COOKIE #2: HERMITS

Onto the first cookie in this cookbook that I’ve never heard of (that was quick) – Hermits. Judging by the ingredients, I’m guessing it’s a cookie that only hermits like to eat? I picture some white-haired man shut up in his home, sitting in some ghastly printed chair, watching Matlock, and eating these cookies. The recipe is eerily similar to the oatmeal cookies I baked, only we’ve exchanged the oatmeal for dates. And after not being a huge fan of the oatmeal cookies, I go into this cookie a bit leery.

I google “Hermit cookies”, like I google everything else (I can’t believe we didn’t have the internet when I was growing up!), and I come across recipes for Hermits dating all the way back to 1880.  My belief that only old people probably like this cookie is slightly validated. And apparently there are different versions of hermit cookies, but they all contain spices and most contain raisins and/or nuts. Some are drop cookies, like these, and some are rolled cookies.

The general consensus is that Hermit Cookies were so named because of their good keeping qualities, that is, they can be hidden away, similar to a hermit or recluse. This old fashioned 19th century cookie must have quite a few fans because on the American Food Holidays' calendar November 15th is National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day.

This recipe adds dates to the cookie, so I’m interested to see what kind of flavor that adds. Or will the dates just get lost in all the raisins? Dates are the fruit of the palm tree. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia from way back in 6000 BC, so this fruit has made its rounds. Dates have a high sugar content and are a good source of protein, Vitamins A, & B.  I’m hoping the high sugar content will make this cookie sweeter than the oatmeal cookies I previously made. I can’t say that I’ve eaten many bad dates in my life, but I can say that I’ve had a lot of bad dates. Hardy har har. 




Always happy to help!

So I get the first batch in the oven and leave the kitchen, moments later I notice that there is a lovely cinnamon scent wafting my way. Well, that’s nice, I think. I give the cookies a bit more time before I go to check on them. Then I realize, I forgot to set the timer. The result? Two dozen half burnt cookies. Le sigh. Good thing this recipe makes nearly 6 dozen cookies, so I put in another round and they come out perfect. Crunchy around the edges and soft in the middle. And surprisingly, they are quite tasty!  I would even say that they are better than Cookie #1. The dates do add a jolt of much needed sugar and there is a hint of nutmeg, neither is overwhelming. I guess there is a good reason these cookies have survived over a century!  




No Timer vs Timer



Since I don’t care for walnuts, if I were to recreate these Hermits I would substitute almonds and then play around with adding other dried fruits, like blueberries or cranberries. But all in all, this isn’t a bad cookie. My apologies to the old man in the printed chair. 

Cookie Grade: B = Good initial flavor profile. But still not an exact recipe I’d replicate.

What I was jammin’ to: Steve Miller Band

COOKIE #1: OATMEAL COOKIES

Where do we begin?  *drum roll please* Oatmeal cookies!  Yes, the oatmeal cookie is the first cookie listed in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Which makes me wonder… why oatmeal first? Was it the favorite of 1962? The cookies certainly aren’t listed alphabetically, though they are grouped.  The first group - ‘drop cookies’. 
 

I’m going to go out on a short limb and say that the oatmeal cookie isn’t exactly the most loved cookie of 2012.  Chocolate whatevers tend to muscle out the delicious textures and symphony of flavors found in the oatmeal cookie. However, I am only a chocolate liker, but a HUGE oatmeal lover.  Lucky me, the oatmeal cookie is my all time favorite cookie!

So I'm stoked to begin. One of the first things I notice, these cookies are titled “Oatmeal Cookies.” Very unpretentious. Today, we love over-the-top names.  The longer the name, the fancier the cookie, right? Like “Award Winning Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies with Gourmet Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Chips”.  Even if the only award it ever won was the one the chef’s mother gave it, the title is tacked on to say “hey, look at me!” Apparently that wouldn’t fly in the 60’s. Every recipe name in this cookbook gives the simplest explanation of the cookie. Most cookie titles contain only two words: Blank Cookies.

Another thing I notice is that there isn't a single recipe that offers optional 

ingredients.  These are matter-of-fact cookies.  Take the Oatmeal Cookie - there are raisins and walnuts included in the recipe, not suggested as options. Like, duh! ALL Oatmeal Cookies should have raisins and walnuts in them. To call them Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Walnuts (like I would have normally done) would be a redundancy. In that same token, no plain oatmeal cookies then? Hmmm. 



Now I am not a fan of walnuts and would normally substitute pecans, but since I am following each recipe verbatim, bring on the Juglans hindsii (the scientific name for California walnuts, see the recipe above).  Now are my nuts from California? No silly, all my family is from Texas. j/k. But really, I bought Kroger brand walnuts and they don’t say where the nuts were harvested. Let’s pretend they’re from Cali for the recipe’s sake. 



Sifter in Action

Besides the very specific instruction to use The Golden State walnuts, I notice that this recipe calls for buttermilk. That's different. And for both baking soda and baking powder.  Why? Both are leavening ingredients, why the double dose? For lighter than air cookies perhaps? Well, when a recipe contains baking powder and baking soda, its the baking powder that does most of the leavening. The baking soda is added to neutralize the acids in the recipe, in this case to neutralize the buttermilk. Which makes more sense of the asterisks noted on the original recipe.  If you don’t use buttermilk, then you don’t need as much baking soda. Interesting tidbit, and a reason to finally dust off some of that high school science mumbo jumbo. Knowledge is power!  

Mama's Little Helper



So with the support of my little cookie monster, I bake the very first cookie of my blog. First, I was surprised that the cookies didn’t flatten out after I baked them. They were more like fluffy mounds of oatmeal goodness.  Which was convenient because that meant I could cram more cookies per sheet and speed up the baking process. Second, the batter tasted way better than the actual cookie. Bummer, right?! I got 59 cookies after eating quite a bit of batter (yes, I know there are raw eggs in it…so?).  They are not nearly as sweet as the contemporary oatmeal raisin cookie, and not nearly as chewy.  They have more of a “good for you, granola, cake” vibe to them, which is not a bad thing, just different.  If you get a bite with enough raisins, then they are quite delicious.  But if I were to recreate this cookie, I would add more raisins and maybe some raw sugar.  And perhaps cut back on the baking powder to reduce the cakey-ness and add a touch of vanilla. Sorry 1962, but this is my absolute favorite type of cookie, and my taste buds know what they want out of it. More sweetness and more chew.

Still, I had a wonderful time baking these cookies and will enjoy eating them! What a fun first cookie!  I'll give myself a couple days to demolish these cookies, then on to Cookie #2.

Cookie Grade: B = Still good enough to eat! But wouldn’t use the exact recipe again.

What I was jammin’ to: Afrobeat mix cd from college  



SERIES #1: THE 50 YEAR OLD COOKIE CHALLENGE

In this series, I will be recreating all 51 cookie recipes found in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, original circa 1953, revised 3^rd printing from 1962 (50 years ago). 

It is a truly spectacular cookbook with timeless trinkets of cooking knowledge and insight into a world that was not so long ago. Today there have been more than 34 million copies sold and counting.  Yet this 1962 print boasts that “nearly 9 million WOMEN cherish this book.” As I flip through its pages, I’m taken back to another time where men weren’t allowed in the kitchen and large dinner parties of 25 to 100 people weren’t unusual. For 100 guests, it suggests 25lbs of frozen asparagus, 8 bottles of catsup, 20 pies, but just 4 gallons of ice cream. There are tips for how to pack a lunch box, the sandwich being the “backbone”, and a reminder to first simmer your sweetbreads and brains in salt water and vinegar if you wish to refrigerate them.

I could go on and on about what a good read this cookbook provides, but now I go to the heart of my journey.  Tab number 9 in the cookbook – Cookies. I LOVE cookies. My baby loves cookies (please no emails about me giving my 5 month old sugar. I grew up with sweet tea in my sippy cup and I turned out fine). Who doesn’t love cookies, right?  I will be replicating each recipe EXACTLY as it is written. No tweaking, no skipping around.  That means that I will be using tubs of shortening and probably have to google a few things here and there. To start my endeavor, I went out and purchased my first sifter, which I must say is a lot of fun to play with. And I would love it if you read along and went through this process with me.  And if you live nearby, even help me eat all of these cookies so I don’t gain 50lbs.  ; )

I will try to post at least twice a week and I’m super excited to get my first batch of cookies in the oven!  Stay tuned for cookie number one!

SALUTATIONS

My almost 6 month old daughter Annalie is a trip, but since I’m a girl who's always worked, becoming a stay at home mom has been a challenge. I know that I am super lucky to be able to stay at home with my little cookie monster, but I get restless. What can I say? I need to keep the mind juices flowing, outside the realm of singing the hokey pokey and identifying farm animals.  I LOVE to cook, so I decided to bake every cookie recipe from a cookbook that my grandmother had passed down to me. Then I thought, why not start a blog about it?

Now I’ve never written a blog, nor have I really ever read a blog, so bear with me.  I actually had to google “blog” and find a few to look at before I began this venture.  This is all from a girl that doesn’t even own a smart phone.