Hot Cookie - the Archive

Third batch is the charm. Ever since Adam and Eve first irritated their private parts wearing fig leaves in the garden, humans have loved figs.* I am no exception. I look forward to a trip to California in October or November, when fresh figs hit the market. I think of figs as a fall-winter food, but most recipes I've found call for dried figs, the form available year-round. The Fig Cookies recipe calls for dried and chopped Calmyrna figs, a variety that is often imported from Greece. In June, I could find only Kalamata figs (another Greek import). Kalamatas are also called "string figs" because in ancient times people carried strings of these figs on long journeys across the dessert. The figs provided much needed protein and carbohydrates.** I picture the figs strung around peoples' necks. When did we get over these plants as wearing apparel? Talk about a perfect "What Not to Wear" item. Stacy, Clinton, ancient people so needed you. Back to the c...

If the best cookie of the 1962 issues of Gourmet Magazine also happens to be the only cookie, how good could it be? I kept an open mind, but this one barely qualifies as a cookie. Look like scones, right? I immediately recognized the sticky dough consistency as that of a scone--due to the low sugar/high flour content, the egg (for moisture) and the baking soda leavening. The recipe makes puffy, cake-like rounds with a delicately crisp crust. The cottage cheese acts much like sour cream or yogurt would; it provides a subtly tangy flavor. The "cookies" bake up as promised, but they cry out for jam and tea. Hear them? Nuff said. If I want scones, I'll make scones. Put on the kettle. Where's that marmalade? The dough, an unmistakable scone/biscuit consistency. The recipe, and a more favorable review, are here .

Early in my cookie baking project, I discovered I would have to plan ahead to find the right ingredients for each cookie. I have made special trips to the grocery store for almond paste, pastry flour, graham crackers, Brazil nuts, dried currants, sesame seeds and coconut (the fresher, the better). I made additional trips to Home Cake, my local cake decorating supply shop, for special cookie cutters, pastry bags and decorating dust. I managed to conserve gas on other occasions only because the things I had on hand included: lemons, fine granulated sugar, pecans, molasses, oats, pine nuts, vanilla beans, brandy, rum and sherry. Impressive, huh? Now, as I look ahead to the next few cookies, I've added to my shopping list: cottage cheese, dried figs, more oranges, and peanut oil - somehow, I stopped using it for stir-fries and never bought more. Oh yes, one more thing - a pizzelle maker. For the uninitiated, or non-Italian, a pizzelle maker is a device that takes a fairly runny ...

These hold their shape - happy dance! Plain in back row, candied orange peels added in front row. Egg white wash helps hold pignoli. I have made similar cookies. In fact, the very first cookie in the book, Cajun Macaroons, is similar in type and style. These require blanched almonds (see previous post), pulverized in a food processor or blender with egg white, then mixed with sugar and a bit of liqueur. Tops get pine nuts over a light brushing of egg white. Too simple a recipe to let it be, I wanted to try some variations. Candied orange peel to the rescue! Recalling the Cornetti I just made, I added finely pulverized candied orange peel to part of the dough. Another portion got larger bits of the candied peel. The plain ones were light and almondy, as expected. The key difference from the earlier macaroons is their shape; they come out of the oven exactly the same shape as they go in. No melting flat in the heat of the oven. Ultimate control achieved! Pignoli stick t...

First, the texture. These crescent-shaped darlings came closest to the crisp-outside, soft-inside of the almond cookies I've been craving. The difference with these is their distinct orange flavor, from chopped, candied orange peel, and the cup of white cornmeal that adds a gritty crunch to each bite. Cornetti, dusted with powdered sugar. These firm, hearty cookies, with a ground almond base, are my first real almond cookie success. They are not the same as any cookie I tasted in Italy; I have yet to duplicate those bakery cookies. These stand on their own, apart from the rest, and they are every bit as good. After one minute in boiling water, almonds are ready to have skins removed. Blanching almonds. Orange peels simmering in sugar syrup. The bad news is the labor required, especially if you begin with almonds that have their skins. Although an easy process of blanching in hot water allows the skins to be removed for an all-white dough, by the time I was done, ...

Admire the Brown Butter Cookies now; no more to come. Like an edible sand castle, if there were such a thing, these cookies have a fine texture that crumbles and melts in the mouth. Delicate and short-bready, these cookies smell a lot like the "cookie soap" my friend gave me (see the May 20, 2011 post). They are true novelties that get great reviews from friends. Those same friends must have wondered at the quizzical expression on my face while listening to their compliments. My furrowed brow said, "Really?" I didn't want them to be a hit. In fact, I never want to make them again. Here's why. These cookies want a cup of butter to be heated in a pan until it browns.  This is the step that is supposed to produce the sandy texture. Not the way I prefer to spend 30 minutes. Kneading is fun. Making shapes from rolled out dough can feel creative. But watching butter simmer...well, I might as well watch my tomatoes "grow" in a Seattle spring. Jus...

First batch (top) with rounded edges due to parchment; second batch with fading edges baked on buttered sheet. I remember making lace cookies as a teenager. Probably got the recipe from the newspaper. They consisted of brown sugar and butter. I swear that's all. OK, maybe something else--it didn't really matter what else. I was in love with the cookies that bubbled in a hot oven and spread out on the cookie sheet, creating see-through holes in a crisp wafer that trailed to nothing at the edges. They were the most "different" cookies I'd seen in my young life. Delicate and not so good for storing on top of each other (they'd break or stick together), they'd have to be consumed in a fantasy binge with milk or ice cream. Based on the photo, I expected the Gourmet Lace Cookie recipe to tempt me to the same kind of binge. I expected the batter to spread out and bubble  No such luck. Instead, these spread into flat cookies with rounded edges and no bubb...