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So this thing about the grand cookie swap of 2011...
You do remember I was going to participate to a cookie swap?
Well, there was some rules:
- Bake three dozen cookies
- Mail each dozen to three persons whose address has been provided by the Swap Team.
- Eat the dozens you've received (optional)
- Blog about it (so it's not like the Fight Club or anything).
Which is why we're here.
The inspiration is that recipe from Larousse for mint and chocolate cookies.
It yields 40 cookies so I reckoned it would be easy to use for the purpose of the swap.
INGREDIENTS
Grated ginger
2 egg yolks
100g sugar
100g butter (softened)
140g flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g small chocolate chips
A pinch of salt
You'll notice that I don't specify how much ginger. This is really up to taste. In my case, since I did not know if the recipients would like it I went very gently (about 2 cm of root).
Should I ever make these again for my own purposes, I would at least double or triple that.
As for the rest it is rather straight forward: you whisk the yolks with the sugar until white, add the flour and melted butter, plus baking powder, salt, and ginger. When it's fairly smooth you add the chocolate bits.
Then the recipe says that you have to roll that up in a cylinder shape, cover in cling foil and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling the dough out and cutting it with a cutter.
To which I reply:
BOLLOCKS!
This dough is highly unruly: Make a roll of it and cover it with cling foil, yes but stick it in the freezer instead. Overnight. Trust me.
Oh and don't roll it out: it makes a mess and the cookies won't hold their shapes anyway.
Cut slices and place them well apart on parchment and cook in batches (stick the rest of the dough back in the freezer while each batch is cooking).
Oven at 180C for about 12 minutes.
Let cool on a rack before eating.
After that really it was mostly fun, making the boxes - I'd selected metal boxes since I could not vouch for the speed of Italian post - and parcels.
Then of course at that point I had no choice but to drag myself to the post office to mail them off (we were on a schedule here).
I tend to forget that I should really always have a strong drink right before entering the post office but hey, I was driving and all.
I took me 45 minutes to manage sending off those three boxes. After being told twice that they could not be send out. The parcels were too high and had to be redone. Or I could pay more. And fill in addresses all over. And of course I could not send cookies. They are perishable! What could I ever think of?
I did not tell them what I was actually thinking at that very moment. For all I know these people were probably trying to be helpful.
So the sending off was rather more difficult than your average divorce case but I had the means to track my cookies as they made their way through Italy to Claudia, Giulia, and Luisa.
I relaxed somewhat.
And then, the miracle happened: Cookies started to arrive at the office!
The first batch came from Lorenza and they were gorgeous orange cookies covered in chocolate. I had troubles saving some for the hungry colleagues!
The second batch was hand delivered by Rossella, who came for dinner and brought me those cute cat shaped biscotti. If I understood correctly, she put chestnut flour (or paste) in them. I can't wait to read her recipe!
The third batch came from Giulia (another one) and drove all the colleagues nuts with the smell! She used ginger too, I'd guess, and cloves and nutmeg too. They are amazing and double up as Christmas decorations!
In summary a GRAND cookie swap! Many thanks to the Swap Team, who organized it and to Rossella who first saw the original post and decided "Why not having an Italian swap too?"
You do remember I was going to participate to a cookie swap?
Well, there was some rules:
- Bake three dozen cookies
- Mail each dozen to three persons whose address has been provided by the Swap Team.
- Eat the dozens you've received (optional)
- Blog about it (so it's not like the Fight Club or anything).
Which is why we're here.
The inspiration is that recipe from Larousse for mint and chocolate cookies.
It yields 40 cookies so I reckoned it would be easy to use for the purpose of the swap.
INGREDIENTS
Grated ginger
2 egg yolks
100g sugar
100g butter (softened)
140g flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g small chocolate chips
A pinch of salt
You'll notice that I don't specify how much ginger. This is really up to taste. In my case, since I did not know if the recipients would like it I went very gently (about 2 cm of root).
Should I ever make these again for my own purposes, I would at least double or triple that.
As for the rest it is rather straight forward: you whisk the yolks with the sugar until white, add the flour and melted butter, plus baking powder, salt, and ginger. When it's fairly smooth you add the chocolate bits.
Then the recipe says that you have to roll that up in a cylinder shape, cover in cling foil and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling the dough out and cutting it with a cutter.
To which I reply:
BOLLOCKS!
This dough is highly unruly: Make a roll of it and cover it with cling foil, yes but stick it in the freezer instead. Overnight. Trust me.
Oh and don't roll it out: it makes a mess and the cookies won't hold their shapes anyway.
Cut slices and place them well apart on parchment and cook in batches (stick the rest of the dough back in the freezer while each batch is cooking).
Oven at 180C for about 12 minutes.
Let cool on a rack before eating.
After that really it was mostly fun, making the boxes - I'd selected metal boxes since I could not vouch for the speed of Italian post - and parcels.
Then of course at that point I had no choice but to drag myself to the post office to mail them off (we were on a schedule here).
I tend to forget that I should really always have a strong drink right before entering the post office but hey, I was driving and all.
I took me 45 minutes to manage sending off those three boxes. After being told twice that they could not be send out. The parcels were too high and had to be redone. Or I could pay more. And fill in addresses all over. And of course I could not send cookies. They are perishable! What could I ever think of?
I did not tell them what I was actually thinking at that very moment. For all I know these people were probably trying to be helpful.
So the sending off was rather more difficult than your average divorce case but I had the means to track my cookies as they made their way through Italy to Claudia, Giulia, and Luisa.
I relaxed somewhat.
And then, the miracle happened: Cookies started to arrive at the office!
The first batch came from Lorenza and they were gorgeous orange cookies covered in chocolate. I had troubles saving some for the hungry colleagues!
The second batch was hand delivered by Rossella, who came for dinner and brought me those cute cat shaped biscotti. If I understood correctly, she put chestnut flour (or paste) in them. I can't wait to read her recipe!
The third batch came from Giulia (another one) and drove all the colleagues nuts with the smell! She used ginger too, I'd guess, and cloves and nutmeg too. They are amazing and double up as Christmas decorations!
In summary a GRAND cookie swap! Many thanks to the Swap Team, who organized it and to Rossella who first saw the original post and decided "Why not having an Italian swap too?"
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