Cooking
Page 36 in the old book / page 70 in the new book
And now for something new and different…ladies and gentlemen I present the un-chocolate cookie! I actually made these two weeks ago, so I’m a little fuzzy on the details now, but these are quite good if you like dried fruit and nuts. I was worried that they wouldn’t go over well at work since I had hinted before I brought them in that the next cookies would be spice rather than chocolate. Having become accustomed to their weekly dose of chocolate, my co-workers were less than enthused at the prospect. I even received an email that said, “Forget spice”. The day I brought these in though, it seemed every time I passed the author of that email, he had a cookie in his hand. One time I passed him and even got a thumbs up!
The cookies are easy to mix up, though there are quite a few ingredients. The dough reminded me of my mother’s fruitcake batter with just enough to hold the fruit and nuts together. The cookies are loaded with currants, raisins, dates, and walnuts. In fact, they make me think that maybe back when this recipe was first published the cookies might have been considered “healthy”. In addition to the fruit and nuts, they have whole wheat flour (and no white flour), honey, raw sugar, spices, eggs, milk, and….oh yeah, a stick of butter. I had a little trouble keeping them evenly sized as I spooned them out, but these are fairly rustic looking anyway, so I didn’t worry about it much.
Warm out of the oven, these are a real treat – just barely crunchy on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside. A day later they had firmed up a bit, and the exterior crunch was gone, but they tasted great with all those spices, fruits and nuts.
A little off topic, but still on the subject of Maida…I found this 1997 Saveur article about her a little while back and printed it out. I just ran across it again and thought some of you might enjoy reading it. The author paid Maida Heatter a visit at her home and talked with her as she baked a cake. At the time the article was written she was eighty-something and was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning before spending most of the day in the kitchen!
Next week – Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits
Nutrition Facts
- 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...
- Mondays With Maida - Hermit Bars
Page 99 in the old book / page 140 in the new book I don't make many notes in my cookbooks, but this recipe has a note that reads "Everybody likes these - Mom and Auntie Bee have recipe." No wonder I made a note - after eating these, both my Mom...
- My Favorite Drop Cookies
Chocolate Banana Cookies didn't make my list of favorites, but this is my favorite cookie photo so far 39 different cookies. It's quite possible that I've tried more cookie recipes in the past 10 months than in all the time prior to that....
- Mondays With Maida - German Oatmeal Cookies
Page 60 in the old book / page 94 in the new book These are soft, slightly spicy oatmeal cookies loaded with raisins, dates, pecans, and chocolate chips. Making these cookies was easy and uneventful. Maida Heatter's note that accompanies the recipe...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Peanut Cookies
Page 34 in the old book / page 48 in the new book At long last, the eleventh and final chocolate drop cookie! They are Chocolate Peanut Cookies, and although they weren’t my favorite of the bunch, they were very good and I think they might have...
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Whole-Wheat and Honey Hermits
Page 36 in the old book / page 70 in the new book
And now for something new and different…ladies and gentlemen I present the un-chocolate cookie! I actually made these two weeks ago, so I’m a little fuzzy on the details now, but these are quite good if you like dried fruit and nuts. I was worried that they wouldn’t go over well at work since I had hinted before I brought them in that the next cookies would be spice rather than chocolate. Having become accustomed to their weekly dose of chocolate, my co-workers were less than enthused at the prospect. I even received an email that said, “Forget spice”. The day I brought these in though, it seemed every time I passed the author of that email, he had a cookie in his hand. One time I passed him and even got a thumbs up!
The cookies are easy to mix up, though there are quite a few ingredients. The dough reminded me of my mother’s fruitcake batter with just enough to hold the fruit and nuts together. The cookies are loaded with currants, raisins, dates, and walnuts. In fact, they make me think that maybe back when this recipe was first published the cookies might have been considered “healthy”. In addition to the fruit and nuts, they have whole wheat flour (and no white flour), honey, raw sugar, spices, eggs, milk, and….oh yeah, a stick of butter. I had a little trouble keeping them evenly sized as I spooned them out, but these are fairly rustic looking anyway, so I didn’t worry about it much.
Warm out of the oven, these are a real treat – just barely crunchy on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside. A day later they had firmed up a bit, and the exterior crunch was gone, but they tasted great with all those spices, fruits and nuts.
A little off topic, but still on the subject of Maida…I found this 1997 Saveur article about her a little while back and printed it out. I just ran across it again and thought some of you might enjoy reading it. The author paid Maida Heatter a visit at her home and talked with her as she baked a cake. At the time the article was written she was eighty-something and was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning before spending most of the day in the kitchen!
Next week – Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits
Nutrition Facts
- 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...
- Mondays With Maida - Hermit Bars
Page 99 in the old book / page 140 in the new book I don't make many notes in my cookbooks, but this recipe has a note that reads "Everybody likes these - Mom and Auntie Bee have recipe." No wonder I made a note - after eating these, both my Mom...
- My Favorite Drop Cookies
Chocolate Banana Cookies didn't make my list of favorites, but this is my favorite cookie photo so far 39 different cookies. It's quite possible that I've tried more cookie recipes in the past 10 months than in all the time prior to that....
- Mondays With Maida - German Oatmeal Cookies
Page 60 in the old book / page 94 in the new book These are soft, slightly spicy oatmeal cookies loaded with raisins, dates, pecans, and chocolate chips. Making these cookies was easy and uneventful. Maida Heatter's note that accompanies the recipe...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Peanut Cookies
Page 34 in the old book / page 48 in the new book At long last, the eleventh and final chocolate drop cookie! They are Chocolate Peanut Cookies, and although they weren’t my favorite of the bunch, they were very good and I think they might have...