Icebox Cookie Variations

After reading “a slice-and-bake cookie palette” at http://www.smittenkitchen.com/ today, I was inspired to try my own variations of her already fantastic recipe. I decided to go with a lemon pepper version and a toasted coconut, cherry version.

Version One
Lemon Pepper Icebox Cookies


1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Zest from one lemon

Follow the directions for “Slice-and-Bake Cookie” dough located here, add the black pepper and lemon zest to the dough and incorporate thoroughly. Roll the dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap Roll the dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze for 30-45 minutes (I found that the dough was easier to work with after 45 minutes).

Remove the dough from the freezer, unwrap it and cut it into ¼ inch rounds. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.



My thoughts:
Meh, they were kind of bland.

Version Two


Dried Cherry and Toasted Coconut Icebox Cookies
¼ cup dried cherries – finely chopped
¼ cup toasted coconut

Basically the same instructions as above but this time after making the cookie dough, incorporate the cherries and toasted coconut.


My thoughts:
This version was definitely the way to go! Dried Cherry and Toasted Coconut Icebox Cookies are a five-berry keeper.

Recipe Review Special

Part Two
Here is part two of my recipe review special featuring Food Network's “Twelve Days of Cookies”.

Moravian Spice Wafers
From Food Network Kitchens


The recipe is located here and it really is quite the recipe. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, white pepper, mustard, molasses…. They really aren’t messing around with the ingredients list.

I love spice cookies and was really excited to try this recipe. It didn’t really disappoint me but it was kind of a pain. Rolling the dough to 1/16th of an inch, freezing the dough, using a cookie cutter, freezing again… come on.

Though the prep work involved did try my patience, the cookies reminded me a lot of pepparkakors, which I’m a big fan of. Overall, I would give this recipe a very respectable 3 out of 5 berries.



Alternative:
Like I mentioned above, I thought the effort necessary to make these cookies wasn’t really justified by the final product. For my second and subsequent batches, I used a different method, which basically involved making drop cookies that were rolled in sugar and spice.

Method:
Create a sugar and spice mixture consisting of ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice. Roll rounded teaspoons of the batter in the sugar mix and place on the baking sheet about an inch and a half apart. Press down on each dough ball with the back of a fork, vertically and horizontally, creating a criss-cross pattern on each cookie.


Bake for 10-12 minutes, sprinkle with a little more of the sugar mixture, allow to cool to room temperature and ENJOY! My version of these cookies got rave reviews.


What people are saying about Blackberry Pockets’ Moravian Spice Cookies:
“Best cookies ever”
“I just EVOO’d in my pants!”
“What is that? Freaking spice?”

With acclaim like that, these cookies get bumped up to a 4-berry ranking!

A Blackberry Pockets Special

Recipe Review

Welcome to a special recipe review edition of Blackberry Pockets. These recipes are part of the Food Network’s “Twelve Days of Cookies”, an annual newsletter they publish that provides exclusive holiday cookie recipes, and will be ranked using my newly developed Five Berry Scale!

The Twelve Days of Cookies contains, appropriately, twelve cookie recipes plus one bonus but unfortunately, I only had time to test two. I did initially plan to blog the entire series but as it turns out, the holiday season has not left me with much free time for writing (I really need to start bringing the laptop to the bar…). In any case, the recipe under evaluation today is Almond Lace Cookies (Florentines) from The Food Network Kitchens.

*In order to properly judge these recipes, I made sure to adhere strictly to the recipe and also made three simple judging criteria, which are the following:

Accessibility: Does the recipe consist of ingredients that can be found at an average grocery store (for reasonable prices)?

Pay off: Is the resulting quality of the cookies worth the necessary effort required to make them?

Taste: Obviously the most important criterion and the one that carries the most weight in the decision making process — do the cookies taste good?

PART ONE
Almond Lace Cookies (Florentines)



My thoughts:
These cookies consisted of simple, easy to find ingredients that many people would usually have around the house, especially around the holiday baking season. The need to boil sugar and essentially make candy to use in the batter was, although not terribly difficult, kind of a pain. Ultimately, I found their taste to be a kind of bland and the texture to be somewhat gritty. I probably won’t make them again but they were very pretty and if you really like almonds, they are worth trying.
Overall rank: 3 out of 5


*Note, I found the following sentence of the recipe to be somewhat confusing and thought I would clarify it for you in case you make the same mistake I did and burn your cookies:

“Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes.”

The way the sentence is constructed, I took it to mean that halfway through the baking time was 10 to 11 minutes in. However, this was incorrect. 10 to 11 minutes is the total and MAXIMUM amount of time these cookies should be baked.

I took the liberty of rewriting that section. For clarity's sake:

Bake 1 pan at a time, about 10 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout. Rotate the pans halfway through the baking time.

Cinnamon cashew brittle

Buttery peanut brittle: delicious, but still only the opening act of the holiday season. As a child, peanut brittle always seemed like the herald of the holiday candy. It was the first treat to start appearing around people’s houses and represented a promise of greater things to come. When the headliners (cinnamon rolls, cookies, FUDGE!) would finally arrive, the brittle would retire to a quiet corner to sell posters, tee shirts and homemade CDs, sought out by only the most loyal of fans.

In order to bring a little spotlight to this somewhat unremarkable confection, I’ve replaced the peanuts with cashews and added cinnamon, positioning my brittle into rock star status. This brittle isn’t content to simply warm up the crowd for the real show; it will blow the amp, steal your girlfriend and trash the hotel room!

Cinnamon Cashew Brittle is a great sweet to have around the house or to bring to parties and it’s the perfect recipe for the first time candy maker.

Recipe:
1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter – cut into ¼ inch pieces

2 cups roasted salted cashews

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the water, sugar, cream of tarter, and corn syrup into a large saucepot and attach a candy thermometer. Place the burner to medium-high and heat the contents until they reach a boil, stirring occasionally.

In another container, combine the cinnamon, butter, cashews, and baking soda.


Now you just have to wait until the candy achieves a nice golden brown color at around 339 degrees F. This part takes a little patience; you don’t have to stir the pot; you only need to monitor it. Be wary, though. Although it takes a good 25-30 minutes to achieve the proper temperature, once it hits 300 degrees, it will start to rise rapidly. Don’t do something silly like go and watch Project Runway, even if it’s just for a minute, or you might end up with something like this:

Oh yeah, that's good and ruined.

In any case, if you keep an eye on the candy, you shouldn’t have any problems. While it is heating, you can prepare a cookie sheet either by greasing it or by lining it with a silpat.

When the candy achieves the appropriate color/temperature, remove it from the heat, mix in the cinnamon, cashews, butter, and baking soda and stir rapidly to combine. Then, poor the contents onto the cookie sheet and allow it to cool. When it is ready, you can break it into pieces and enjoy!

You know, In many ways, with its dichotomies of sweet/salty taste and smooth/crunchy texture, cinnamon brittle embodies the many flavors of the holiday spirit…or something. Its jagged edges will certainly cutchoo like a mall Santa if you disrespect it though!