Our challenge this month for the Daring Bakers was cookies. We were giving the option of doing either Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies or Milan Cookies. Or we could do both. I had planned on doing both but time got away from me and I was working the day before the challenge was do so only one got made. I still plan on doing the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies at some point however. Making the cookie portion was fairly easy. The batter came together quickly and was ready to bake in no time. The issues started when I tried to pipe them out. I piped out 1-inch sections of batter and they spread but came out of the oven misshapen (and waaaay to brown). For the next batch in the oven, I just used a spoon to dish out the batter. These came out better because they were bigger but still not the shape I wanted. For the last two trips to the oven, I just took a bunch of the batter and spread it out on the silpat then baked. The next issue that came up was for the filling. This time it was all my fault. I had scaled down the recipe by about half but when it came time to make the filling, I put in the full amount of cream! grrr...I tried to pour out some of the liquid before the chocolate melted in hopes it would be okay. It wasn't. Even sticking it in the fridge to chill it down quickly, only slightly thickened it. Having already wasted ingredients for the filling, I wasn't keen on the idea of trying it again. After searching through the pantry for a suitable alternative, I found nothing so I spread a tiny bit of the chocolate 'sauce' on one cookie and made a sandwich. It was tasty but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I probably could have. Sigh. Another fail when trying to follow the recipe as required by the challenge. Oh well, maybe next time will be better! At least the cookie portion was delicious! To see more cookies by the Daring Bakers, check out the blogroll here! The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network. Milan Cookies Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website • 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened Cookie filling: 1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Daring Bakers: Cookies!
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9 Treats for Charlie:
I so love your openess, in my post I brushed lightly over the shapes of my cookies thinking I was the only one not being "able" to follow a recipe but believe me, safe for the pipping which I will never do, I had very much the same issues.
cheers
Solange
I'm sorry they gave you trouble. I thought the batter was too tuile-like and preferred the mallows. You should give them a shot.
Too bad you had all these issues. It really is a delicious cookie.
Very Daring Baker way to go...do the recipe and keep going when it gets challenging! Your solution is genius. Dharm made another batch and increased the flour by 1/4 cup to make the cookies pipe better. If you can stand to do them again you could try that. Great job!
you have to try the mallows - they are wonderful!
I didn't get to make the milan cookies but i'm sorry they were so difficult to shape! at least you completed the challenge though!
I didn't have good luck with mine either. But if they tasted okay, all is well.
I want to make the mallows, too, sometime.
It sounds like the cookie batter gave everyone conniptions - it must be very touchy as far as how much you can handle it. Sorry you weren't a big fan!
Good job on finishing the challenge, even though it wasn't going the way you wanted. I found with the Milan batter, that it took longer to mix and I kept mixing it until it was smooth. The flour took a little longer to incorporate, but finally it all came together--once it's smooth, it's much easier to pipe and the cookies will hold their shape better. I hope that helps. :)
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