Cooking
Page 118 in the old book / page 155 in the new book
Polish Wedding Cakes, which apparently also go by the name Mazurka, are sweet, crunchy cookies with a tangy apricot filling. The cookie alone has lots going for it - it is crumbly, buttery, loaded with brown sugar, and studded with walnuts, coconut and oats. The apricot filling is the icing on the cake (or in the cake, as the case may be), providing a moist middle and balancing the sweetness of the cookie. I thought they were delicious.
I decided to make do with the coconut I happened to have on hand - frozen fresh grated coconut. I used more by weight than called for in the recipe and than squeezed out most of the moisture after it thawed. I was very happy with the end result. I expect this coconut was not as sweet as the shredded coconut called for, but that was not a problem in these cookies, which are very sweet on their own. The coconut flavor was quite noticeable, but not at all overpowering.
I knew Denny would be out until Thursday, so I stuck one cookie in the freezer for him. I was pleased to learn that these freeze well. Here's the panel...
Suzanne: "I had this bar with my morning coffee and really enjoyed it. This was a great combination of oats, coconut, walnuts and the distinct apricot filling taste. Rating - 4.0"
Denny: "First off, there ain't no coconut trees in Poland and I've never seen one of these at a Polish wedding. However I would suggest growing some coconut trees in Poland as these were a 5. Flavorful and crunchy. I almost deducted a point for no chocolate, but I'm Polish and they're fantastic! Rating - 5.0"
Terri: "If these are served at Polish weddings, I'm going to find one to attend! These are absolutely delicious, but I really like desserts with apricots. In fact, these have all the ingredients that are my favorites - coconut, walnuts, and oats too. Rating - 5.0"
Laura: "Tasty and crunchy goodness. The apricot filling made certain there was the perfect amount of sweetness. Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "A chewy, tangy concoction with great texture but not quite sweet enough for this sweet tooth. Rating - 3.6"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.3
Next week - Viennese Marzipan Bars
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Coconut Pennies
Page 224 in the old book / page 251 in the new book Time for another chapter in the continuing saga of Cathy's coconut adventures... As you may recall from last week, the cookies billed as "semisoft" turned out very crunchy. Well, this week the...
- Mondays With Maida - Coconut Washboards
Page 223 in the old book / page 249 in the new book OK, here we go with my big coconut dilemma again. A conundrum that is only aggravated by the fact that I currently possess four different kinds of coconut, all of which must eventually be used up. Ideally...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Oatmeal Crispies
Page 214 in the old book / page 240 in the new book Light and crunchy with lots of texture from rolled oats and coconut and a deep dark chocolate flavor - can't complain about that! I expect these cookies would keep very well and despite the fact...
- Mondays With Maida - Black-and-white Coconut Slices
Page 126 in the old book / page 164 in the new book Zarah is here! Zarah is here! Actually, I should say, Zarah and Martin are here! And I'm enjoying their company way too much to sit here writing about cookies, so this will be short but sweet......
- Mondays With Maida - Viennese Marzipan Bars
Page 120 in the old book / page 157 in the new book These cookies would have been more colorful if I had followed Maida's directions, but I just couldn't bring myself to add green food coloring to the marzipan filling. I opted instead to throw...
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Polish Wedding Cakes
Page 118 in the old book / page 155 in the new book
Polish Wedding Cakes, which apparently also go by the name Mazurka, are sweet, crunchy cookies with a tangy apricot filling. The cookie alone has lots going for it - it is crumbly, buttery, loaded with brown sugar, and studded with walnuts, coconut and oats. The apricot filling is the icing on the cake (or in the cake, as the case may be), providing a moist middle and balancing the sweetness of the cookie. I thought they were delicious.
I decided to make do with the coconut I happened to have on hand - frozen fresh grated coconut. I used more by weight than called for in the recipe and than squeezed out most of the moisture after it thawed. I was very happy with the end result. I expect this coconut was not as sweet as the shredded coconut called for, but that was not a problem in these cookies, which are very sweet on their own. The coconut flavor was quite noticeable, but not at all overpowering.
I knew Denny would be out until Thursday, so I stuck one cookie in the freezer for him. I was pleased to learn that these freeze well. Here's the panel...
Suzanne: "I had this bar with my morning coffee and really enjoyed it. This was a great combination of oats, coconut, walnuts and the distinct apricot filling taste. Rating - 4.0"
Denny: "First off, there ain't no coconut trees in Poland and I've never seen one of these at a Polish wedding. However I would suggest growing some coconut trees in Poland as these were a 5. Flavorful and crunchy. I almost deducted a point for no chocolate, but I'm Polish and they're fantastic! Rating - 5.0"
Terri: "If these are served at Polish weddings, I'm going to find one to attend! These are absolutely delicious, but I really like desserts with apricots. In fact, these have all the ingredients that are my favorites - coconut, walnuts, and oats too. Rating - 5.0"
Laura: "Tasty and crunchy goodness. The apricot filling made certain there was the perfect amount of sweetness. Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "A chewy, tangy concoction with great texture but not quite sweet enough for this sweet tooth. Rating - 3.6"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.3
Next week - Viennese Marzipan Bars
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Coconut Pennies
Page 224 in the old book / page 251 in the new book Time for another chapter in the continuing saga of Cathy's coconut adventures... As you may recall from last week, the cookies billed as "semisoft" turned out very crunchy. Well, this week the...
- Mondays With Maida - Coconut Washboards
Page 223 in the old book / page 249 in the new book OK, here we go with my big coconut dilemma again. A conundrum that is only aggravated by the fact that I currently possess four different kinds of coconut, all of which must eventually be used up. Ideally...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Oatmeal Crispies
Page 214 in the old book / page 240 in the new book Light and crunchy with lots of texture from rolled oats and coconut and a deep dark chocolate flavor - can't complain about that! I expect these cookies would keep very well and despite the fact...
- Mondays With Maida - Black-and-white Coconut Slices
Page 126 in the old book / page 164 in the new book Zarah is here! Zarah is here! Actually, I should say, Zarah and Martin are here! And I'm enjoying their company way too much to sit here writing about cookies, so this will be short but sweet......
- Mondays With Maida - Viennese Marzipan Bars
Page 120 in the old book / page 157 in the new book These cookies would have been more colorful if I had followed Maida's directions, but I just couldn't bring myself to add green food coloring to the marzipan filling. I opted instead to throw...