Hooray for Hamentaschen!

My fondest memory of Purim is being at a Purim party at my synagogue when I was about 9 or 10, and my best friend's dad got sooo drunk when we were reading the Megillah (the story of Purim). My friend's dad was a very quiet, reserved man (and was also slightly more religious than I was familiar with) and to see him drunk was the shock of shockers.

The reason he was drunk was because when you are reading the Megillah, you are supposed to drink and make lots of noise every time the name "Hamen" is read (he's the villian in the story). And the reason we eat hamentaschen (translation: Hamen's pockets), is to symbolically destroy his memory. And they are triangles is because it seems Hamen wore a triangular-shaped hat (how fashionable!).

Anywho, unfortunately I don't really have a personal story behind hamentashen other than that are yummy, and I'm sick of spending $5 for 6 of them at Whole Foods. Guess what? I like mine better, though the ones at Whole Foods are definitely prettier (the picture at the top is of one of the good ones that I made...scroll down for a glimpse at how most of the rest of the gang came out).

Note: I found this dough really, really sticky and it was hard to work quickly with it, which is why I think my cookies were so sad looking in the end. If they were colder when they went into the oven, maybe they wouldn't have collapsed as much.

Apricot Hamentaschen
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons cold butter
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup apricot preserves

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and baking powder. Then, using a pastry blender (or 2 knives in a criss-crossing motion), cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, until the mixture resembles a crumb consistency.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in to larger bowl and mix until the dough creates a ball. Add extra flour one tablespoon at a time if dough is too sticky. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour your work surface, and roll out 1/4 of the dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter or drinking glass (I used a 4" drinking glass). Spoon 1 teaspoon of apricot preserves into the center of each round. Bring up the edges to create 3 sides, and pinch corners together (wet your fingers if the dough won't stay closed). Places formed cookies 2" apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown the bottom and on corners. Transfer to a wire rack immediately.

Yields 24 cookies (using a 3"round cookie cutter; I got 20 with a 4" glass)

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

In an effort to bring something for everyone to my in-laws for Passover (because not everyone likes cheesecake, including myself), I decided to attempt...the cookie. For those loyal readers of my blog, you know that "the cookie" and I have a history. Basically, they never come out right. They don't spread when they are supposed, they spread when they aren't supposed to...its a never-ending battle.

These cookies were a HIT. Gobbled up. Gone. I doubled the recipe, which should have yielded 48 cookies. I got 42, so I guess some were bigger than others.

3/4 cup sliced raw almonds, toasted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup matzo cake meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup apricot jam

Pulse almonds, sugar, matzo cake meal, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extracts until combined well. Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.

While dough chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Drop level tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. Roll dough into balls, then chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Make a 1/2-inch-wide (1/3-inch-deep) indentation in center of each ball using your thumb, index finger, or the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

Yields 48 cookies.

WW info:
Click here

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Mr. Goodbar Cookies)

I yelled at my cookies. It's mean but they deserved it. This is about the umpteenth time that I have baked cookies AND THEY DIDN'T SPREAD! Is it because I used parchment paper? It was my first time ever using it, and I'm confused because I thought it served the same purpose as a Silpat, right? Which you can use with any cookie recipe, right? Is it my cookie sheets? Argh.

But they did come out miiiighty tasty. I think the old "smush with the bottom of a glass" technique will be employed the next time I make this recipe. Which I will.

Adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter together with an electric mixer on a high speed. Add in the egg and vanilla; beat until fluffy. With the mixer on a low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto the baking sheets, forming 24 cookies total. Using the bottom of a drinking glass, press down on each dough ball. Then using a fork, create criss-cross marks across the top of each cookie. Bake for 12–15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Yields 24 cookies.

WW info: 2 points per cookie.

BFCCCC

I finally made a successful cookie. The Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie. But do I see all the hype over these allegedly heavenly cookies? Unfortunately, not really. Don't get me wrong...they were a delicious treat after all the diet treats I've been stomaching lately, but I don't think they tasted any different or looked any different than cookies from the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, which I made many times in years gone by before I went healthy. They were better than these healthy chocolate chip cookies, but I don't know that they are worth the time. Although, licking the bowl was the highlight of my day. And I definitely ate more than my fair share.


WW info:
2 points per cookie*
*The recipe as is on allrecipes.com is supposed to yield 18 HUGE cookies. You can easily get 36 good-sized cookies (that are still very large....one will be a very nice snack).

Double Chocolate Cookies

I'm sad. I have been on a baking kick and I finally found the cookie that I really wanted to make in the Technicolor Kitchen. It's the same Martha Stewart recipe that several bloggers have been making and everyone seems to have pulled it off without fail. But alas, not I. Don't get me wrong....the end result was very, very tasty. Just not what I had a hankering for when I set out to make them.

Now of course, its my own fault for slightly altering the ingredients to accommodate my Weight Watchers lifestyle. But I really didn't think I changed it enough to completely alter the final product. I subbed Egg Beaters for egg, half the sugar for Splenda, and the white flour for wheat flour. And since it was an impulse baking event for me, I had to sub Nestle mini chocolate chips for the chocolate. I also didn't have parchment paper or a Silpat, but was advised that as long as my cookie sheets were greased properly, I'd be fine. Maybe that was where I went wrong. Or maybe I made them too small. Who knows.

The end story is that my cookies didn't really spread. The final result was very cake-y. Almost like brownie bites. Yummy, but not what I set out to make. My altered recipe is below. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a chewy, cakey cookie.


(half the original recipe)
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
100 grams (about 2 ounces) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Melt half the chocolate chips with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly.

Put chocolate mixture, sugar, Splenda, egg, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in remaining chocolate chips.

Using a rounded teaspoon, drop dough onto greased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes cookies. Let cool on wire racks.

Makes about 30 cookies.


WW info:
1 point per cookie

Chewy Chocolate Mint Bites

I recently had the pleasure of indulging in Dancing Deer's Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. Oh my. I'm not a big mint person, but these cookies took the cake. Or took the cookie. Whatev. So I set out to try to replicate it as best as possible.

These little bites are inspired by a recipe from weightwatchers.com are close, but I guess since I'm not a baker, I can't expect myself to be able to replicate a professionally made cookie. Nonetheless, these came out nice a cris outside and chewy inside. The addition of the mint (which was part of my altering the original recipe) is really refreshing. I ate 2 bites about 30 minutes ago and my breath still feels minty fresh.

What kills me is that this is a "Weight Watchers" recipe. They are 1 point per BALL. They are only 1 inch each in diameter, which means you have to eat at least 3-4 for a real snack. Which means its really 3-4 points per serving, which defeats the WW purpose. At any rate, I've added the WW tag to this entry, but WW readers be advised that I wouldn't recommend it as a really great WW choice.

non-stick cooking spray
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup Splenda
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat two nonstick cookie sheets with cooking spray. Place cocoa, margarine and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer. Add applesauce, vanilla and peppermint; beat to blend. In another small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into cocoa batter with a wooden spoon. (Mixture will be on the dry side.) Shape batter into 48 marble-sized balls. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. (Note: cookies will cook in marble-shapes. They won't spread.)Remove from oven and allow cookies to stand for 1 minute. Remove to wire rack and cool; sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Note: Store extra cookies in freezer-safe containers or plastic bags to maintain their freshness.)

Yields 1 cookie per serving.

WW info: 1 point per cookie

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cute cookies, but they taste just OK. The recipe was from WeightWatchers.com, so how much could I expect? The entire problem could have also been that I used light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar like the recipe called for. And I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. So maybe I'll try them again and follow the recipe exactly and give them another chance. But for 1 point per cookie, I'd rather eat a reduced-fat Oreo.

WW info: 1 point per cookie.

Chocolate-Oatmeal Hermits

Mmmm....these took about 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to bake. Yummy, healthy cookies in 20 minutes? Mmmm.... oh, wait I already said that. And don't be alarmed when they don't spread like regular cookies. They'll bake just like you drop them and they'll be nice and chewy. I also edited the recipe to accommodate Weight Watchers and I think they came out fab. Link to original recipe below.

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat at high speed of a mixer until well-blended. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well. Add to sugar mixture, stirring just until oats mixture is moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by level tablespoons onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; let cool on wire racks.

Yields 24 cookies.
Recipe from Cooking Light.

WW info: 1 point per cookie.