Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Russian Cookies - Krujeva Vasilisi in Chocolate Glaze

There were quite a few different cookies available at the Russian Deli. Again, I had no idea what was what. I picked these cookies to try because they were actually kind of pretty. And lets be honest, it might have also been the fact that the backs had been coated in chocolate. The only English on this package was the information on the  "stuck on" label....which gives nutrition facts and mention that these cookies were a product of Russia (Distributed by Rodeo Foods in LA). I believe part of the name of the cookies means "lace".

The cookies weren't bad...I think I expected them to be a bit sweeter (the American in me) but the cookie itself seemed to taste more like an English Biscuit. The coating of chocolate was nice. Not my favorite cookie in the world but Mr. L and I had no problem polishing the bag off. The cookies are a bit delicate in that most of them had cracks all over them and several were already broken in the package. Eat with care or you'll have crumbs all over that the cats will fight for.

These cookies were a pretty nice size (about the size of a teacup saucer). The label had a serving as 100 gr which was probably about three cookies...but that serving was 441.40 calories!

Mint Oreos Dipped In White Chocolate

Currently that thing called work is still kicking my butt. I'd also like to point out that Murphy's Law has taken up residence at my job as we've had some of the busiest days on record. So though I'm cooking a bit (or at least providing Mr. L and I with food to eat when it's my turn), I'm still not finding time to try out all the great recipes I seem to be coming across. Or maybe it's just by the time I get home from work it takes all my energy just to push the on button for the television. Huge props go out to Mr. L who has taken up the daunting task of not only cooking every other week, but doing all the meal planning (and that's breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks), shopping and cooking for that week.

For St. Patrick's Day this year, Mr. L cooked our traditional Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage. He also scored some wonderful Irish Soda Bread from the caterer at his work. With this wonderful holiday meal, I figured I needed to come up with a dessert...something that was quick and easy. These White Chocolate Dipped Oreos fit the bill.

I have several "holiday" recipes that are basically the same, it's the color that changes. Cookie Bark and M&M Topped Brownies are two of the ones I've already posted here. Dipping Oreos in white chocolate and topping them with holiday coordinated sprinkles is another quick idea that makes for a festive (easy, quick) dessert. You only need three ingredients....Oreos, white chocolate, and sprinkles. The easy part is that Oreoss usually come out in coordinating colors around the appropriate holidays. Orange for Halloween, Peppermint for Christmas etc. In fact, I've taken the Peppermint Oreos, dipped them in white chocolate and then, instead of sprinkles, topped them with bits of crushed peppermints (you can get bags of the stuff at Trader Joes during the Christmas holidays).

I've had this link from Dandelions and Dust Bunnies pinned for a while. You can find lots of "recipes" out there for dipped Oreos if you look.

Note: You don't need specialty Oreo's, plain old white ones will do. You could even tint the white chocolate to the appropriate holiday color.

Note: To make these look more professional pay attention to the location of the logo on the cookie. I just dunked them in the white chocolate without even looking (or honestly, caring).

Note: You can find holiday sprinkles at Michaels. If you are local, Lunardis bakery area always has tubs of the stuff during holidays. Your local grocery store may do the same thing. I've already picked up Lunardis "Easter" version just in case. I think they'd go well on the Berry Oreos.

Note: I used a couple of mini muffin tins to stand up the dipped Oreos in so that both sides looked good.

Note: You can use sprinkles, colored sugar, Nonpareils, sparkle dust, edible paints, and sugar pearls as toppings on these.

 

Tunnock's Tea Cakes

When someone says "tea cake" my mind goes to cake. Like maybe a coffee cake. Or a pound cake. Or a light chiffon cake. It does not go to wonderfully gooey marshmallows on a cookie covered in milk chocolate. Think of a little wrapped S'more.

These little beauties came wrapped individually so I had no idea they weren't "cake" until I opened one. Had I read the package front, I would at least have known they were covered in milk chocolate (and of course chocolate covered cake wouldn't have been a problem). The back actually states that they are "a delicious biscuit base" (read cookie) " topped with marshmallow and covered with real milk chocolate". Um, what's not to like?

Each cake is 110 calories. And they are good. Mr. L couldn't have just one. He had two. And he's bugged me every day since if there were any more. Alas, I too liked them, so no, there were no extras floating around. They are often served with tea or coffee. Or eaten right out of the box in front of the TV while watching Olympic coverage without any tea or coffee in sight. Your choice.

I hear there are caramel and dark chocolate versions. I may just move to England for these.

McVitie's Hobnobs

Day two of Olympic competition and that means day two of eating something British (or at least made in the UK).

Today we had McVitie's Hobnobs. Which intrigued me because the first ingredient on the package is rolled oats. Think of these as somewhat of a healthy version of a British biscuit you have with your tea (label says 45% Oat and Wholemeal). I understand there are dark chocolate and chocolate orange versions out there.

I got the Milk Chocolate version, which means one side of the cookie, er biscuit, has a small slathering of chocolate. You definitely get the oat taste in the biscuit, but it's nothing like an oatmeal cookie here in the states. They were a bit addicting...I think it was that chocolate added to the oat biscuit that made me eat more than one at a time. I wouldn't kick these out of bed.

Mr. L liked these, but commented like yesterdays biscuit, that they were a bit dry for him. And that they tasted like a wheat cracker (he ate them not knowing exactly what they were made of).

Two of these were 93 calories and cost $3.99 at World Market (the tube contained twelve biscuits). The label states these are "Nobbly Oaty Biscuits". Why Nobbly and is that something that has a different meaning? Supposedly the word Hobnob in the UK comes from a phrase, to hob or nob, meaning "to drink together, taking turns toasting one another". Quite similar to what I think of as the meaning it has in the US as in "we were hobnobbing with The Royals at tea". Not that I ever really hobnob with royals.

These biscuits by the way, do have daily guidelines for adults so I shouldn't look a fool eating them.

Since there was a Doctor Who reference in yesterdays Jammie Dodgers, I thought I'd leave you with the fact that Douglas Adams mentioned these once. Or at least had a story about cookies. Can't really find a reference to Hobnobs but you can find the story (or maybe just an urban legend) here.

 

Jammie Dodgers

So what exactly is a Jammie Dodger? Written right on the front of the packaging it says "Stretchy raspberry flavour jam splodged at the heart of two yummy shortcake biscuits". The back of the packaging says "Raspberry flavour plum jam sandwiched between two shortcake biscuits". Well I know enough about British food to know that "biscuit" to them is our "cookie". I admit the "raspberry flavour plum jam" kinda got me. It's not raspberry, it's not plum, it's raspberry flavoured plum. Hmm. (And no that's not a typo...we spell it flavor while the Brits add a 'u').

Made by Burton's Biscuit Company and coming it at 83 calories each, these "biscuits" seemed to be aimed at children (their website says they are the nations most popular kids cookie). The nutrition guidelines point out they are for a child's daily amount. They also mention to "Store in a cool dry place unless you like soggy biscuits!". And that there are "No added Nasties". Me thinks these cookies have a sense of humour. They come in different flavors like lemon and custard and come in varieties made with toffee and chocolate instead of jam.

And how do they taste? Well, they're chewy. Not in a bad way as I've had many jam shortbread cookies with the chewy texture. Can't say I tasted plum or raspberry in the jam. You only get eight in the box (makes overdoing it a bit difficult) for the Cost Plus World Market price of $1.99. Mr. L liked them, said he thought they were a little dry but said he wouldn't be adverse to having them again. They were just okay for me, though I too, would eat them if they were in front of me.

And why the name "Dodgers". Seems the name of the cookie came from a comic strip called "Roger the Dodger" who used to like to try to get out of doing chores and homework. I have no idea why that makes a good name for a cookie, but I'd dodge my homework and chores to have a few cookies, wouldn't you?

My favorite little tidbit is that they list themselves as "the favourite snack of Dr. Who" and these cookies have been featured on the show or mentioned several times. The bit that made me smile? The Eleventh Doctor fooled the Daleks into thinking one was a self-destruct button for the Tardis. When the Daleks found out, The Doctor ate the Jammie Dodger. If the biscuit is cool enough for The Doctor, it's cool enough for me.

Hallween - October 15, 2011

Up until recently, zombies were zombies. I enjoyed zombie movies and TV shows but I didn't give them much thought after said show had finished.

The Walking Dead changed all that. The day after watching the first few episodes (they had been DVR'd so I watched several at once) I found myself wondering about my homes safety. Hmm, I'd have to block off that downstairs window otherwise they would be able to break in and get me. Maybe I should add a few more items to my emergency pantry. Do we have walkie talkies somewhere in the garage? Do I shoot them or cut off their heads? And most importantly where does one go to the bathroom when the world goes to zombies and a hand basket?

On the eve of the second season of The Walking Dead starting, I give you The Zombiehead Cookie Jar. About 9 inches tall and 7 inches wide, this ceramic cookie jar might be just the thing to keep little kiddies from sneaking a cookie before dinner. The only thing this Zombiehead Cookie Jar is missing is something shouting out "Braiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiins" when the jar opens! (I'm sure you techy types can figure something out).

The cost is $29.99 and you can find it here.

Chewy Molasses Crinkles

I first saw these cookies on Food Gal's blog. She had these really cute little 'ginger babies' that she put in the middle of each cookie (check them out here). I was excited to find out that the recipe came from the Martha Stewarts Cookie book as it was already in my library. I actually bought some small pieces of candied ginger to put in the middle of my cookies but completely forgot when I started to bake them.

I really liked these cookies. I'm not a huge fan of gingersnaps (at least most of the boxed kind) and I'm not sure I've ever had molasses cookies before, but I really liked the texture and flavor of these. They were definitelyy chewy and the molasses and ginger combined to make a complex flavor that made me keep reaching for more cookies. I don't know about 'crinkles' though. There was no crinkle what so ever on the top.

The dough was a pain to work with as it was really sticky. If I had had the time I would have taken the dough out of the fridge, made six cookies, and put the rest of the dough back in the fridge for another couple hours before making more. No matter what I did, the dough kept sticking to my hands (I even tried gloves at one point), it stuck to my spoon, it stuck to the little ice cream scoop I tried. Sticky Sticky Sticky. But so worth it.

The cookies spread out a LOT. So make them small at first or they will all run together and you'll get one big cookie*. They also were really moist and stuck together even after they had cooled so you definitely should use layers of wax paper if you plan on stacking them.

CHEWY MOLASSES CRINKLES

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Put butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt. Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Put remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, form balls of dough. Roll balls in sugar to coat, and space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and centers are set, about 17 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days. Makes about 2 dozen.

Note: I used Grandma's brand of molasses

Note: I found the 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop (or special cookie scoop) to be too big, the cookies were too big and spread into each other. I ended up using my smaller scoop. And then when the dough just got too sticky to work with, I used a couple of spoons.

Note: I needed much more than 1/4 a cup of sugar to roll the dough in. I'm thinking I used at least a half a cup.

Note: In my oven the cookies were done in about 14 minutes.

Some folks seemed to have a problem and said these cookies weren't 'chewy' and actually came out crisp. Not sure what I did to make them chewy but I really liked that about these cookies. Comfort cookies. If I can figure out a way to scoop them without all the sticky, these would become a regular occurrence.

*Of course if the cookies do spread out and make one big cookie it will make it easier to tell the hubby that you were good and only ate one cookie....

Lime Meltaways

As I mentioned in my Current Cookbook post yesterday of Martha Stewart's Cookies, these are the cookies I made last Christmas and forgot to post. And the forgetting wasn't because they were forgettable, just that I forgot. Because though I had some trouble with them (and as I mentioned, cookies are my downfall) these little cookies were actually quite tasty, even if they did take a bit of work.

My problem with the Lime Meltaways is that they crumbled. Which, since it states that they are "crumbly cookies" in the brief forward to the recipe really wouldn't be a problem. But trying to wrap these cookies up nicely, to travel for Christmas presents? Crumbly wasn't the best for presentation. Of course my taste buds didn't find it much of a problem since all those lovely crumbs needed to be eaten and since I was there...

In addition to the crumbling, they didn't make the five dozen quantity listed. Not even close. But then I have never gotten the quantity listed in any cookie I've made so I doubt it's the recipes fault. And if you look at the finished cookie photo in the book, you'll see that there is much more powdered sugar on their cookies. Not sure what I did wrong but the stuff just wouldn't stick to my cookies.

So the Lime Meltaways were a bit of a pain to deal with and didn't come out exactly as planned, but I'd still make them again. These had a very subtle lime flavor and, as the recipe states, a bit of a sweet-tart taste which I really liked. At some point I'm going to assume my cookie mojo will kick in and recipes like this will just work.

LIME MELTAWAYS

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

 Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the lime zest and juice and the vanilla, and mix until fluffy.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Place each log on a 8 by 12-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Makes about 5 dozen.

Note: I used Challenge butter

Note: I had read in some notes of others who made these cookies that crumbling was a problem and that refrigerating them overnight was probably best. I still had crumbling problems.

Note: Using the ruler to help make the log? Totally lost on me.

Note: I cooked these no longer than ten minutes and they were still a bit overdone. My oven runs hot so I turned the temp down about 10 degrees and ten minutes was about right.

Note: Do NOT toss these cookies with the powdered sugar in a plastic bag if you have any crumbling problems at all (maybe test one or two first). Cuz all I came out with was powdered sugar covered crumbs (which were quite tasty I might add).

Note: If almost three dozen cookies is "Makes about 5 dozen" then we're cool.

If I didn't have the crumble problem, these would have been a success (even without the layer of powdered sugar). I guess I just have to keep making them until I get it right :)

Chocolate-Cocoa Nib Shortbread Cookies

Remember all those cookies I made for Christmas presents? Did I mention I forgot to photograph any of them? Well, any of the perfect ones anyway. Bad food blogger. I did keep a few back in order for Mr. L and I to munch on so I'll try to post them. Except for the Pretzel Chocolate Bites. Mr. L finds them a little addicting. There aren't any left. I have to make another batch...to photograph for the blog of course...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I found these little shortbread cookies on the FoodGal blog. They intrigued me because they contained "cocoa nibs", something I'd never heard of. Cocoa Nibs are "small broken nuggets of roasted, shelled and cracked cocoa beans". Sounded interesting so I set out to find some nibs and make these cookies. Which was easier said than done. No one seemed to have (or would be able to ship in time) roasted cocoa nibs. I was able to find some raw nibs at Whole Foods which I roasted and used in the recipe.

 I liked the chocolate flavor of this and the kinda crunch the nibs gave it. Mr. L, not so much. As he put it "not my favorite". For him to turn down something chocolate? Interesting that we had such a different view of the same cookie. I'd say if you like cocoa nibs, the flavor and crunch, you'll like these.The recipe originally came from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet. Do check out the FoodGal blog post about the recipe and some of the comments here.

Chocolate-Cocoa Nib Shortbread Cookies

Note: I used Challenge Butter
Note: I used King Arthur unbleached, all purpose flour
Note: I used E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder (dutch processes)

Note: I used Ultimate Organic Real Raw Cocoa Nibs. I read online to roast the raw nibs for 15 minutes. I roasted for 5 minutes at 150ºC, then reduced the temperature to 120ºC and roasted for another ten minutes.

Note: I had some red sugar type stuff in the cupboards...not sure if it was sanding sugar or what but I rolled the dough log in the stuff. It seemed to melt right in but you can see some of the red sugar on the edge of the cookies.

I do not have a smooth place to roll dough. I don't own a nice marble counter top nor a special marble cutting board. Making a "roll log" wasn't the easiest thing to do. My cookies didn't exactly come out perfectly round but close enough for government work. The cardboard paper towel trick really helped (see recipe).

Since I had problems with the other shortbreads I made crumbling, I made the dough and then kept it in the fridge overnight to get very cold until I sliced them.

They said this made 36 cookies. I got about 25 out of the batch.

I'd actually make these again. I'd like to use a different cocoa nib brand that has already been roasted to see if that changes the flavor a bit. And I'd have no problem not sharing them with Mr. L!