Cooking from Scratch
In general, we don’t like making cookies. Especially as treats for others. After all, everyone makes cookies. And why is that? Well, they’re really, really good, but, they’re also really easy, and we like a challenge. Plus, if we’re bringing a treat, we want it to be a treat, something a little different. So, when we read about these Greek cookies, we knew we had to try them ourselves.
Continue reading “Koulourakia”
This is why you didn’t see posts last Friday and Saturday — we were busy making cookies. About 20 dozen cookies. Well, maybe only 18 or 19 dozen. Between making the batters and doughs, and the baking, we were quite busy. A good busy, but too busy to be writing. Three of the cookies we’d made previously, and you know about them: Chocolate Sablés, Herbs de Provence Cornmeal Cookies, and Almond Macaroons. All really good cookies, but we really wanted to make a new kind of cookie, too, something a bit more traditional: Gingersnaps.
Continue reading “Gingersnaps”
About once a month we start looking for a little something for church coffee hour. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, nor does it have to be huge, but just something that people can munch on while they chat a bit. Of course, with Hallowe’en almost upon us, we were thinking of something that would match the season. Initially we thought of mini chocolate cupcakes with an orange-colored frosting, but, having just made several cakes in a row, we went with something a little easier: Ginger Thins cookies.
Continue reading “Ginger Thins”
Do you remember years ago when the rumor went around about some department store’s cookie recipe? Something about a patron being charged a huge amount of money after requesting the recipe after tasting the chocolate chip cookie. It seems laughable that people fell for that one. But, to us, what’s most remarkable is that it was quite commonplace to get something to eat in department stores. Now, we aren’t talking fine dining, but we aren’t talking fast food, either. Instead, we’re talking about pretty decent, freshly-made food. Including cookies.
Now, if you’re wondering whether these cookies have some sort of outrageous price tag attached to the recipe, be assured that they do not. While we’ve moved away from department stores baking cookies, we’ve also moved away from the idea of a secret recipe for baked goods. Nowadays, chefs are providing recipes for many, many, of their products, so you can try making them at home.
Continue reading “Bouchon’s Double Chocolate Chunk and Chip Cookies”
No, not from cats. No, not for cats either. But shaped to look, vaguely, like the tongue of a cat. We wanted a less sweet, little treat one day, so we decided that we’d try these little cookies. Sure, you can eat them plain, but you can also make sandwich cookies, by spreading a small amount of jam between the layers, and even, if you’re so inclined, dipping one end in chocolate. We were up for that!
Continue reading “Cats’ Tongues Cookies”
This coming Monday is our turn for volunteering during our weekly walk in the downtown area. Since there are also other volunteers, we like to bring a little something down for the workers to snack on. And, if we can, we try to match it up with something happening that month. Of course, Valentine’s Day is this month, so what do we make to go along with Valentine’s Day?
Continue reading “Chocolate Shortbread”
It’s official. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. Why? Well, three nights ago (as we write this) we went out to dinner. Nothing unusual there, but this is a restaurant that’s quasi-known for its baked goods, so, on the way out, we purchased a chocolate chip cookie. Well, biting into it when we got home, we could tell that it was either made from a mix, or some of those “chubs” of cookie dough that one can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery. How could we tell? Cookies from the chubs or mixes have a weird, nasty, chemically taste. Ugh. (The third possibility was that the restaurant had been conducting middle school chemistry earlier in the day.)
Continue reading “Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies”