Cookies for adults provide unique flavor
Author’s creativity leads to interesting combinations
Cookies containing jalapeno peppers? Mozzarella and tomatoes? Slim Jims and beer? Jaegermeister and Red Bull?
Those would be cookies designed for the grown-ups among us, and the subject of the appropriately titled “Cookies for Grown-ups” by Kelly Cooper, a resident of Pahrump and northern California’s Bay Area.
Cooper says she came up with the idea when, while dining out, she found herself repeatedly gazing over dessert menus featuring the old familiar, the likes of molten lava cake and tiramisu.
“This is crazy,” she remembers thinking. “We’re doing so much with food, and we’re experimenting so much with flavor and the social aspects of dining, and then we’re going to close the meal with molten lava cake again?”
“I thought it would be great to have small tastes of different flavors,” she says.
And when Cooper says “different,” she really means different. She says she likes serving the cookies when entertaining, because they get people talking and liven up the room. Her favorite for introducing newbies is the Dark Desire, which pairs dark chocolate and thyme.
“People can connect,” she says. “All of a sudden, they say, ‘Oh, ah-ha! I see what you mean.’ So it’s a little bit different, but not a lot different.”
Some that are a lot different would include Hit the Spot, which contains pretzels, mustard and cheese, and Antipasto, with cheddar, provolone, olive, pepperoncini and salami. Such savory cookies, she notes, have suggested pairings such as stout and American light beer, and tend to inspire surprised looks on tasters’ faces and comments like, “Wow, this is great, and it’s a cookie!”
Cooper says she has
just started doing tastings and demonstrations and plans more.
“I hope to do some tastings in wine bars and wine shops,” she says. “Drinking wine helps people look at the cookies a little bit differently, and it’s fun to do.”
“Cookies for Grown-ups,” from Red Rock Press in New York, contains more than 90 recipes, with full-color photos and scannable QR codes (for use with smart phones) for shopping lists. It’s $23.99 in hardback and is available from www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com and through the publisher at wwwRedRockPress.com.
DARK DESIRE 2 4-ounce high-quality dark or bittersweet chocolate bars (70 percent cacao), divided 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1½ cups (packed) light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup fresh thyme, roughly chopped Fill the bottom half of a double boiler with water, making certain the top half doesn’t touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer. Place one chocolate bar, broken into small pieces, in the top half, and place over the simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from heat and set aside. (To quickly melt chocolate, microwave in a bowl, in three to four 30-second intervals, stirring in between each until smooth.)
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat until well blended.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and add to butter mixture. Beat until just incorporated.
Form dough into two logs (1½ inches in diameter) and wrap each in parchment paper. Roll logs on counter to form a consistent round shape.
Freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate up to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using remaining chocolate bar, cut or break into ½-inch squares. Set aside. Slice logs into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on a parchmentlined or nonstick baking sheet. Place a pinch of thyme, followed by a square of chocolate, on the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown.
Let sit for a few minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.
Makes about 6 dozen.
ISABELLAS For cookies: 1 cup butter, softened ½ cup confectioners’ sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup fruit preserves For topping: 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar About 2 tablespoons milk Confectioners’ sugar for garnish Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To make cookies: In large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar. Add vanilla; blend in flour and salt; mix until thoroughly combined.
Roll tablespoonsful of dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place balls on lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Press down in center with a spoon, forming a depression. Fill each cookie with a teaspoonful of preserves.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
For topping, while cookies cool, mix together confectioners’ sugar and milk. Mix until desired consistency, adding more milk, if necessary. Using a spoon, drizzle icing over cookies, then sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar
Makes two to three dozen, depending on size.
— Recipe from Marsha Ketaner of Henderson
RICE KRISPIES COOKIES 1 pound salted butter, softened 1½ cups sugar 4 cups flour 1½ teaspoons vanilla 3 cups Rice Krispies 1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add flour and vanilla. Stir in Rice Krispies and nuts.
Drop small mounds of dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 60 cookies. — Recipe from Cathy Bourne of Pahrump
APPLE RUGELACH Dough: 1 cup butter, softened 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt Apple-walnut filling: 4 ounces dried apples, finely chopped ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped ¼ cup brown sugar Spice sugar: 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Glaze: 1 egg yolk 2 teaspoons water ¾ cup apple jelly Prepare dough: In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy, scraping bowl occasionally. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour and salt just until blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until dough is firm enough to roll.
Prepare filling: In medium bowl, combine apples, walnuts and brown sugar.
Prepare spice sugar: In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Prepare glaze: Mix yolk and water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with foil.
Sprinkle work surface with flour. Place 1 disk on work surface and roll dough into a 10-inch round. Spread top with 3 tablespoons of jelly, then sprinkle entire top with spice sugar. Sprinkle with ½ cup filling. With knife, cut dough into 16 equal wedges. Starting at wide end, roll up each wedge, jelly-roll fashion. Place about 1 inch apart on cookie sheet, point side down. Spread thinly with glaze.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until dough is browned and cooked through.
Repeat with remaining dough, jelly, spice sugar, filling and glaze. Makes 64. — Recipe from Annette Gudson of Henderson
EGGNOG THUMBPRINTS Cookies: ¾ cup butter, softened ½ cup white sugar ¼ cup packed brown sugar 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt Filling: ¼ cup butter 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon rum 1 pinch ground nutmeg Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make cookies, in a medium bowl cream together butter and white and brown sugars until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture by hand to form a soft dough.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Make an indention in the center of each cookie using your finger or thumb. Bake 12 minutes. Cool completely.
For filling, in a small bowl, mix together butter, confectioners’ sugar and rum. Spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of filling onto cookies. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Let stand until set before storing in an airtight container. Makes 48. — Recipe from Julie McCuiston
OATMEAL CRANBERRY COOKIES 1 cup unsalted butter ¾ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1½ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon cardamom 3 cups rolled oats 1 cup dried cranberries Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir until well-blended. Add dried cranberries.
Drop by teaspoonsful onto parchmentcovered baking sheet. Bake about 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden.
— Recipe from Wendy Corcoran of Henderson
TASTY FRUIT AND NUT COOKIES 1¼ cups yellow cake mix ¼ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup butter-flavored shortening 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon almond extract ¼ cup chopped candied cherries ¼ cup golden raisins ¼ cup chopped dried apricots or pineapple (your preference) ¾ cup chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, blend cake mix and brown sugar. Add shortening, egg and vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in fruit and nuts. Blend well.
Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool slightly before removing to cooling rack.
— Recipe from Angela Penny of Las Vegas