cheese, champagne, and favorite-dinners, this whole season of festivities is bookmarked on either end by Mother's Day on one end, and Father's Day and the Fourth of July on the other. Occasionally we sprinkle graduations in there.
Anyway, we just celebrated my dad's birthday. Instead of ordering an ice cream cake, I decided to make ice cream sandwiches. I tweaked the recipe a little bit, but here's the original:
Ice Cream Cookies
from 500 Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) sweet butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (you know, that Crisco stuff)
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cornflakes or crisped rice cereal
1/2 cup melted semisweet chocolate
4 cups vanilla ice cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two baking sheets (I'd recommend using little bits of the vegetable shortening. It should be out on the counter already anyway). Sift the flour and baking soda. Beat the butter and shortening with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and gradually add the flour and cereal.
the crispy rice-infested dough
Roll the dough into small balls (there should be 24 of them) and place them on the baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, then allow them to cool on a baking rack or something.
When they are totally cooled, coat the bottom of each cookie with a layer of melted chocolate. Put the cookies in the refrigerator to make sure the chocolate hardens.
I'm just impressed I was able to clear out this much space
Spoon about 1/4 cup of ice cream onto the chocolate side of a cookie and then make a sandwich with another cookie. Put the cookies in the freezer as you work to prevent the ice cream from melting.
the first cookie
When all the cookies are finished, transfer them to an air-tight container and store in the freezer for up to 4 days.
***
I've never been a fan of crispy rice or cornflakes or whatever you want to call them. Plus, I made some (minor) changes to the recipe. As a result, I was deeply suspicious of what would become the finished product. I was horrified at the thought of ruining precious ingredients (just think of the ice cream!), but I decided I had to trust the cookie book because it has yet to disappoint me.
I had to taste ahead of time to ensure the utmost quality
I ended up making mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches instead, with only a few changes. I subtracted 2 tbs of flour from the whole cup and added 2 tbs of cocoa to the cookie dough instead. The cookbook suggests crushing peppermint candies and adding them to the dough in addition, but I just couldn't do it. I considered adding mint chocolate as well, but I honestly forgot to. However, I did manage to get mint chocolate in there. After melting 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I would recommend adding another small handful to the 1/2 cup just because I started to run out), I added peppermint extract - somewhere between 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp. When you melt the chocolate, make sure you do not anger it or the oils will start to separate and you'll end up with a weird half-boiled, half-crusty shell that is only vaguely reminiscent of its previous glory. Use a spatula to coat the bases of the cookies. I had some problems with the chocolate starting to harden, so I submerged the chocolate bowl in a larger bowl of hot water and stirred frequently. Instead of vanilla ice cream, I used mint chocolate ice cream (the kind with the chocolate chunks in it). Finally, you will want the ice cream to be fairly soft to ensure ease of scooping, and the edges of the ice cream will melt and drip regardless. I would recommend using a circular 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the ice cream and freeing the ice cream using that trusty spatula. That way, the ice cream will already have some semblance of a disc-shape and sandwiching the ice cream will not have an incredibly lop-sided effect.
I added frosting to make them as
ice cream cake-like as possible
Despite the crispy rice things, these actually turned out really well. In fact, I'm guessing the crispy rice is what made the cookies so, ahem, crispy. When I pulled the cookies out of the oven, however, it seemed as if they were a little gooey so I'd recommend flattening the dough more than just a little (make sure they don't burn). That said, sitting in the freezer does have the lovely effect of solidifying any unruly bits. And, to make the cookies more like an ice cream cake, I made some frosting (here) and decorated the ice cream cookies.
In honor of my dear father, here is the Eurythmic's "Sweet Dreams", a song to which he cannot resist dancing with unabashed zeal:
Vanstone, Philippa. 500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005. Print.
A couple years ago, a friend of mine gave me a book called 500 Cookies: The Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Basically the chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies are so good that it's taking me three years to be able to branch away from those two recipes. So I tried the almond biscotti to make up for the fact that I'm not going to Italy in the foreseeable future.
Almond Biscotti
from 500 Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole blanched almonds
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour two baking sheets. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together and then stir it into the dry ingredients. Add the almonds and stir them into the dough. The dough should be pretty sticky.
greased and floured pan
the dough
Divide the dough into two and form each lump into a log-like thing that's about 2 in. wide and 10 in. long. Stick the pans in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the logs are golden. Remove them from the oven and immediately cut each into 1/2 in. slices.
biscotti logs pre-oven time
1/2 in. slices after the first baking session
Lay the slices onto one side and bake each side from 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let 'em cool.
I had no idea how to deal with the butts
so they kind of burned
***
First of all, I'm not actually a big fan of biscotti. Or so I thought. Other than the fact that they take awhile to make, these cookies are a perfect side for ice cream or just a cup of coffee - assuming you like coffee. I'm thinking about making some fig biscotti or maybe apricot biscotti later on.
If you're at school and not back in your mother's well-stock kitchen, you don't really need any unusual baking ingredients other than the superfine sugar and the almonds - neither of which are that expensive.
That said, we did not have almonds. And now that I'm back in the boonies of Marin and 10 miles from the nearest grocery store, there is no way that I'm going to go get blanched almonds when we have perfectly good raw almonds. Plus, I discovered that it's not actually that difficult to blanch almonds anyway. Blanching is the process of immersing whatever in scalding water and then dramatically stopping the cooking process with some cold water. So put the almonds in a bowl and add boiling water so that it just covers the almonds. Let it sit for a minute, drain, run the almonds under cold water, and drain them again. As for greasing and flouring the pan, grease the pans with butter and some wax paper or a paper towel. To flour the pan, sprinkle about 3 tablespoons worth of flour on the pan and then spread it by tilting the pan and tapping the bottom until the entire pan is coated.
Also, make sure to take the cookies out when they are golden brown. Even if they are still slightly doughy in the center, they will still harden after you take them out of the oven.
desert!
Final note, notice the lack of a sifter in this particular recipe. Yay! Something we don't have to ignore!
I could and should put another Italian song up here, but now that I'm home, I have to blast all the classics on the amazing speaker system as opposed to my crappy $10 speakers. So here's Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard":
Vanstone, Philippa. 500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005. Print.
I'm trying to clean out all the excess food in my room before the end of the year. Which means cookies!! And what better way to use up baking materials and the peanut butter that's been chilling in my refrigerator than a batch of delicious peanut butter cookies?
Peanut Butter Cookies
from 500 Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup unrefined light brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup (8 oz.) crunchy peanut butter
pinch of salt
Sift the flour and baking soda together (psh). Beat the butter and sugars until they are soft and creamy (ie. microwave butter). Combine the egg, flour mixture, peanut butter, and salt. Add the butter and sugar mixture and mix until smooth.
Wrap the dough in foil or parchment and refrigerate overnight, or at least for 2 hours (pain, I know).
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Shape the cookies into 1 1/4-in. balls. Flatten slightly with a fork and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.
Let 'em cool.
the unshaped dough ready to fulfill
their magical cookie destiny
***
We've already talked about the whole sifting thing. And I realize that this recipe doesn't really allow for spontaneity (damn the refrigeration), but chilling the dough achieves that lovely crumbly-peanut-butter-cookie quality. Also, little tip: if you don't care too much about the aesthetics of your cookies, just cut the refrigerated dough with a knife and slap those puppies on the baking sheet.
I've been doing a lot of programming lately, which means I've been listening to a lot of Moby. For some reason it just makes sense. Here's Moby's "In My Heart" (I love the piano in the beginning):
Vanstone, Philippa. 500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005. Print.
This is the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I have ever found. Without a doubt. Even better, it requires less butter and sugar than the cookies on the back of the Toll House bags.
neiman marcus cookies (chocolate chip cookies)
from 500 Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Beat the butter and sugar together, and add the eggs and vanilla.
butter, sugar, egg, vanilla. yum.
Sift together the remaining dry ingredients, including the coffee powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix in chocolate chips.
Roll into balls. Use your fingers to flatten onto a non-stick baking sheet 2 in. apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.
look at 'em with all their current and potential goodness
Store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.
Makes 2 dozen.
***
Okay. Comments. I do not sift things, especially not in college. First of all, who has a sifter? And secondly, why would I dirty another bowl AND a sifter? However, the point of mixing and sifting the dry ingredients is to ensure that the ingredients of lesser proportions (ie. the salt, baking soda, coffee powder...) are evenly distributed. Oh, and that there aren't any clumps. I can deal with the clumps (I'm wicked with a spatula) but the apparent homogeny thing is a bigger deal. My solution is to add the flour last. That way you can mix the other dry ingredients thoroughly into the dough. When you do add the flour, do not panic. Against all odds, the butter and egg will work their little hearts out and absorb all that flour to make delicious cookie dough. Go ahead and try some. You know you want to.
I will say that I also make my life easier by softening the butter in the microwave. Clearly remembering to take the butter out hours before making cookies to soften is just as hard as remembering to preheat the oven before starting. Also, don't freak out too much about the brown sugar. Sure, the cookies are better and more delicious with light brown sugar, but if you only have dark brown sugar, the cookies will only be slightly inferior. Finally, this recipe doesn't call for an entire bag of chips. But I think we can all come to terms with that fact that there is extra chocolate in the room.
You will need more than one baking sheet if you mind waiting for the cookies to bake and cool. Although the recipe says 8-10 minutes, I usually have to keep them in for another 2-4 minutes. I hate overdone cookies, which usually results in underdone cookies. When the cookies look perfect to you in the oven, it's possible that you've over cooked them. I look at the bottom of the cookie. When the edges are crispy-looking and browned and you flattened the cookies before putting them in the oven, take them out. If you didn't flatten them and they are nice and puffy, wait another couple minutes to make sure the center is baked enough.
The first time you make cookies, or bake anything for that matter, it is going to set you back a couple dollars. I think all of these ingredients cost me in the range of about $25-$30, and I already had the coffee powder and salt. Plus, the baking sheet itself costs about $10 and you need a bowl, measuring cups, and maybe a spatula. It's okay to be frustrated. But these are start-up costs. You'll use the baking sheet and utensils forever and now you can make cookies whenever you want, usually for the additional price of a bag of chocolate chips and possibly some brown sugar (these are the two ingredients that go fast).
The first thing I did today was make cookies so I can bring some to my sister when she flies in this afternoon. And in celebration of morning cookies and anticipation of the fantastickness that is to be this week, I've been listening to Ida Maria's "Oh My God". I first heard this song in the trailer It's Kind of a Funny Story and it got me through finals last semester. It pretty much requires jumping up and down. And cookies.
Vanstone, Philippa. 500 Cookies: the Only Cookie Compendium You'll Ever Need. Portland, Me.: Ronnie Sellers Productions, 2005. Print.
