This is the amazing Cowboy Cookie for which Margie Lapanja is famous, and righteously so. She graciously, generously revealed her recipe in Goddess in the Kitchen: 201 Heavenly Recipes, Spirited Stories, and Saucy Secrets. If you are reading this blog right now, and you have somehow never read Goddess in the Kitchen, switch off your computer immediately. Tear off down to your local library or a bookstore near you, and lay hand on a copy, for it is a superbly entertaining read.
I've been baking Margie's cookies since 2000 when I was on a quest for the ultimate cookie recipe. When my family tasted this one, we knew the search was over. Since then both children and adults ask for this cookie by name. My sisters refer to it as THE cookie, like this: "I'll be out to see you next week. Will you be making THE cookie?"
My favorite river rat asked for Cowboy Cookies, arguably the ultimate high energy snack with all that coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate. It's blasphemous to change this particular recipe, but I still adjust it slightly for altitude . My family loves coconut, so all the nuts are coconut when I make these. Watch these vigilantly so they don't burn. The old Whirlpool bakes them to perfection in about 8 minutes.
In conclusion Margie's Cowboy Cookies were a hit on the Arkansas. People who normally won't eat carbs, especially sugar, indulged and were glad they did.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Day 22: Chocolate Blitz Torte
Awake at 2:00am for not special reason, possibly because of weirdness at work, could be the snoring dachshund or unsettled summer plans, might be that extra Arnold Palmer with a shot of Southern Comfort at the end of my evening - who knows why? Regardless of what wakes you, the wee hours of morning can be the best time for baking cake layers, such a cool and quiet part of the day. Except for using the darkest cocoa I could find and adjusting for altitude, I made Michelle Urvater's Chocolate Blitz Torte exactly by the precise recipe. It's on page 160 in 150 Chocolate Cakes. This one piqued my interest because Michelle marked it as a favorite and because I felt like making layer cake. Layers cooling on the rack, back to sleep for the baker.
Later that morning, looking at these layers with rested eyes and fresh perspective - the meringue tops are lovely. Already it's easy to see how this might be a favorite.
Rather than following Michelle's recommendation for filling and frosting, I went for Wicked Chocolate Frosting, p. 298, which is really a buttercream on chocolate steroids. To make sure it was thick and sturdy enough, I skimped on milk. Once the between-the-layers filling was applied, I whipped in more milk to ice the sides thinly, leaving the gorgeous meringue top uncovered. My home-from-college-for-summer son said it was the most beautiful cake he'd ever seen. My dear friend and cooking cohort was a little under the weather, she ate some Chocolate Blitz Torte, and she recovered almost instantly due to the recuperative powers of extreme chocolate.
Rich with eggs and butter, the torte must be stored in the fridge. To me it's much more delicious @ room temperature, but two men I know prefer it straight out of the icebox.
Later that morning, looking at these layers with rested eyes and fresh perspective - the meringue tops are lovely. Already it's easy to see how this might be a favorite.
Rather than following Michelle's recommendation for filling and frosting, I went for Wicked Chocolate Frosting, p. 298, which is really a buttercream on chocolate steroids. To make sure it was thick and sturdy enough, I skimped on milk. Once the between-the-layers filling was applied, I whipped in more milk to ice the sides thinly, leaving the gorgeous meringue top uncovered. My home-from-college-for-summer son said it was the most beautiful cake he'd ever seen. My dear friend and cooking cohort was a little under the weather, she ate some Chocolate Blitz Torte, and she recovered almost instantly due to the recuperative powers of extreme chocolate.
Rich with eggs and butter, the torte must be stored in the fridge. To me it's much more delicious @ room temperature, but two men I know prefer it straight out of the icebox.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cakes 19 and 20: Michelle's Pound Cake in Nigella's Trifle Goes to the Wedding Shower
"Is there alcohol in the dessert?"
"Would you want it any other way?"
Who on earth ever knew flight attendants aren't supposed to have alcohol, even the scant two teaspoons or so in a serving of Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry Trifle (page 406, Feast)? I wonder whether that rule applies pilots and air traffic controllers. Neurosurgeons? Good thing Michelle Urvater's Marbled Chocolate Pound Cake affords such an abundance of leftover cake, even after the trifle is assembled, that plain cake can be offered right alongside the uber decadent, creamy, brandy-laced trifle. This recipe makes 4 pounds of cake, and one of those pounds is pure unsalted butter (page 108, 150 Chocolate Cakes). This is pretty cake, too, with the marbling effect, although next time I might up the contrast by skipping the cocoa powder in the light batter. Oooh, what would this be like if the light batter were white chocolate pound cake? Just one way to find out....
"Would you want it any other way?"
Who on earth ever knew flight attendants aren't supposed to have alcohol, even the scant two teaspoons or so in a serving of Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry Trifle (page 406, Feast)? I wonder whether that rule applies pilots and air traffic controllers. Neurosurgeons? Good thing Michelle Urvater's Marbled Chocolate Pound Cake affords such an abundance of leftover cake, even after the trifle is assembled, that plain cake can be offered right alongside the uber decadent, creamy, brandy-laced trifle. This recipe makes 4 pounds of cake, and one of those pounds is pure unsalted butter (page 108, 150 Chocolate Cakes). This is pretty cake, too, with the marbling effect, although next time I might up the contrast by skipping the cocoa powder in the light batter. Oooh, what would this be like if the light batter were white chocolate pound cake? Just one way to find out....
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Miracle and Cakes 18 and 21
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| Tropical Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting and Coconut on Top |
We had Rastafarian Friday at work, so I made Nigella Lawson's Tropical Chocolate Cake, page 284, in her Feast book. The book is incidentally an excellently superb resource to have on one's shelf, supplying ideas and recipes for just about any occasion. Nigella flavors her delightful chocolate cake with rum, but making it for work, fruit juice had to do instead. She describes the cake as flat, so I added an extra egg. And I decided to make cupcakes this time, just because. The pineapple in this cake gives it a moist, fresh flavor that I love. The frosting was a little out of my depth. Although I made it twice, the texture remained a little on the runny side, a frosting-maker's skill issue, to be sure. Even so, no one complained, and Chocolate Cake #18 went well with Reggae music and a sweet island menu including jerk chicken wings, coconut bread, pineapple upside down cake, and a red hibiscus drink. Overall, a good day to show up in the break room.
Cake # 21 - Tropical Chocolate Cake, again, because I just can't quite leave this one alone. This time I did include the coconut flavored rum just like Nigella, and like Nigella, I thought it was a great ingredient. This is definitely a make-again recipe. For the frosting, this time it was Michelle Urvater's White Chocolate Ganache sprinkled with coconut, which worked well for me on the first try. I'm soft for a frosting with a butter or cream base and can't wait to make this cake again and ice it just this way. It's the perfect confection when you are longing for the tropics.
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