If being late ever works out, this was certainly one of those time. Erica and I couldn't find a time to meet up before the posting date, but who wants to have Christmas cookies before Thanksgiving anyway? The week after seemed much more appropriate.
This challenge was also a reminder for me about trying to do too much in the kitchen. We selected to make these chocolate-hazelnut crinkle cookies, which require an over-night chill. Since I was hosting this month, I set out to make the dough the night before. It's been a busy couple of months, so whenever I get a free night in the kitchen, I feel like I have to really use it for all its worth. This is a recipe for staying up far past my bedtime.
So in addition to the dough, I planned to make this double-broccoli quinoa recipe for dinner. While I was at it, I need to make some dinner for the cookie baking, but instead of something simple, I got it into my head that I absolutely needed to recreate this amazing lasagna my brother-in-law had made for post-thanksgiving enjoyment. And of course I would make the noodles from scratch, yes of course.
Oh, and why not just whip up a loaf of bread too? (This bread is divine. No joke, make it today. You can see it above, and it makes your house smell amazing. I am powerless to resist baking it once I get it in my head that I need to eat it). Totally reasonable, right?
And then I realized we were having a pantry staples crisis, so mid-cooking, I had to run to the corner store for: butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla.
My husband came home to find that I had dirtied every appliance, pot, and bowl that we owned. Thankfully he does the dishes around here. :-)
So in comparison, a few foaming cookies were nothing.
We were hoping for something a little more exiting when we added the baking soda concoction to the hot pot. (I must also confess that these left us feeling a bit whelmed. As Erica and I concluded, they were good with tea or coffee, but just missing a little zing).
Best part about the foaming cookies? How silky smooth the dough was to work with, and our friend Emily's collection of cookie cutters.
This is a slueth of bears. Or a sloth. Your choice. Unless they're polar bears, in which case it's just a pack.
These chocolate balls, on the other hand, and the cookies they made, were delicious. I have a new cookie to add to my repertoire.
I just loved how they cracked on the outside. Hat tip to the daring baker's comment that suggested rolling in granulated sugar first. Our were super crackly, with an excellent texture on the teeth.
Grrar!! I'm a T-Rex! Or a crow...
