Forgotten Cookies

These cookies are so easy to make! They're pretty hard to mess up, too. I think somebody came up with this recipe with me in mind, because I am really terrible about forgetting about cookies in the oven and burning them. Here, though, you're supposed to leave them in the oven, and as long as you remember to turn the oven off, there's no risk of burning them.

Simply put, Forgotten Cookies are soft, slightly chewy meringues packed with chocolate chips and nuts. The meringue really just functions as a light, very sweet vehicle for the chocolate and nuts. I used dark chocolate chips and pecans.

There isn't much to them: beat two egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla; then stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Silly me, I had the whites all whipped up before I realized I'd forgotten to add the sugar, but I don't think it made a difference in the outcome. There are penciled-in notes that include adding a half-teaspoon of cream of tartar, which I may try next time just to see if it changes anything, but I followed the recipe without the notes and was very pleased with the result. Since they don't rise or expand, you can set them very close together on the cookie sheet (make sure it is greased!).

I suppose the only drawback is that they are not a last-minute treat; you need to be able to leave them in the oven overnight (which I did), or at least be sure you don't need to use the oven for a couple of hours.

Next time you have a couple of egg whites you don't want to let go to waste, give these a try!
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Forgotten Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°
Beat 2 egg whites until foamy (do not use a plastic bowl)
Add ⅔ cup sugar (or ¾ cup)
dash of salt (⅛ tsp)
1 tsp vanilla
(½ tsp cream of tartar)
Beat together until stiff
Fold in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts*
Drop on well-greased cookie sheet [heaping teaspoon]
Put in oven and turn oven off immediately
Leave at least 2 hours or overnight

*You could alternatively use all nuts or all chocolate chips by increasing the total amount to 2 cups
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Peanut Brittle (and variations)

Look at all those recipes! Where do I even begin?

[Go ahead and skip to the recipe at the end if you care more about the product than the process.]

I had never made peanut brittle before, probably because I've never been a huge fan. There's something about peanuts in candy that puts me off. I don't dislike them - I enjoy shelling and eating peanuts once in a while - but they generally don't appeal to me as an ingredient in other foods. As my dear friend Amanda put it, the peanuts are just the vehicle for the brittle, and she's right. I remember as a little kid trying to nibble the yummy candy around each peanut, then throwing away the nuts.

Early in the holiday season, Amanda acquired a package of a New York-made confection labeled "Bacon Brittles," which turned out to be simply a bag o' sweet and salty peanuts rather than what we consider brittle. Disappointed but intrigued, Amanda pondered how to improve on the concept, and came up with the idea of incorporating jalapeno smoked bacon into a traditional peanut brittle recipe. Since she's more of a cook and I'm more of a baker, she tossed her idea my way, and I immediately went to the Yellow Box.

I found eight recipes for peanut brittle, and was surprised that no two were identical. Since this would be my first attempt at making brittle candy, I also turned to The Joy of Cooking to learn the basics and to compare the recipe in the book to the ones from the Yellow Box.

Here's a good example of my.... well.... I don't know what to call it. I've never been diagnosed with OCD, but is this chart I made an indicator?

	Sidner	Newspaper	Tulsa Tribune	Hause	Allen	Harkleroad	Walker	Binding-Stevens	Joy of Cooking
sugar	2 cups	2 cups	2 cups	1 cup	2 cups	1 cup	2 cups	2 cups	2 cups
corn syrup	1 cup	1 cup	1 cup	1 cup	1 cup	1/2 cup	1 cup	1 cup	1 cup
water	1/2 cup	2/3 cup	1/2 cup	2 tsp	1/2 cup		1/2 cup	1/2 cup	1/2 cup
cream of tartar									1/4 tsp
salt		1/2 tsp	1/2 tsp
peanuts	2 cups	1 lb	1 lb	1 cup	2 cups	1 cup	2 cups	2 cups	2 cups
butter	1 tbsp	1 tbsp			2 tbsp		2 tbsp	1 heaping tbsp	3 tbsp
vanilla	1/2 tsp	1 tsp	1 tsp	2 tsp	1 tsp		1 tsp
soda	1 1/2 tsp	2 tsp	2 1/2 tsp	1 1/2 tsp	2 tsp	1 tsp	1 heaping tsp	1 tsp	1/4 tsp

I wasn't interested in preparing nine different recipes just to find the best one, so I kind of eyeballed them all and went with what seemed to be the most average - I believe it was Mrs. Allen's recipe.

To assist us in our first attempt at jalapeno bacon brittle, Amanda invited her awesome friend Kellie, who had ample experience and provided great coaching on brittle-making techniques. The most important part of the process is to work as quickly as possible at the end: rapidly stir in the final ingredients, immediately pour the candy into a greased baking pan, then vigorously shake the pan with jerking movements back and forth across the countertop to get the candy to spread out as much as possible before it sets. Do not tilt the pan or you'll end up with thick sections of candy. Trying to spread it out manually can work, but it's tricky.

With Kellie's help, I pretty much got the hang of brittle making after the first couple of batches. It really is simple, but requires having everything prepared beforehand and moving quickly in the final stages.

Since our peanuts were already roasted (in jalapeno bacon grease!) and the bacon was already cooked, we waited to add those at the very end. The Joy of Cooking also recommends this method using toasted rather than raw nuts.

Here's an artistic shot of our first batch of jalapeno bacon brittle:

Later, I tried making it with coarsely chopped peanuts, but it turned out looking a little too much like vomit:

Of course, the flavor is most important, and I wish I could say definitively one way or the other how I liked it. But truly, I couldn't make up my mind. Amanda liked it, and so did several other adventurous-palated friends. Sarah didn't care for it, though, and she wasn't alone. It was worth a try, in my opinion.

However, since I don't expect everyone to rush to the specialty gourmet stores to locate jalapeno bacon, I made traditional peanut brittle as well. I referred to both Mrs. Allen's recipe as well as the one Mrs. Hora cut from the Tulsa Tribune for guidance on thermometer readings. Since I don't yet have a feel for making candy according to visual cues, I relied on a candy thermometer for each batch. Out of curiosity, I poured it out onto foil instead of a baking sheet, and it came out fine, just a little thicker.

Here's the traditional batch:

Though I said I don't much care for peanuts in candy, I really liked this brittle. We included it in a goodie box we passed out to the neighbors, and the lady across the street flagged me down a few days later to tell me she and her husband loved it so much, their son didn't even get to try it because they ate it all before he got home from school!

The rich buttery vanilla flavor was evident in Mrs. Allen's recipe, and I wondered if that was the secret. A few days later, out of curiosity, I tried Mrs. Harkleroad's barebones recipe with only four ingredients. Blech. I mean, I guess it was edible, but it left no question that butter and vanilla make the best-tasting brittle.

Making brittle on my own, I learned that it takes a long time for the boiling syrup to heat up to the "hard crack" stage - and even longer when you put the raw peanuts in half-way through and it has to heat up all over again - but the temperature rises very quickly the last ten or twenty degrees. I looked away for a minute, then suddenly caught a whiff of burning peanuts and found the temp to be almost 310°. I rushed to finish the batch, and it fortunately turned out okay, but taught me to be more watchful in the future.

While I was attempting Mrs. Harkleroad's recipe, I decided to see if I could judge the doneness by its color instead of by the temperature. Mrs. Harkleroad said it would be dark around the edges, whereas Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Walker said it should be golden brown. I never noticed the edges of the syrup looking darker than the rest of it, so I watched and waited for the golden brown color to manifest.

Also, to entertain myself during the long boiling period, I took photos of the syrup as it cooked:

Somewhere around the fourth shot, though, I questioned my judgment and used the candy thermometer. The final photo was taken at just under 300°.

I am now satisfied that I can churn out a decent batch of peanut brittle on demand.

However, as the holiday season whirled on, a canister of cashews kept nagging at me every time I opened the pantry.... The peanut brittle I'd made was good, but wouldn't cashew brittle be so much better? A few days after Christmas, in the lull before New Year's festivities, I brought home a package of maple-flavored bacon and could no longer resist the temptation.

I made the brittle using Mrs. Allen's list of ingredients and the Tulsa Tribune's temperature guidelines. Also, since the cashew nuts were already roasted, I heeded The Joy of Cooking's instructions and waited until the very end before stirring in 2 cups of nuts and about a half-cup of cooked chopped bacon. And the result....

Maple bacon cashew brittle is officially my new favorite candy.

Really, it's fantastically delicious. Deliciously fantastic. Whatever. I strongly, strongly suggest giving it a try. It's so worth trying, in fact, I'll even make it for you and send you some if you don't want to make it yourself. Maybe. If you ask me nicely.

So, to sum up: there are a variety of successful ways to make brittle, whether with peanuts or the nut of your choice, but for the best-tasting results, use butter and vanilla.

Here are all eight recipes from the Yellow Box:

If you're in the mood to experiment with the different recipes, knock yourself out.

However, the recipe I'm providing below is actually a combination of the ingredients and methods from those above.
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Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
½ cup water
2 cups raw or roasted nuts
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda

Measure and have ready in advance butter, vanilla, and baking soda.
Grease or butter a rimmed baking sheet or large sheet of aluminum foil.
Use a pot that is at least twice the volume of the ingredients, to allow room for the candy to foam and expand at the end of the process.
Bring sugar, corn syrup, and water to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula.
Once boiling, stirring is not necessary except when adding ingredients.
Monitor the temperature of the syrup with a candy thermometer.
When the candy thermometer registers 240° (threading or soft ball stage), stir in raw nuts (do not add roasted nuts at this time) and continue to boil.
When the syrup reaches between 295-300° (hard crack stage and golden amber in color), remove from heat and quickly stir in butter, vanilla, and soda, about 10 seconds. Mixture will foam.
If using roasted nuts, add them at this point and stir quickly to coat.
Immediately pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and begin shaking vigorously to encourage candy to spread out. If using foil, it is possible to spread and pull the candy thin while wearing heat-proof (silicone) gloves.
Allow candy to cool completely, then break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

For bacon brittle, cook and chop up about 1/2 cup (6-8 slices) of bacon (maple-flavored is especially good), and stir it into the syrup at the very end (simultaneously with roasted nuts, if using).
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Ginger Snaps (Virginia Perett)

This is the second (and only other) recipe for ginger snaps in the Yellow Box, and there's no question that the first is better, so I'll provide a link to those Ginger Snaps here, but will go ahead and post this one, too, for posterity's sake.

Evidently, I forgot to take a photo of the cookies - either that or I accidentally deleted it. They looked similar to the other ginger snaps, except they came out much darker. I ended up throwing out what was leftover from my family's Christmas gathering. Maybe dunking them in milk would have been good, but I didn't care to try.

There's not much to the recipe - not even directions. I just followed the general process of most other cookies - cream shortening and sugar, add the egg, then sift the dry ingredients together and blend them into the mixture. Easy, yes, but the end product didn't knock my socks off. It was bland (for a ginger snap) and thin.

The other ginger snap recipe has butter instead of shortening, and additionally calls for vinegar as well as cloves. I have a feeling all three contribute significantly to the superior quality, and that's the recipe I'm sticking with from now on.

Sorry, Mrs. Perett (whoever and wherever you are), but your recipe just didn't do it for me.
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Ginger Snaps
(from Virginia Perett)

¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Roll balls in sugar.
350° 12-15 min.

Jubilee Jumbles

I included this recipe in my holiday baking frenzy, and was pleased with the results. It isn't complicated, and after also making Peanut Blossoms and Ginger Snaps, I really appreciated being able to drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet rather than rolling it into dozens of little balls.

The dough didn't expand a lot; it just puffed up into a nice dome, and held together well when I transferred the cookies to a cooling rack.

I especially liked the glaze in this recipe. The browned butter gives it a richer flavor (some would say "nutty" and I kind of agree).

Glazing was a simple but messy business; I recommend cooling racks so that the drips don't pool on the sides of the cookies, and I also suggest laying out waxed paper underneath the cooling racks to catch all the drips.

The recipe says to glaze the cookies while they're still warm. After a bit of trial and error, I determined that "still warm" does not mean "piping hot fresh from the oven." If the cookies were too hot, the glaze would liquify and slide right off into a puddle. What worked best was to wait a few minutes (time enough to wipe down the cookie sheet and get the next batch ready for the oven), then drizzle the glaze from a knife held an inch or two over each cookie. I made swirling and zigzag motions with my wrist to cover as much of the cookie as possible. The cookies were warm enough for the glaze to soften and spread out without completely running off the sides.

For a holiday look, red or green sprinkles would cling beautifully to the cookies before the glaze sets. A drop or two of food coloring in the glaze would also work well. (I did neither, myself, but I might try it next year.)

As for my overall verdict, note that I said I was pleased with the results - not thrilled - meaning that I think these cookies came out good enough to make again, but I'm not tripping over myself trying to convince you to get yourself a can of evaporated milk and prepare them immediately. They are very pretty cookies, with a soft texture and a delicate flavor. I think of them more as bite-sized cakes than cookies. With their subtle flavor, I found them to be a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea.

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Jubilee Jumbles

½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp soda
1 cup nuts

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugars, and eggs.
Stir in milk and vanilla.
Sift together dry ingredients [and nuts] and stir in.
Chill one hour.
Drop by rounded tablespoonsfull on greased baking sheet.
Bake 10 min. at 375° until delicately browned.
Frost with glaze while still warm.

Glaze
Heat 2 tbsp butter until golden brown. [monitor on med-low heat]
Beat in until smooth 2 cups powdered sugar and ¼ cup evaporated milk.

(4 dozen) (large)

Ginger Snaps

The holiday season is underway! I especially love the rich flavor and spice of ginger snaps this time of year, and this recipe is deliciously rich with flavor and spice. I have a feeling these cookies may become a holiday tradition for us.

The recipe is easy enough, though it is tedious work rolling out all those ¾-inch balls of dough. Turns out, Sarah, my trusty assistant (she came for coffee and I put her to work), isn't so trusty with the more tedious tasks - her cookies were twice the size they were supposed to be and spread out too much on the cookie sheet. I relieved her of her duties after the first batch and finished the job myself. Also, just because it seemed like a good idea, I rolled the dough balls in sugar before baking.

Sarah's cookies are on the left; mine are on the right:

The one thing I regret was that I took the cookies out of the oven too soon. The recipe says to let them cook 12 minutes, but I was afraid of overcooking them and left them in only about 9 minutes. I don't know what I was thinking. Ginger snaps are supposed to be snappy. What I mostly ended up with were more like ginger chews. They all tasted fantastic, but only a few of the smaller ones were crisp the way ginger snaps are supposed to be. Oh, well... there's always next year!

Ginger Snaps
Preheat oven to 325°
Cream ¾ cup butter with 2 cups sugar.
Stir in 2 well-beaten eggs, ½ cup molasses, 2 tsp vinegar.
Sift and add 3¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp soda, 2-3 tsp ginger, ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp cloves.
Mix ingredients until blended.
Form dough into ¾-inch balls. [Roll in sugar if desired.]
Bake on a greased cookie sheet 12 min.

Cocoa Drop Cookies (Winnie Carter)

They look so good!

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by how these cookies turned out, which surprised me because the batter was delicious. I was hoping for a rich chocolate flavor, but they were a little bland and dry. The consistency is somewhere between a cake and a brownie. They aren't terrible, but they aren't good enough that I wanted to take credit for them at holiday parties (I set them out anyway - anonymously); nor did I include them in the goodie boxes we passed out to neighbors. The frosting is the only thing that saved the cookies from the trash. That, and the fact that it took me about an hour to frost them all - I couldn't throw that time and effort away.

I can't help but wonder if a different, premium brand of cocoa powder would improve the flavor. Wal-Mart grocery only carries Hershey's, but maybe one of the gourmet or organic stores would carry something better. I'm not that curious, though, so I probably won't be giving these another try anytime soon.

Next!

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Cocoa Drop Cookies
(from Winnie Carter)

½ cup soft shortening (part oleo)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups sifted flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup cocoa
1 cup chopped nuts

[Directions partly inferred from recipe card.]
Blend together shortening, sugar, and egg.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to mixture.
Stir in nuts and vanilla.

Chill dough for 1 hour.
Drop by teaspoonsfull on greased baking sheet.
Bake in 400° oven 8-10 min.

Frosting
¼ cup oleo melted over low heat
2 cups sifted confectioner's (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla or 2 drops black walnut flavoring

[Makes approx. 100 cookies]

Caramel Corn

Last night, I popped up some gourmet multi-color kernels for my teenage daughter and her friends to stash in their bags when they went to the movies (so much better and SO much cheaper!). They didn't take it all, though, so I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to try out this recipe with the leftover popcorn.

Caramel is, hands down, my favorite confection.

Caramel corn is probably one of the more dangerous treats to put in front of me. I have my first test batch in the oven now, and already I'm wary of my ability to transport any significant portion of it to tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast for the kids to snack on.

The recipe is really super simple: put all the ingredients except soda into a pot, bring to a boil, then set the timer for five minutes. It doesn't even need to be stirred once it starts boiling - just watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. Stirring in the baking soda at the end of the cooking time smooths it into a creamy caramel that pours easily over the popcorn.

My one deviation was that I used butter instead of "oleo" (margarine).

I used two wooden spatulas to gently stir the popcorn until it was as evenly coated as possible before the caramel became too cool. The final step is simply to bake it on a cookie sheet for an hour. Of course, I had to try a bite before putting it in the oven, and found that the caramel was much too sticky. I do not recommend a sneak tasting at this point for anyone wearing braces or dentures.

The entire preparation took less than fifteen minutes - that scores major points in my book. On the other hand, cleaning the sticky caramel from the pot, pan, and spatulas took almost as long as the preparation. Negative points for that, but worth it if the final product is as delicious as I'm hoping.

After half an hour in the oven, I stirred the caramel corn around a bit, spreading apart the clumps that had stuck together initially. Fifteen more minutes to go....

* * * * * * *

Um.... yep. This one's dangerous. There's kind of already a lot missing from this photo. Superyum.

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Caramel Corn

Boil together - 5 minutes:
1 stick oleo [or butter] (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

Then add ¼ tsp baking soda and stir well.

Pour this over 4 quarts unsalted popped corn.
Mix well.
Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 250° for 1 hour.
(Will not stick to teeth)
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