For this cookie post, I made the second recipe in Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter. This recipe was Spiked Apple Cookies. I had never heard of these cookies before, so I was really excited to try these out.
First, I put some dried apple slices into hot water (this lets them soften up a bit).
I then chopped them up and mixed them with some applejack liqueur.
I mixed together flour, ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
The unsalted butter was beaten until it was creamy.
Brown sugar...
...granulated sugar...
...an egg...
...sour cream...
...and vanilla were all added to the unsalted butter.
The flour mixture was then added to the batter.
Chopped walnuts and the liquorized (does that word exist?) apple were folded in.
Here are the cookies before the oven...
...and here they are after the oven.
I drizzled some Vanilla Glaze (recipe to follow) on top of the cookies.
These cookies weren't crispy nor chewy. They were just soft enough to be right in between those two levels. The glaze really gave them some extra flavor that complemented the apple flavors really well. The walnuts add an interesting texture to it. I don't think I'd like the cookies as much without the walnuts, but to each his own.
Spiked Apple Cookies
*makes about 4 dozen 2 1/4-inch cookies*
Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed dried apple slices
3 tbsp Calvados or applejack liqueur
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup broken walnuts
Directions:
1) Place the apple slices in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Drain well and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toss the apples with the Calvados in a small, deep bowl and let macerate while preparing the cookie dough.
2) Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350F. Moderately butter the cookie sheets.
3) Strain together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4) In a large bowl of an electric mixer, on medium-low speed, using paddle attachment, mix the butter until creamy and lightened in color. Add the brown sugar, then the granulated sugar, and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Blend in the egg, then the sour cream and vanilla.
5) Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until well combined. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the apples and walnuts.
6) Drop from the tip of a teaspoon, making walnut-size mounds of dough (about 1 1/4 inches), onto the cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly browned. Toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back. Remove from oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Loosen with a thin metal spatula and place on wire racks set over wax paper.
7) Using the back of the spoon, apply 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Glaze to each warm cookie.
Vanilla Glaze
*makes enough for 4 dozen 2-inch cookies*
Ingredients:
2 cups strained cofectioner's sugar, spooned in and leveled
2-3 tbsp hot milk or water, plus additional as needed
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch salt
Directions:
Place the confectioner's sugar in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir with a small whisk or spoon until very smooth. The glaze should pour from a spoon in a steady stream. Use additional liquid sparingly. A little bit goes a long way.
Recipes from Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter
Spiked Apple Cookies
*makes about 4 dozen 2 1/4-inch cookies*
Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed dried apple slices
3 tbsp Calvados or applejack liqueur
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup broken walnuts
Directions:
1) Place the apple slices in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Drain well and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toss the apples with the Calvados in a small, deep bowl and let macerate while preparing the cookie dough.
2) Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350F. Moderately butter the cookie sheets.
3) Strain together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4) In a large bowl of an electric mixer, on medium-low speed, using paddle attachment, mix the butter until creamy and lightened in color. Add the brown sugar, then the granulated sugar, and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Blend in the egg, then the sour cream and vanilla.
5) Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until well combined. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the apples and walnuts.
6) Drop from the tip of a teaspoon, making walnut-size mounds of dough (about 1 1/4 inches), onto the cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly browned. Toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back. Remove from oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Loosen with a thin metal spatula and place on wire racks set over wax paper.
7) Using the back of the spoon, apply 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Glaze to each warm cookie.
Vanilla Glaze
*makes enough for 4 dozen 2-inch cookies*
Ingredients:
2 cups strained cofectioner's sugar, spooned in and leveled
2-3 tbsp hot milk or water, plus additional as needed
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch salt
Directions:
Place the confectioner's sugar in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir with a small whisk or spoon until very smooth. The glaze should pour from a spoon in a steady stream. Use additional liquid sparingly. A little bit goes a long way.
Recipes from Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter
Mmm they look very cake-like. Yummm...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hint about the book, but we don't have Publix stores here. :(
nice cookies and quite a different recipe to the usual chocolate chip cookie. They look good. I like the way you present the recipe in your blog , with a step by step instruction. Nice and thanks
ReplyDeleteHow To Eat A Cupcake: Ooh... I didn't know that. Well, I have an extra copy (my mom bought it for me today, without knowing that I had bought myself a copy the day before). Would you want me to send it to you??
ReplyDeleteSnooky doodle: Thanks so much! Sometimes I get confused with other people's recipes, so I wanted to make sure that my readers would understand my recipes =)