Cooking
Page 201 in the old book / page 188 in the new book
I used to include Rugelach (with apricot jam, currants and pecans) in my assortment of Christmas cookies quite regularly. I've gotten out of the habit recently, partly because I think of them as one of the more difficult cookies to make (by now you must know of my aversion to rolling cookie dough), and partly because I've also fallen out out of the habit of making apricot jam each year (one bad batch put a damper on that). Well now that I've tried Maida's recipe, I may have to put Rugelach back in the starting line-up at Christmas. They were much easier to make than my usual recipe, they don't require any apricot jam, and they were delicious!
The dough for Maida's version of Rugelach is rolled into 12-inch circles, brushed with melted butter, and sprinkled with walnuts, currants, cinnamon and sugar. You then cut each circle into wedges and roll each wedge from wide end to small. This method is quite forgiving of ragged/lopsided circles and uneven wedges - thank goodness! The other recipe I've used, from Rosie's Bakery Chocolate-Packed Jam-Filled, Butter-Rich, No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book is more exacting. The dough is rolled very thinly into large rectangles which are rolled and sliced - much more work. The other problem I always had with that recipe is that the middles always seemed undercooked - not so with Maida's recipe. They were wonderfully crunchy through and through.
These cookies went quickly and were obviously a hit. Even a coworker who only reluctantly eats nuts told me that they were the best nut cookie she'd ever had. She was quite enthusiastic, so this was clearly intended as a complement, though I guess you'd have to say it was a qualified complement. :)
Suzanne will be out for the next couple of weeks doting over her new granddaughter, Victoria. Congratulations Suzanne! Here's the panel ...
Laura: "Light, flaky and crunchy - very tasty! Rating - 4.5"
Denny: "Golden brown delights. Reminds me of my Mom's and Grandmom's holiday baking. And what's better than that?! Baked to perfection with just the right amount of crunch. Cookies like these make it a pleasure to be on your Cookie Committee. I wish they had a little chocolate so I could them a 5, but to be consistent I'd give them a 4.0 with the -1 no chocolate penalty. Rating - 4.0"
Terri: "These are a delicious treat! I love the buttery taste of the cookie and the amount of walnuts and currants is perfect. These would be great with vanilla ice cream. Rating - 5.0"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.5
Next week - Danish Coffeehouse Slices
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - French Sugar Fans
Page 254 in the old book / page 273 in the new book I like these cookies, but I'm not convinced they're worth the effort. Don't get me wrong - they were very good and went over well in the office, but the dough was difficult to handle. They're...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate-chip Pillows
Page 194 in the old book / page 222 in the new book Wouldn't you know... chocolate finally shows up again and Denny is away for the week on travel. It would be hard to imagine anyone not liking these little pie-shaped cookies filled with chocolate...
- Mondays With Maida - Ischler Cookies
Page 171 in the old book / page 206 in the new book I knew these were going to be a hit - how could they not? Two cookies, rich with butter and ground almonds, are sandwiched together with some sweet and tart apricot jam and then given a crowd-pleasing...
- Mondays With Maida - Pinwheels
Page 152 in the old book / page 184 in the new book These are the classic pinwheel cookie where layers of chocolate and vanilla dough are rolled together so that each cookie has an attractive spiral of chocolate. This particular version has the added...
- Mondays With Maida - New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies
Page 125 in the old book / page 163 in the new book Rather uncharacteristically, Maida provides no background on this cookie or its origin at the start of the recipe, but I believe these New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies are so named because of the...
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Rugelach
Page 201 in the old book / page 188 in the new book
I used to include Rugelach (with apricot jam, currants and pecans) in my assortment of Christmas cookies quite regularly. I've gotten out of the habit recently, partly because I think of them as one of the more difficult cookies to make (by now you must know of my aversion to rolling cookie dough), and partly because I've also fallen out out of the habit of making apricot jam each year (one bad batch put a damper on that). Well now that I've tried Maida's recipe, I may have to put Rugelach back in the starting line-up at Christmas. They were much easier to make than my usual recipe, they don't require any apricot jam, and they were delicious!
The dough for Maida's version of Rugelach is rolled into 12-inch circles, brushed with melted butter, and sprinkled with walnuts, currants, cinnamon and sugar. You then cut each circle into wedges and roll each wedge from wide end to small. This method is quite forgiving of ragged/lopsided circles and uneven wedges - thank goodness! The other recipe I've used, from Rosie's Bakery Chocolate-Packed Jam-Filled, Butter-Rich, No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book is more exacting. The dough is rolled very thinly into large rectangles which are rolled and sliced - much more work. The other problem I always had with that recipe is that the middles always seemed undercooked - not so with Maida's recipe. They were wonderfully crunchy through and through.
These cookies went quickly and were obviously a hit. Even a coworker who only reluctantly eats nuts told me that they were the best nut cookie she'd ever had. She was quite enthusiastic, so this was clearly intended as a complement, though I guess you'd have to say it was a qualified complement. :)
Suzanne will be out for the next couple of weeks doting over her new granddaughter, Victoria. Congratulations Suzanne! Here's the panel ...
Laura: "Light, flaky and crunchy - very tasty! Rating - 4.5"
Denny: "Golden brown delights. Reminds me of my Mom's and Grandmom's holiday baking. And what's better than that?! Baked to perfection with just the right amount of crunch. Cookies like these make it a pleasure to be on your Cookie Committee. I wish they had a little chocolate so I could them a 5, but to be consistent I'd give them a 4.0 with the -1 no chocolate penalty. Rating - 4.0"
Terri: "These are a delicious treat! I love the buttery taste of the cookie and the amount of walnuts and currants is perfect. These would be great with vanilla ice cream. Rating - 5.0"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.5
Next week - Danish Coffeehouse Slices
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - French Sugar Fans
Page 254 in the old book / page 273 in the new book I like these cookies, but I'm not convinced they're worth the effort. Don't get me wrong - they were very good and went over well in the office, but the dough was difficult to handle. They're...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate-chip Pillows
Page 194 in the old book / page 222 in the new book Wouldn't you know... chocolate finally shows up again and Denny is away for the week on travel. It would be hard to imagine anyone not liking these little pie-shaped cookies filled with chocolate...
- Mondays With Maida - Ischler Cookies
Page 171 in the old book / page 206 in the new book I knew these were going to be a hit - how could they not? Two cookies, rich with butter and ground almonds, are sandwiched together with some sweet and tart apricot jam and then given a crowd-pleasing...
- Mondays With Maida - Pinwheels
Page 152 in the old book / page 184 in the new book These are the classic pinwheel cookie where layers of chocolate and vanilla dough are rolled together so that each cookie has an attractive spiral of chocolate. This particular version has the added...
- Mondays With Maida - New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies
Page 125 in the old book / page 163 in the new book Rather uncharacteristically, Maida provides no background on this cookie or its origin at the start of the recipe, but I believe these New Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies are so named because of the...