Who doesn’t love a cookie? Actually my friend Kim says that she doesn’t like cookies. I don’t quite believe her.
I was on Chowhound the other night surfing the Toronto boards when I came across a discussion about the best cookies in Toronto. Naturally I wanted to go out and try some of these cookies but I really didn’t feel like having to put on something other than sweatpants and head downtown (although today I went to Yorkville wearing my Lulus and it was wonderful!). Nor did I feel like paying $2+ per cookie when I could totally do it myself for so much less. So I pulled out my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook and started looking for something to make.
This is actually how a lot of my cooking experiments begin, I’m either too lazy, too cheap or too weary of the ingredients (really, NOTHING should contain high fructose corn syrup) to go out and BUY something… instead I whip it up from scratch. This is how I started making indian food, ice cream, bread and jam.
Back to Martha. Her baking handbook is AMAZING. She has a recipe for pretty much every baked good you’ve ever thought of making. And some you wouldn’t even dream of. My goal is to make French Macarons from scratch. Give me a few weeks. I didn’t want a totally traditional cookie but I wanted something with a classic vibe to it. Hence the butterscotch. I decided to throw in some pecans for fun. I actually meant to use a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour (I’m obsessed with fiber) but forgot when I started the mixing.
The first batch was rough. Let’s just say the first dozen were “cajun style”. Not sure what happened. One minute they were pale little things next minute a smell that extra crispy scent coming from the oven. They have since been salvaged… nothing a paring knife and a certain burnt shaving technique couldn’t fix. The second batch was perfect. And delicious. These cookies are amazing… little bites of buttery goodness. Which is actually funny since they only have about 2 tbsp of butter and 3/4c of vegetable shortening (I used Crisco which I didn’t realize had trans fat until I was in the height of my baking… oops! What’s a non-trans fat veg shortening alternative??).
These cookies would be awesome with a dark/white chocolate mix and any kind of nuts. Maybe just maybe even some pieces of caramel? That may be heavenly.
This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving which means lots of cooking… likely done in phases. I’m trying a few new things this year so you’ll see how they all turn out.
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