Walter Carole - Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets (Winner of the James Beard Award)

GREAT
COOKIES

Secrets to Sensational
Sweets

by Carole Walter

Photographs by
Duane Winfield

Also by Carole Walter

Great Cakes

Great Pies & Tarts

Copyright 2003 by Carole Walter

Photographs copyright by Duane Winfield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

www.carolewalter.com

With love, from...

The one who fills the cookie jar with sweets,
To ...

My "sweets" who make the cookies disappear.

My children,
Frank and Marla
Pam and Andy,
and
grandchildren,
Zach and Samantha
Jeffrey and Neil

contents

introduction

I would vouch to say that, of all baking done at home, cookies rank at the top of the list. Although some people may be intimidated by other forms of baking, the wall of fear comes crumbling down when cookies are in the picture.

Delving into this vast subject has been quite enlightening. Cookies, for the most part, consist of but three or four ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, and sometimes eggs. In the beginning, I asked myself: how many ways can these ingredients be juggled around to create new or different recipes? I found the variations on this simple theme were endless; I could have gone on and on, creating, testing, and tasting.

My desire was to deliver an appealing, user-friendly book that would not only whet the appetite but also be a teaching guide to help avoid the many pitfalls that normally occur in baking. In doing so, the time spent with my students in over thirty years of teaching has proved to be a marvelous training ground for me. I have learned that many procedures that are rote for me should not be taken for granted.

The recipes in Great Cookies are organized according to their method of preparation. Drop cookies, along with those that are formed by hand, may be the parts of the book that you will turn to most often. Here you will find familiar favorites like Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Hermits, along with new ideas like Chocolate and Vanilla Moonstones and Rustic Maple Pecan Cookies. There is a subsection on chocolate chip cookies, the cornerstone of American cookies. Familiar cookies that are rolled into balls are Snickerdoodles, Gingersnaps, and Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies. With the popularity of oversized cookies, I created a whole chapter called "Big Boys." Teton Trailers, a play on the trail-mix snack, are here along with Sam's Lavish Lemon Cookies, a knockout cookie that caught the eye of my granddaughter, Samantha.

Next is an exciting collection of refrigerated cookies like Old-Fashioned Icebox Cookiesso perfect for working folks with little kitchen time. There are Pinwheel Cookies and Checkerboards, palate pleasers like Pistachio Lime Thins, along with the whimsical ChocolatePeanut Butter Yo-Yo's, string and all. The Pipe and Press Chapter is where you will find the classic Scandinavian Spritz Cookies, in a variety of flavors, along with delicate Spiced Rickrack Wafers. Roll Call, next in line, is the chapter you want to turn to at holiday time. Little hands can help you decorate a variety of Classic Sugar Cookies, and who wouldn't love to customize their own Gingerbread People? Then there's "Rugelach and Others...," fabulous ideas for fruit- and nut-filled cookies with a variety of flaky pastry doughs so you can mix and match.

Bake a Batch of Bars is jam-packed with new and easy ideas like Ebony and Ivory Tiles and CherryPecan Meringue Bars. Carole's Best Brownies are here along with other brownie treats. More holiday treats follow in Around the World. There are beautifully molded Springerle and Speculaas, and classics like jam-filled Hamentaschen, Kurabia from Armenia, Scotch Shortbread, and French Palmiers. What cookie book would be complete without Biscotti and Suchand recipes that include traditional biscotti like Tuscan Almond Anise along with new ones like Cinnamon Toasts. Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Biscotti is here, along with Yocheved Hirsch's Passover Mandelbrot. Meringues and Macaroons includes the habit-forming crunchy Walnut Orange Meringue Mounds and the seductive Chocolate-Dipped Pignoli Crescents.

Within the recipe chapters are "secrets"pages that are packed with tips and hints for making fabulous foolproof cookies. Cookie icons indicate the difficulty level of each recipe. Recipes with one icon () are the most approachable, so they're perfect for beginners or those who may be short on time. Two cookie icons () indicate intermediate-level recipes that take longer to prepare. Three icons () indicate recipes with the most steps, and are perfect for those who welcome a challenge. There is a detailed Ingredients chapter, a timely Equipment section, and my pride and joy, the Techniques chapter. Through every page of this book, the teacher in me cannot control her need to share and her desire to help you create Great Cookies.

I The Cookies

1 Drop Cookies