Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

My philosophy of baking (yes, I have a baking philosophy... why? Don't you?) is to go big or go home. Because seriously, who wants to eat low-fat cookies, or sugar-free brownies? Even the thought of that makes me go, 'Ick.' I've had roommates who wouldn't eat any dessert unless it was marketed as 'health food'; lots of sugar-free pudding, fake 'whipped topping', and aspartame-sweetened, fat-free 'dessert' yogurt. That doesn't appeal to me. If you want a cookie, just have a freaking cookie. Just don't have sixteen cookies.

Despite how this blog makes me look, I don't eat a ton of junk food. We almost never have chips or snack-y stuff in the house, and very rarely eat boxed food (although I'm eating a bowl of mac and cheese right now... Hypocrisy!). The only sweets we usually have in the house are things that we make: cookies, ice cream etc. Because I eat pretty healthily 90% of the time, I'm a-OK eating cookies like these. Seriously. I'm not trying to rationalize at all.



Hey, look! A pile of chopped-up chocolate! (Actually it's three bars of chocolate) And a pile of dried fruit! Oh, and more cocoa powder than flour! These are not cookies for the eaters of diet food. These are cookies for people who like their chocolate with a little bit of cookie around it. These are delicious cookies.



These cookies are actually quite pretty, they're just not very photogenic. They are so chocolate-y they are almost black. Their texture is super moist, and almost fudge-y. The cherries are a nice addition, adding a little tang to what would otherwise be a total chocolate explosion (not that chocolate explosions are bad things). I would certainly recommend these cookies, and will definitely make them again. Enjoy... although you probably shouldn't eat more than one or two.



Next week: Amaretti Crisps, p. 23

Magic Blondies

I think the Martha Stewart Editing Team must have a sense of humor, because there are only two explanations for the name of these blondies getting through the editing process.
1. Her editing staff are all super goody-two-shoes people who would never think that a name like 'Magic Blondies' sounds anything like 'Magic Brownies'
2. Her editing staff are all a bunch of pot heads.
And, I can't imagine that you could be that naive working for Martha. She's an ex-con for crying out loud. Also she's completely nuts.



Despite the name, these blondies have no actual 'magic' in them. I suppose you could add it in, but I think Martha would have something to say about that. (Remember: just say no!) However, they do have coconut, chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries. Also, I made mine in mini-muffin tins, and tiny food is always yummy (actually I just didn't want to go to the store and get big muffin liners...I am lazy).

These turned out really, really good. I could eat about six of them! (It's like I have the munchies or something). She suggests using cherries instead of the cranberries, which would probably be good, too. Actually, I bet you could switch out the toppings for your favorites, and they'd still turn out yummy. All in all, these ended up living to their name; they are pretty magical (even if they aren't Magical).



Next Week: Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries, p. 98

Polenta Cookies

These are very happy cookies... every ingredient (almost) is yellow, which is a very happy color.



It reminds me of a line from Harry Potter: 'Sunshine daisies, Butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!' (And, yes, I'm a huge nerd... so now you know.)



Butter and lemon zest. Is there anything that these two can't make better? I don't think so.



You are supposed to pipe the dough onto cookie sheets into S-shapes. I didn't have a pastry bag, so I tried using a ziploc bag, like I usually do for frosting, but that didn't really work. So, I broke out the cookie Spritzer, which worked really well. (I should clarify that... the shapes with larger-sized holes worked well... the more detailed ones got gummed up with big chunks of polenta.)



Yay! Cookies! These were really tasty happy little cookies. The kind of cookies that are difficult to eat only a couple. They were buttery and a little lemon-y, and nice and crunchy. If anything, they were too crunchy, and the polenta bits got stuck in your teeth. If I made them again, I'd sub in a smaller-cut polenta, or even cornmeal. But, these were definitely a successful cookie.

Next week: Magic Blondies: p. 180

Bourbon Currant Cookies

Now, I thought that I was the only one who thought this, but apparently Martha and I are in agreement that bourbon/whiskey smells like raisins. My husband thinks it smells like paint thinner. It's funny watching him try it. He makes faces like babies do when they try soda or lemons.

He may have a point with this bourbon, however. Here in Washington State, they have crazy liquor laws, and you can't get liqour (except beer and wine) except from a state-run liquor store. I always feel weird going into liquor stores, especially at noon on a Tuesday, so I was a little flustered to begin with. Then, the guy running the store was overly-helpful, to the point where he picked out the bourbon for me. I couldn't really understand what he was saying (he had a very thick accent), and I may have mentioned that I was making cookies with the bourbon, but the next thing I knew, he was grabbing this of the bottom shelf and ringing it up for me. I'm easygoing, almost to a point where it's a problem, so I just took the booze he gave me. And thus, here I am with what is probably very icky bourbon, although I couldn't really tell either way.



Because these are Martha Cookies, they don't have anything as pedestrian as raisins; they have currants. The only currants I found at my grocery store were 'Zante Currants,' which probably means something like 'plain currants' or 'ordinary currants', but I thought the name had a fancy sound to it.



Anyway, these cookies are basically shortbread with booze and currants. I've talked about how making some cookies make my house smell like a sparkly little piece of heaven. These do not. They make your house smell like someone poured booze all over the place. Unpleasant. But, the alcohol smell does go away after a bit. (That, or it just burned out all of my olfactory receptors.)



The finished cookies were surprisingly good. I was not really excited about these cookies, and made them at the request of a friend. The bourbon added a little something interesting to the flavor without being overpowering. The currants didn't add too much (I like lots of bits in my baked goods and would have added more). They weren't overly sweet, and would be really good with a cup of tea and a good book. I tried a couple with some of the leftover bourbon. I do not recommend that. Tea or milk is definitely a better choice.



Next time: Italian Polenta Cookies, p. 141