Cooking
Page 146 in the old book / page 179 in the new book
I FOUND A MISTAKE IN THE BOOK! I am certain that this is an editing error, but I was still surprised to find it. What is even more surprising is that it appears in both the old and new books. I reviewed the recipe before I began and was amused to find the following instructions for shaping the dough before chilling, "With your hands press against the paper to mold the dough into an oblong 12 inches long, 3/4 inch wide, and 1 inch thick." Hmmm... if sliced 1/4 of an inch thick, that would make each cookie about the size of a piece of Bazooka bubble gum, wouldn't it? I think the desired dimensions are actually 12 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide, and 1 inch thick.
I liked these cookies very much - they're attractive, they're sweet and crunchy, and they have an interesting texture because of the abundant sesame seeds within (3/4 cup). As some of the cookie panelists comment below, they are rather plain, but I don't think that's always a bad thing. In fact, I got into a bit of a debate with Denny on that very topic. (I promise I was not trying to sway his vote!) I guess it's to be expected that when you ask people to assign numerical ratings to cookies week after week, they will naturally compare one week's cookie to past offerings. The thing is, I think that these plainer cookies can be pretty great in their own right. Simplicity can be a virtue, but I think in this setting it's not usually seen that way. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now... all I'm saying is, you really ought to give these cookies a chance.
Here's the panel...
Suzanne: "I love sesames in everything, so I knew I would like this cookie. The butter, sesames, and vanilla almost gave the cookie a slight lemony taste. Also, the cookie's shape was attractive and reminded me of lady finger cookies. I also liked the crunchiness of the cookie with the sesames. Rating- 4.0"
Denny: "Bland and not much going for it. Wasn't bad, just not too good. Rating - 2.0"
Laura: "Very hard to rate objectively, since I do not care for sesame seeds. Rating - 1.0"
Terri: "These cookies are somewhat like a shortbread with sesame seeds. I really like the shortbread flavor, but they may be bland if served alone. These would be great along with a chocolate cookie or chocolate dessert. Also would be great with fruit. Rating - 3.0"
Overall rating by the panel - 2.5
Next week - Caraway Crisps
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Ginger Shortbread Cookies
Page 188 in the old book / page 217 in the new book These cookies are mildly spiced and very crunchy. The texture was verging on a candy-like crunch and wasn't at all what I expected for a cookie labelled as shortbread. When I first read the recipe...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Hardtack
Page 182 in the old book / page 214 in the new book These cookies are very similar to last week's Hot Butter Wafers, the only differences being that they have considerably more sugar and are sprinkled with caraway seeds. They are sweet, hard and...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Sour-cream Cookies
Page 178 in the old book / page 210 in the new book The recipe for these cookies is very similar to the Tropical Sour-Cream Cookies from last week, the differences being in the flavoring (caraway vs. lemon and orange), the sugar (white vs. brown), and...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Crisps
Page 147 in the old book / page 180 in the new book I have to admit, I had my doubts about these cookies going in. I had never used caraway in cookies before and don't generally associate caraway with sweets. I envisioned a repeat of the poppy seed...
- Mondays With Maida - Icebox Nut Cookies
Page 144 in the old book / page 178 in the new book I thought these were very good. They are lemony, very crunchy, and loaded with nuts. I used pecans, but walnuts could also be used. The recipe gave several options for shaping the dough for slicing....
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Sesame Fingers
Page 146 in the old book / page 179 in the new book
I FOUND A MISTAKE IN THE BOOK! I am certain that this is an editing error, but I was still surprised to find it. What is even more surprising is that it appears in both the old and new books. I reviewed the recipe before I began and was amused to find the following instructions for shaping the dough before chilling, "With your hands press against the paper to mold the dough into an oblong 12 inches long, 3/4 inch wide, and 1 inch thick." Hmmm... if sliced 1/4 of an inch thick, that would make each cookie about the size of a piece of Bazooka bubble gum, wouldn't it? I think the desired dimensions are actually 12 inches long, 3 to 4 inches wide, and 1 inch thick.
I liked these cookies very much - they're attractive, they're sweet and crunchy, and they have an interesting texture because of the abundant sesame seeds within (3/4 cup). As some of the cookie panelists comment below, they are rather plain, but I don't think that's always a bad thing. In fact, I got into a bit of a debate with Denny on that very topic. (I promise I was not trying to sway his vote!) I guess it's to be expected that when you ask people to assign numerical ratings to cookies week after week, they will naturally compare one week's cookie to past offerings. The thing is, I think that these plainer cookies can be pretty great in their own right. Simplicity can be a virtue, but I think in this setting it's not usually seen that way. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now... all I'm saying is, you really ought to give these cookies a chance.
Here's the panel...
Suzanne: "I love sesames in everything, so I knew I would like this cookie. The butter, sesames, and vanilla almost gave the cookie a slight lemony taste. Also, the cookie's shape was attractive and reminded me of lady finger cookies. I also liked the crunchiness of the cookie with the sesames. Rating- 4.0"
Denny: "Bland and not much going for it. Wasn't bad, just not too good. Rating - 2.0"
Laura: "Very hard to rate objectively, since I do not care for sesame seeds. Rating - 1.0"
Terri: "These cookies are somewhat like a shortbread with sesame seeds. I really like the shortbread flavor, but they may be bland if served alone. These would be great along with a chocolate cookie or chocolate dessert. Also would be great with fruit. Rating - 3.0"
Overall rating by the panel - 2.5
Next week - Caraway Crisps
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Ginger Shortbread Cookies
Page 188 in the old book / page 217 in the new book These cookies are mildly spiced and very crunchy. The texture was verging on a candy-like crunch and wasn't at all what I expected for a cookie labelled as shortbread. When I first read the recipe...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Hardtack
Page 182 in the old book / page 214 in the new book These cookies are very similar to last week's Hot Butter Wafers, the only differences being that they have considerably more sugar and are sprinkled with caraway seeds. They are sweet, hard and...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Sour-cream Cookies
Page 178 in the old book / page 210 in the new book The recipe for these cookies is very similar to the Tropical Sour-Cream Cookies from last week, the differences being in the flavoring (caraway vs. lemon and orange), the sugar (white vs. brown), and...
- Mondays With Maida - Caraway Crisps
Page 147 in the old book / page 180 in the new book I have to admit, I had my doubts about these cookies going in. I had never used caraway in cookies before and don't generally associate caraway with sweets. I envisioned a repeat of the poppy seed...
- Mondays With Maida - Icebox Nut Cookies
Page 144 in the old book / page 178 in the new book I thought these were very good. They are lemony, very crunchy, and loaded with nuts. I used pecans, but walnuts could also be used. The recipe gave several options for shaping the dough for slicing....