Cooking
Page 112 in the old book / page 150 in the new book
Now we're talking! These cookies have an obscene amount of butter in them, but there were just wonderful... thick, gooey, moist, ... delicious!
A crumbly oatmeal mixture, which is used for both the base and the crumb topping, is interrupted by a sweet, jam-like date layer with a lovely lemon finish. While size-wise these bars don't at first appear intimidating (24 bars from a 9-inch pan), by weight they are massive. After sampling one, I packed the box with the remaining bars, lifted the box to move it, and was shocked at it's weight. For fun I put it on the scale - 3 1/2 pounds!!!
I love these cookies just as they are, but am very tempted to try cutting back on the butter. The recipe currently calls for 2 sticks (8 ounces) of butter and I'm willing to bet that you could leave out half a stick of butter and it wouldn't be missed. The filling for these cookies was fantastic - one of those things where you can't stop licking the spoon. The addition of lemon rind is a surprising (and delicious) twist.
Everyone enjoyed these - even one coworker who dislikes walnuts and is not fond of dates - and the panel was no exception...
Suzanne: "Delicious! The date filling made this bar moist and the filling almost tasted like chocolate to me. This was a great combination of oatmeal, walnuts, and date filling. Rating - 4.9"
Denny: "Excellent, just sweet enough and crunchy. If they had chocolate I'd give them a 5. So, only a 4.5. Rating - 4.5"
Laura: "Yummy, crunchy, nutty, chewy - Fabulous! Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "Bet you can't have just one. While a substantial cookie, the combination of ingredients punctuated by date filling really worked for this taster. Rating - 4.7"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.5
Next week - Honey Date-Nut Bars
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Connecticut Date Slices
Page 250 in the old book / page 270 in the new book Though not the most photogenic of cookies, these date slices more than make up for their looks with a warm, spicy flavor that is complemented by sweet dates and raisins. Surprisingly, there are no nuts...
- 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...
- Mondays With Maida - Aspen Date-nut Fingers
Page 115 in the old book / page 153 in the new book I am certain that Suzanne has now become conditioned to fear all cookies shrouded in confectioner's sugar. The moment I approached her with these she recoiled. She ate one - reluctantly - but I'm...
- Mondays With Maida - Brittle Peanut Bars
Page 101 in the old book / page 141 in the new book When you think of a bar cookie, generally you think of something moist and chewy, possibly with a little crunch on top. Most of the bar cookies sampled so far have fit that bill - but not these. Maida...
- Mondays With Maida - Date-nut Rocks
Page 57 in the old book / page 87 in the new book The last (and possibly best) of the rocks. This is a plainer and simpler cookie than the other rocks - no icing and only one spice - but very, very good. These are soft cookies stuffed with dates and...
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Texas Cowboy Bars
Page 112 in the old book / page 150 in the new book
Now we're talking! These cookies have an obscene amount of butter in them, but there were just wonderful... thick, gooey, moist, ... delicious!
A crumbly oatmeal mixture, which is used for both the base and the crumb topping, is interrupted by a sweet, jam-like date layer with a lovely lemon finish. While size-wise these bars don't at first appear intimidating (24 bars from a 9-inch pan), by weight they are massive. After sampling one, I packed the box with the remaining bars, lifted the box to move it, and was shocked at it's weight. For fun I put it on the scale - 3 1/2 pounds!!!
I love these cookies just as they are, but am very tempted to try cutting back on the butter. The recipe currently calls for 2 sticks (8 ounces) of butter and I'm willing to bet that you could leave out half a stick of butter and it wouldn't be missed. The filling for these cookies was fantastic - one of those things where you can't stop licking the spoon. The addition of lemon rind is a surprising (and delicious) twist.
Everyone enjoyed these - even one coworker who dislikes walnuts and is not fond of dates - and the panel was no exception...
Suzanne: "Delicious! The date filling made this bar moist and the filling almost tasted like chocolate to me. This was a great combination of oatmeal, walnuts, and date filling. Rating - 4.9"
Denny: "Excellent, just sweet enough and crunchy. If they had chocolate I'd give them a 5. So, only a 4.5. Rating - 4.5"
Laura: "Yummy, crunchy, nutty, chewy - Fabulous! Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "Bet you can't have just one. While a substantial cookie, the combination of ingredients punctuated by date filling really worked for this taster. Rating - 4.7"
Overall rating by the panel - 4.5
Next week - Honey Date-Nut Bars
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Connecticut Date Slices
Page 250 in the old book / page 270 in the new book Though not the most photogenic of cookies, these date slices more than make up for their looks with a warm, spicy flavor that is complemented by sweet dates and raisins. Surprisingly, there are no nuts...
- 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...
- Mondays With Maida - Aspen Date-nut Fingers
Page 115 in the old book / page 153 in the new book I am certain that Suzanne has now become conditioned to fear all cookies shrouded in confectioner's sugar. The moment I approached her with these she recoiled. She ate one - reluctantly - but I'm...
- Mondays With Maida - Brittle Peanut Bars
Page 101 in the old book / page 141 in the new book When you think of a bar cookie, generally you think of something moist and chewy, possibly with a little crunch on top. Most of the bar cookies sampled so far have fit that bill - but not these. Maida...
- Mondays With Maida - Date-nut Rocks
Page 57 in the old book / page 87 in the new book The last (and possibly best) of the rocks. This is a plainer and simpler cookie than the other rocks - no icing and only one spice - but very, very good. These are soft cookies stuffed with dates and...