kareina: (Default)
kareina ([personal profile] kareina) wrote2012-03-01 10:42 am
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cookies I actually like better baked

I have always been a raw-cookie dough kind of girl, so I was quite surprised when I ate one of last night's cookies today to discover that I actually like these better baked! It probably has to do with the way the flavours melded in the oven.


Seedy Apple-nut cookies

100 g butter
¼ cup sugar (I used mostly dark brown cane sugar, plus some honey)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons yoghurt
1 apple, chopped fine
¼ cup flax and sesame seeds, ground
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 cup plain, unbleached wheat flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup rye flour
¼ cup barley flour

Cream butter, beat in sugar and honey. Add eggs, one at a time. Add yogurt. Stir in chopped apple, seeds and nuts. (I used a small food processor to chop the apple and grind the sesame and flax seeds.) Combine flours, oats, salt, and baking powder, stir into wet ingredients. Roll into balls, flatten them slightly, and bake at 200 C just till starting to turn golden brown. (7 to 10 minutes?)



Those of you paying attention at home will note that I don't have much sugar in these. I normally use less sugar than other folk do when baking, but this batch has even less. The reason for that is that my brown sugar had solidified into a barely breakable lump, and I had only the patience to break off that much to be run through the food processor before getting bored and moving on to the next step. However, I find that these are perfect as they are--the hint of apple flavour brings nicely compliments the barest hint of sweetness from the sugar, and goes well with the nuts and seeds and grains used.

[identity profile] mushroom-maiden.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
1/2 cup of MYSTERY INGREDIENT!

[identity profile] kareina.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Error corrected, the words 'chopped walnuts' were typed into the gap...

[identity profile] mushroom-maiden.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
:) yay!

[identity profile] eliskimo.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Get a brown sugar softener: It's a small piece of unglazed pottery (mine is shaped like a teddy bear, but I've seen then in all kinds of shapes). You soak it water for 5 minutes or so, then pat it dry with a towel (it will still be damp, but not dripping). Place it in the sugar container, seal it, and in about 12 hours, you will have lovely, soft, workable brown sugar again.

[identity profile] kareina.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Twelve hours is far longer than I would have been willing to wait on that occasion! The food processor worked just fine.

It would also have been possible to put it in the microwave covered with a damp paper towel, but we had no paper towel, and I wasn't willing to use toilet paper.

[identity profile] eliskimo.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, no, but I keep mine in my brown sugar container all the time. I don't use brown sugar all that often, so it's nice to know that my sugar isn't solidifying into a rock on me!

[identity profile] kareina.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Doesn't it? From your description I assumed that once the moisture was used up the sugar would get hard again--the problem in my case is that my nice, airtight plastic bucket wasn't actually sealed properly last time I used it, months ago, so it dried out. I would have expected that ceramic wouldn't be airtight enough to keep it soft once the water evaporated.