De Ma Cuisine

Cookies Archive

Monday

30

March 2020

0

COMMENTS

Peanut Butter Bacon and Cheddar Dog Cookies

Written by , Posted in Baking, Cheese, Cookies, Dog, Dog Treat, Gluten Free, Grains, Pets

In my life, I haven’t experienced another relationship like the one between a dog and their humans. Can you imagine what life would be like if we got as excited as they do when our favorite person came home from work, or asked us if we wanted to take a walk with them? They forgive our bad attitudes and forget the grumpy mornings. They just want to be around us. Their tails flap excitedly when we walk into the room. They love us so much.

It was our best dog’s birthday the other day. He turned twelve. We tried to return some of the love he has shown us for all these years with treats and homemade cookies. And we let him dictate the plan for the day, which meant everyone lounged around until like 6pm then got hyper and went for a walk.

I winged it with the cookies. I’m not a baker, but sometimes I try. I’ve baked enough that I’ve got a general idea of what to do to make a cookie. Still, it’s a bit of a guessing game.

I wanted to incorporate some of Brando’s favorite things: bacon, cheese, and peanut butter. We don’t have a lot of flour left, so I did without. I made oats into oatmeal. And I used egg whites to bind it all together.

Brando ate his cookies while we watched the tiger show. Are you watching it? I can’t decide if I’m glad that we did. I guess it’s given us something to think about besides the Coronavirus. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Singing and clapping) “THIS IS YOUR BIRTHDAY SONG. IT ISN’T VERY LONG.” Happy birthday Brando. We love you a lot!!

Peanut Butter Bacon and Cheddar Dog Cookies

Yield: 40 small cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 3-4 tablespoons egg whites
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon grease (or olive oil)
  • 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 300°F with an oven rack in the middle position.
  2. Cook the oats and the water in a medium-sized saucepan until the oats have softened, about 10 minutes.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, egg whites, and bacon grease. Then add the cheese. Fold in the cooked oats and mix until combined.
  4. Using a spoon, drop the dough onto un-greased baking sheets, about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie. Leave a bit of space between cookies, but they don’t need too much. Bake until the cookies are set and a bit browned, about 35-45 minutes, rotating the pans every 15 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, about an hour.

Friday

8

May 2015

0

COMMENTS

Whole Wheat Parsnip Cookies

Written by , Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Cookies, Dessert, Eggs, Fruit, Grains, Kid-Friendly, Quick and Easy, Snacks, Vegetarian

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I’m not much of a baker. It’s just not something that comes naturally to me. With baking it’s important to follow the recipe. There’s a reason that each ingredient is there. I can’t just add what I have on hand and substitute something if I feel like it. Because it’s all science.

I was never great at science in school. I do wonder if I might have done a little better if there had been experiments that involved cooking. You know, let us make cookies with whatever we wanted to. See what works and what doesn’t. Then learn about why. Since that class wasn’t offered at my school, I’m learning now, slowly…ParsnipCookies-1

I think that my first substitution attempt when baking might have been when I figured that using the same amount of honey in place of granulated sugar would be fine. Wrong. I ended up with a burned outside and still liquid inside banana bread. That was disappointing. But, I learned from my mistake. Freedom to fail.

So this time I played it safe. I figured out what I thought would make up a good cookie. I think I know what the dough should be like, so it seemed like a good place to start.

I still wasn’t expecting them to turn out, but I was gonna do my best.

I wanted to incorporate parsnips. Parsnips are wonderful when roasted and dipped into a creamy sauce. But, what about something sweet, almost like what you’d do with carrots in a carrot cake? I figured it was worth a try.

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I don’t make very many cookies. I’m just not a sweets person. But, I think normally recipes will have you cream the butter and sugar together. I went for more of a scone technique, where the butter was cold and added to the already combined dry ingredients.

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The parsnips, apple, and some lemon zest were added to the butter-flour mixture. I figured they might do well when coated with flour. And then once the wet ingredients were whisked together, they were added too. To make what looked like cookie batter to me!

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When I used to make cookies with my mom as a kid, we’d use two spoons to scoop the dough out. You could also just use your hands and roll a ball of dough between your palms. Whatever works. The spoons keep the hands clean and you don’t waste the batter that covers them.

I like fluffy, puffy, soft cookies over thin crispy ones. So I didn’t press them down.

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I thought about trying to make these vegan, but decided against it since making a cookie recipe was already enough of a risk. But, here are some ways that you could adapt it, if you wanted to (at your own risk 😉 ).

Carrots or summer squash instead of parsnips.

Orange zest instead of lemon zest.

Coconut oil instead of butter (treat it the same way – make sure it’s cold, then work very quickly).

Flax seeds and water instead of egg.

Maple syrup instead of honey.

Just keep in mind that it’s science and your changes may result in cookies slightly different from mine. But, we’re free to fail, free to learn from our mistakes, free to keep on trying. If I’d stopped at ruined banana bread, I’d never have known the loveliness of these cookies. They may be my new favorite. Not too sweet, super soft, and made with whole wheat flour and honey, so I feel fine about the three that I’ve eaten this afternoon.

Happy Eating!

Whole Wheat Parsnip Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Yield: 19-20 cookies

Whole Wheat Parsnip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 C whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/2 t baking powder, sifted
  • 1/2 t baking soda, sifted
  • 1/4 t cinnamon
  • pinch all spice
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1 C oats
  • 1 t lemon zest (or orange zest), chopped
  • 1/3 C apples, grated and chopped
  • 1 C parsnips (or carrots or summer squash), grated, and chopped
  • 1/2 C butter, cold, cut into small chunks
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 t apple cider vinegar
  • 1 t vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or silpat mats).
  2. Whisk together flour through nutmeg. Mix in butter with a pastry blender or hands until pea sized chunks remain. Stir in oats, lemon zest, apples, and parsnips.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together honey through vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine.
  4. Scoop batter using two tablespoons, or hands and drop onto prepared baking sheets (do not flatten). Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are mostly set and golden around the edges (they will keep cooking for a bit as they cool). Cool on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/whole-wheat-parsnip-cookies/

Friday

16

March 2012

1

COMMENTS

Oma’s Moon Cookies, by Jill

Written by , Posted in Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Guest Posts, Legacy, Thoughts

I’m blessed to have two brothers. But, until I got a sister-in-law last year, I had zero sisters. However, my cousin, Jill and I are as close as sisters. She’s one of my best friends. She lives in Colorado with her family, so we make up for the distance with visits, Skype chats, phone calls, emails, and texts. She and I were devastated at the loss of our Oma a couple of months ago. We both inherited a love for cooking from her. Jill, however, must have inherited the baking side of it much more than I. She’s a great baker. I asked if she would share Oma’s recipe for Moon Cookies.

Here’s Jill.

I know what you are thinking, it’s why are these called moon cookies yet they are shaped like stars?  Well honestly it is just because I don’t have a moon shaped cookie cutter.  Every time I make these cookies I am already far too deep in the process to stop, go to the store and get the proper shape, and every year I seem to forget that I don’t have a moon shape so I choose the next best celestial object, a star.  But Oma, whose recipe this is, always made them in moon shapes, hence the name.  Everyone in the Pries family knows what a moon cookie is.

This recipe is special for many reasons, most importantly because it was Oma’s.  And everything from Oma is special.  Secondly, they are insanely delicious.  One of the ways Oma loved her family was through food. She always had lovely treats and amazing meals waiting for us whenever we would visit.  Some of my fondest childhood memories take place in her kitchen, whether it was baking Zwieback and honey cookies, or sitting under the kitchen table first thing in the morning to warm up by the vent, or having Opa help me crush my crunchy buns into my bowl of “Opa” soup.  Of all the many traditions Oma passed down, a love of the kitchen was definitely one of them.  She was always eager to teach us and to pass down these special family recipes.  She had a servant’s heart and loved her family so much through everything she did.  I can only hope that I can make my family feel as loved and as precious as she made us feel.  Oma – I love you and I will keep trying to learn to crochet dish clothes, even though they always end up looking like cat toys!!

And now a special word of caution…..do not eat these cookies while wearing black.  The evidence will be all over you. And that is especially bad if you happened to indulge yourself when you really shouldn’t have or were flat out told not to, like a certain three year old boy who disappeared behind the sofa for a few minutes and then reappeared with lovely white fluff all down his front.

Oma’s Moon Cookies, by Jill

Oma’s Moon Cookies, by Jill

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1/2 lb unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups ground hazelnuts
  • Icing sugar, about 3 cups

Instructions

  1. Mix together flour, butter and sugar. Add the nuts (use your food processor to grind the nuts if you had to buy whole ones). Mix well. Refrigerate for about 3 hours. Roll out the dough about 1/4 " thick (thicker is better because they can be quite fragile).
  2. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden.
  3. After the cookies bake you can cool them until warm, them give them a bath in the icing sugar. Not just a light dusting. Carefully place the cookie in the bowl of sugar and gently pack it on so there is a nice coating. Store between layers of wax paper in the freezer.

http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/omas-moon-cookies-by-jill/