Someone pay me!
My bad (does anyone still use that expression?) because I chose two of the most complicated and multi-step cookies in Martha's book to make in the same day. Perhaps if I read the recipes more carefully ...more about THAT subject later....I would have realized that I was biting off more than I could chew. (yes bad pun intended). However, as much work as they were it was worth it in the end. They both came out delicious and one of them (the linzer hearts) looked as good as Martha's!! The chocolate cheesecake thumb prints were a great deal messier than hers. I can just imagine Martha standing over her food stylist minions making sure that each cookie is the exact same diameter, are completely smooth and the cheesecake centre is a perfect round. I on the other hand, have no minions, no artistic ability and no care what they look like as long as they taste good!
The Linzer Hearts were really a test of my patience. First I had to "blanch" the hazelnuts. This means you roast them so that the outer skins come off easier. The skins are somewhat bitter so they are a no-no in your batter. After they are roasted you rub them vigorously - it must be vigorously with a clean dish towel to get the skins off. Only, it's not so easy. It took me about an hour to do a cup of nuts and by the end of it I was.....no not nuts, I know you thought I was going to say that, I was FRUSTRATED! There was still some skin that I could not get off despite picking at them so I just threw caution to the winds and ground them up with a little bit of skin. The Linzer tradition is grinding hazelnuts to a find powder to incorporate with your flour.
Then this dough had to be chilled, then softened, then cut into shapes, then frozen then....well you get the picture....and here is mine:
Aren't they gorgeous? I found the perfect seedless raspberry jam for the filling. (Please no comments about the chipped platter).
Now back to reading recipes. Last night I was feeling ambitious so I decided that while I was cooking dinner, home made broccoli and carrot soup, poached chicken with orzo and pomegranate seeds, I thought I would whip up a batch of cranberry pistachio biscotti. I had bought all the ingredients on the weekend and it was not a complicated recipe. You make the batter, form them into two logs and bake them until almost baked through. Then you cut them on the diagonal and bake them again cut side up on a baking rack. They came out of the oven and looked and smelled fabulous. Until I tasted one. Hmmm, that's odd, why does it taste so much like baking soda? Did I not measure correctly? Perhaps it did not mix in well and it was only that cookie. So I tried another, blech! It too was awful. So I go back to look at the recipe again and lo and behold, the recipe called for baking POWDER, not baking SODA! Lucy Ricardo at her finest.
I will end this posting with the third picture that Jim included on his email when sending me the two from above. The title of the email was "cookies" and included this photo:
This is Shai (pronounced shy). She is the newest addition to our family. We adopted her almost two weeks ago. She is 9 years old but in great health, has lots of exuberance and is teaching Kayko the Diva to act more like a real dog. She is not a cookie, but she is very, very sweet!
I will be remaking the biscotti tonight.
