Skip to main content

#7 Moravian White Chirstmas Cookies 1946, Part 2

Third night:

Notice the brown tips - these cookies don't cook evenly,
another strike against them.
The book calls for a blue icing onto which you drop white dots at each star point. I could barely see any contrast in colors in the photo. Because the cookies themselves were lacking, I decided to treat them as "practice." I mixed up a small amount of plain white icing (1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice - not the one in the book), and tested my piping technique.

Disco Dust makes these cookies sparkle,
but doesn't improve the taste.
I felt like I was writing with the wrong hand; I need the practice. My mixture flowed out the tip, alright, but way too easily. The border lines I drew on the stars wanted to drip over the sides. I adjusted where I laid down the icing - not so close to the cookie edges. Problem solved.

The borders set up by the time I'd edged a dozen cookies, and I flooded the centers. The up-side of runny icing is that flooding is easy and your tip never clogs.

Remember my concern about the rough surfaces of these cookies? The icing mostly filled in the valleys, but viewed at an angle, you can see how rough the surfaces are. They needed further disguise.


A perfect excuse to try the red "Disco Dust" from Home Cake. Using a small paint brush, I dabbed the end into the glittery dust and tapped it onto the icing. Instantly these cookies were decked out for the dance floor. They caught the light and shimmered - or is that shimmied?

Too bad hot clothes don't make you a good dancer. I'm still not enamored with the flavor. The lemon icing contrasted well with the sweetness of the cookies, but without icing, they are not worth consuming the calories. All told, given the labor, the difficult dough, and the modest result, I wouldn't make these again. Surely I can find an easier dough to roll out - one that still gives a crisp but light texture, and tantalizes the taste buds.

Come on, Gourmet Magazine. Won't I find it among the pages of this book?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#33 Almond Bolas (Portuguese Almond Cookies) 1975

Three almond balls ( bolas ) in a row. "This one is good," my sister-in-law Jill told me. She tried not to express too much surprise, but I have regaled her with too many tales of failed cookies. And forced her to eat a few duds. I was glad this one made the grade. I liked it, too. You might think I am a hopeless romantic to fall for another almond cookie. (Italy, almond cookies. Almond cookies, Italy.) The fact is every country that can grow almonds has its special recipes for almond cookies. Portugal is no exception. The ground blanched almonds combine with dry bread crumbs, then the usual sugar, egg whites and almond extract. The dry bread crumbs are key. When the cookies are fresh from the oven, the bread crumbs add a perfect crunch to their rustic, nutty texture. Holes in the center ready for filling. These cookies don't "drop." You roll them in a ball ( bola ) and press a hole in the center, as for jelly-filled thumbprint cookies. Egg yolk ...
1 comment
Read more

#36 "Shoe Sole" Cookies 1970

I wish I could say these cookies had an interesting shape, or showed off the baker's talent, or boasted a great flavor combination. Three strikes. I'm giving "Shoe Sole" Cookies the boot. Small round shapes were easiest to form. First, what could be appetizing about a cookie that in any way resembles a shoe? I'm thinking leathery, flat and hard. Not much going for it in the marketing department here. In fact, the only resemblance to a shoe sole is the shape. The recipe has us using an oval cookie cutter to mimic the shape of a shoe - not a pretty shape in my opinion. I cut mine into circles and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar. A ring around the edge remains white because that is the part that is puffing up during baking, and not browning. These do have a light texture, owing to the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. That's right, "puff paste" and sugar - the only two ingredients in this recipe. Pastry from the freezer and sugar? No talent nec...
Post a Comment
Read more

#17 Brazil Nut Crescents 1958

Light as a feather, these cookies showcase the Brazil nut. After my fiasco of many ingredients (the Oatmeal Molasses Cookies seem so last month), I wondered if only four ingredients would be enough to make a decent attempt at a cookie. I creamed the butter, added sugar, flour and finely chopped Brazil nuts, as instructed. I kneaded the dough on a floured surface a bit, and formed my 2-inch cylinder of dough. The ridged crescent shapes emerge when you cut off each slice. As you cut, each round compresses into more of an oval or square. Help it shape by giving it a pat on top. Then, poke a finger sideways into the middle of each slice, and pull the ends toward you to form the crescents. Cookie rounds flatten as you slice them. I expected a firm cookie, like the Mexican Wedding Cakes I've made. But these are lighter. When I bit in, they crumbled like an abandoned sand castle. OK, edible sand castle. I wondered how they had stayed together until then. The texture difference c...
Post a Comment
Read more