Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Ginger Fruit!

Christmas cookies in summer? It's so good but oh so bad.

Note: I realize this is another food posting. I really like food. I always enjoy cookies. And these were fun, colorful and delicious.

I often lament the fact that I can't get fruit in season. Watermelon in the winter simply isn't even worth the effort of putting in the cart. Gingerbread cookies are one of those things I don't mind having out of season though. But it's would be ridiculous to actually make gingerbread men and women when it's summertime. Hence, gingerfruit.

I thought these strawberry, pineapple and pear shapes were fun. Everybody loved them too. The gingerbread topped with lemon icing is fun. And if you want to imagine it's Christmas time, just close your eyes and imagine the crunch of the sesame seeds are actually bits of candy buttons.

Perhaps the back story with these cookies is the real insight into my psyche and soul. The reality is these sweet little treats have a bit of a dark side to them.

It started a couple of years ago during the Christmas holiday season. You know, the time of year when neighbors bring over high-calories goodies to ensure you don't drop too many pounds as you sit around the house and do nothing at the end of the year except eat and eat and then go somewhere else and eat. What is it with all the food? Well, I had a taste of a gingerbread cookie that would begin to haunt me. It wasn't so much the cookie that haunted me but the fact that the friend wouldn't share her recipe with me. That's just not cool! But when I can't get my hands on a recipe it simply motivates me to figure it out on my own. So, the kitchen became my laboratory.

For months I tried different recipes. I would pour over the ingredients considering how I thought the final morsels would taste. Nothing was working. Then one day I came across a recipe that was considered an old fashioned style New England cookie. As I read the ingredients I thought it just might work. After about three or four rounds of slight modifications I had about the closest variation I thought possible. Success!

So, what is this all really about. Well, the cookies are good. I'd say they are great but then I'm a freak for cookies so I figure most people would simply say they are good. Perhaps more telling though is the fact that I was so consumed with the need to figure out a recipe I could use. I had to know. I had to be able to make the cookies for myself!

Now that I've figured it out the question I guess the only real question that remains is whether or not I'll be taking my friend a few cookies come Christmas time. If I do, let's hope I can figure out a way to at least mask my freakish need to say, "Look I did it!"

Friday, June 12, 2009

Write About Something You Know!


Or at least about something you pretend to know. Right?

I've decided my block with blogging is centered around the thought that I've nothing to say. Fact is that just might be the case. In reality though, as me a question about food and I'll give you all sorts of opinion. So, my blog may just end up being about food, rather often.

Cookies are one of my favorite things. I think what I like them is that (when done right) they are the perfect-sized bit of wonderful tasty texture. Do them wrong and they are flat, hard discs often better used as paper weights.

A couple of days ago I decided we had gone too long without a good oatmeal cookie. So, I cracked out my favorite cookbook, made some modifications and this delicious, chewy raisin oatmeal cookies was baked. We've been enjoying them for the past few days.

Perhaps the funniest thing that came out of my latest cookie escapade is that my children realized they actually like oatmeal raisin cookies. Now I have a recipe to use up all that oatmeal in our pantry!

So, if you want to try what I think is a great oatmeal cookies, ready to soak of plenty of milk or be eaten all by itself, here's the recipe I'm liking these days.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1 C butter (softened)
2 C packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla
3 C old fashioned oats (I used quick oats)
1 1/2 C raisins

Cream butter and sugars together (2-3 minutes), mix in eggs one at a time, mix in vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg mixture. Fold in oats and raisins. Bake 2 inch balls of dough in 325 degree oven about 15 minutes. Take this cookie out of the oven when the center inch of the top of the cookies still looks a little wet. Allow to set 2-3 minutes on cookies sheet. Remove to cooling rack.