Tasters Wanted

Recently, in a scene reminiscent of the George Clooney movie, Up in the Air, I was called down to my boss's office and was told that my job is no longer available to me. Well, that's not exactly what he said, but that's what he meant. I was being laid off. I can't say that I'm devastated by the loss. The job wasn't so great. It was a perfect storm of high stress, low pay, and long hours. I can do better.

But this leaves me with a much more serious problem. I need to find new taste testers who will provide comments like "yum" or "deeelicious" or even a "not so great." You see, my former co-workers served as my main tasters. Most of the time they wolfed down the cookies with words like "amazing," "wow," or Sheryl's favorite expression, "these are da bomb" (emphasis on da). Sometimes there were no words at all. They simply couldn't speak with cookie-filled mouths. But on occasion, my tasters would simply say, "these aren't my favorite" or "no thanks, I don't like coconut." Valuable feedback for sure.

So, it's time to find some new tasters. The only two requirements are that tasters must love to eat cookies. And, most importantly, you must be in Manhattan or close enough for me to easily get them to you. And you have to be willing to give me your honest opinion of the results. Friend, relatives, and friends of friends, need apply. Send me an email as to why you want to be considered as a taste tester and I'll post some of them on the blog. My email is listed on the right side of the page in the About Me section.

For the time being, the job search begins. I'll be filling my spare hours with trips to the park, lunch with friends, and of course making cookies and blogging about them.

Oatmeal-Trail Mix Cookies

Last week was my friend Victor's birthday so a bunch of us got together for a dinner celebrate to this milestone. I don't dare say which milestone, but it was significant enough for me to make a special batch of cookies just for him. These cookies needed to be not just good, but great. I remember asking him some time ago what type of cookies he liked. His reply went something like, "simple cookies, chocolate chip, butter. Nothing overly sweet." Victor is right. He's sweet enough already.

So I hit the cookbooks in search of a simple, not-so-sweet cookie and found this recipe for Oatmeal-Trail Mix Cookies. I neglected to mention that Victor watches what he eats and rarely has dessert. But cookies are his weakness and these just might fool him into thinking he's eating something healthy.

These cookies turned out very well. I'm not sure they qualify as simple (nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, and oats), but they were easy. The roasted peanuts added both great flavor and texture to the cookie. I used unsweetened coconut, but it was finely ground and was undetectable in the finished product. Next time I may also substitute M&M's for the chocolate chips to make them what I think is a true trail mix cookie.

Baker's note: The dough was very soft, so I popped it in the fridge and went out for a couple of hours until it firmed up.

This recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook. Long live Gourmet, which closed last year, a victim of the recession.

I'll have to ask Victor if he liked the cookies. I bet they're already gone.

Oatmeal-Trail Mix Cookies

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts
1/2 cup raisins

Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or lightly butter.

Beat together butter, shortening, and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Beat in egg, baking soda mixture, flour, salt, and vanilla until just combined. Sire in oats, coconut, chocolate chips, peanuts, and raisins until well combined.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough about 4 inches apart onto buttered baking sheets, then flatten and spread each mound into a 3-inch round with a fork. Bake cookies in batches until golden, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to racks to cool.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Coconut Pyramids

I love cookies that form interesting shapes. So when I received this cookie recipe from a friend's mom (thanks Mrs. Jarossy!), I was totally intrigued by the look of these miniature pyramid cookies. How cool!

These are a new interpretation of classic macaroons. They take more time to shape than simply dumping a mound of coconut onto cookie sheets, but for presentation purposes these are much more elegant. Serve these at a Egyptian-themed party or make them with your kids after you've been to the King Tut exhibit.

A few hints on shaping these cookies. The original recipe shaped the cookies into 3 sided pyramids. I found that more difficult than making a 4 sided pyramid. I suggest you try both and see which you like better. I tried several different spatulas to shape the cookies. A larger, very rigid plastic spatula worked best. A regular spatula seemed too pliable. I held the sides of the cookie with my fingers and placed the spatula on one side of the cookie and tilted it at a 45 degree angle. This worked best. You will likely need to go around the cookie several times before you get the shape looking like a pyramid.

Dipping the tops in chocolate seemed superfluous. I would forgo that step completely and get right down to the business of eating them. When I tried to dip more of the cookie in the chocolate, they fell apart or looked like a chocolate blob. Yes, definitely skip the chocolate.

Coconut Pyramids

1 3/4 cups sugar
5 1/4 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
7 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon pure vegetable shortening

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, using your hands, mix together sugar, coconut, egg whites, and salt. Add butter and extracts, and combine well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Moisten palms with cold water. Roll 1 tablespoon of coconut mixture in palms, squeezing tightly together 2 or 3 times to form a compact ball. Place ball on a clean surface, and using a spatula, flatten one side at a time to form a 4-sided pyramid shape.

Place pyramids onto prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart, and bake until edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Leave the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool completely. As the cookies cool, with your fingers, gently reshape any that have lost the point on the tops.

Place chocolate and shortening in a small heatproof bowl, and set pan over another pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Do not let water come in contact with the chocolate (even a drop!). Dip top 1/2 inch of each pyramid in the melted chocolate. Set each dipped cookie on baking sheet and allow chocolate to harden.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Yield: approximately 45 cookies

Ebelskivers

Occasionally I stray from writing about cookies to bring you something extra special that I know you'll enjoy such as Whoopie Pies. Today is one of those days.

I recently celebrated my birthday and as a present, I received a wonderful surprise from my partner's sister Maureen and husband Jimmy in the form of a circular pan with seven deep wells which is used to make ebelskivers (pronounced "able-skeevers"). These light, puffy, sphere-shaped pancakes are from Denmark. My quizzical expression turned to a big smile as I continued to unwrap the series of items used to make ebelskivers. First the pan, then a cookbook filled with recipes (complete with beautiful photographs). Next I tore the wrapping off the pleasantly shaped fancy wooden turning tools used to flip the spheres. Lastly, I unwrapped a container of ebelskiver mix. I was ready to start cooking up batches of these tasty pancakes with wonderful sweet or savory fillings. If I hadn't been in a restaurant at the time, I just might have begun churning out these tasty treats immediately.

Ebelskivers were traditionally served as snacks or desserts during the holidays but luckily, we can make them at any time of year. And believe me, you'll want to make them a lot.

At the risk of sounding a bit like Forrest Gump, you can make cinnamon ebelskivers, maple-nut ebelskivers, coconut ebelskivers, lemon-poppy seed ebelskivers, iced gingerbread ebelskivers, corn ebelskivers, cherry-almond ebelskivers, jelly donut ebelskivers, banana-rum ebelskivers, chocolate truffle ebelskivers, pumpkin pie ebelskivers, and caramel-pecan ebelskivers. I could go on and on but let's get to it.

The batter is simple to make. If you've ever made pancakes (and who hasn't?) you can easily make ebelskiver batter. You'll need to separate two eggs and beat the whites until they are stiff. Folding them into the batter just before cooking makes the batter very light and results in delicate, puffy spheres. If this sounds like too much work, you can skip it as Rachel Ray did on her show in 2008. Click on the video and see how Rachel does it.

I started simply, with plain Ebelskivers which turned out well for a first try. With a little practice I was flipping them like a pro. I served the pancakes with a dusting of powdered sugar, pure maple syrup, and a side of bacon. They were delicious and I devoured at least ten of them. I recommend you don't bother counting like I did. It only adds to the guilt factor.

The next day I tried chocolate filled versions which were truly decadent when served with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and bittersweet chocolate drizzled on top.

Basic Batter

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until blended. Batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl using in electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest until just blended and no white streaks remain. Use batter as soon as it's ready.

Chocolate Filled Ebelskivers

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or heatproof bowl placed over a pan of boiling water. You can also use a microwave, being careful not to burn it.

Brush the wells of the pan with melted butter and place over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, add about 1 tablespoon of batter to each well. Working quickly, carefully spoon 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate into the center of each pancake. Top each with another tablespoon of batter.

Continue cooking about 3 minutes and using 2 short wooden skewers, gently flip pancakes and continue cooking about 3 minutes longer. Remove from pan and transfer to a preheated 200 degree oven or serve immediately.

Makes 21 pancakes.


Chocolate filled ebelskivers with strawberries, whipped cream, and drizzled bittersweet chocolate.