Minnesota State Fair Unveils New Fair Foods For 2023: Photos
Italian Pepper Cookies: Say What?
If you taste these Italian Pepper Cookies with either 'cookie' or 'pepper' uppermost in our mind, you may be disappointed. But they offer an appealing flavor mix if you are fond of the various spices in them, particularly cloves.
Mark GuydishTimes Leader
Never heard of pepper cookies, would never have conceived of such a thing. But in searching for a different recipe among my late mother's cookbooks (before she died), I came across this recipe. The name alone intrigued. I snapped a picture of the recipe with my phone but never got around to trying them.
After mom died, I took the cookbook in question home with me, partly because it was made by the people she worked with decades ago to hold a large festival in the gym of the St. Joseph Oblates Seminary on Route 315 in Laflin (Dad's boilo and phenomenal egg nog recipes are in it). They raised money for the Passionist Nuns, if I remember right, who held a retreat mom attended every year, getting a break away from the nine kids she constantly tended. I even got out of school one day a year to go help set up the festival tables and decorate the gym where the women would sell mostly food but other items as well. Mom varied from selling store-bought candy to home-made halupkis, lollipops and chocolates. For a while she made a quilt each year to auction off at the festival.
I finally decided to make the pepper cookies last week, baking them on — as MT politely pointed out — one of the hottest days of the year. I started early in the cooler morning, but the kitchen still heated up enough to make me sweat a bit.
So what does a pepper cookie taste like? Not pepper, to my palate, though since I used fresh-ground there was an occasional sharp bite of the heat. "Spice cookies" would be more accurate, and maybe some word other than "cookie," which — as the taste testers in the newsroom proved — tends to create an expectation of something considerably sweeter.
That said, I enjoyed these very much. The mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and most noticeably cloves created a warm, flavorful effect. And while the unsweetened cocoa won't be chocolatey enough for many, it contrasted the spices nicely. But it was such an odd creation, at least in my repertoire, that I had to get feedback from co workers. Reviews were predictably mixed.
"I hate spice," reporter Hannah Simerson admitted. Combine that with "I love soft cookies," which these are not, and she concluded "this seems like a winter time cookie."
I agree. They struck me as a possible Christmas time serving, and some websites list them as yule treats, often coated with a sweet icing.
"Pepper cookies, anise cookies, they're not my favorite," reporter Bill O'Boyle said. "Give me a good chocolate chip cookie any day." The anise reference stems from MT baking some for the taste testers, and interestingly those not-so-sweet cookies are a Christmas tradition in her family (not mine).
"Do I detect cloves?" reporter Jen Learn-Andes said. "I love the way they smell. That's what makes a cookie for me." She liked them enough to reach for a few more during the day, but said she'd prefer them with a bit more chocolate flavor.
"They remind me of Christmas," page designer Lyndsay Bartos said. "They're good, and they'd go well with ice cream."
I hadn't thought of that. I did think they would make a fine complement to a cup of coffee, and actually had a cookie or two the next morning with a mug of java. But I could see them working very well sitting atop a scoop or two of ice cream in a small bowl.
Page designer Ashley Bringmann thought the spices were not "overpowering," but nicely balanced.
And news editor Roger DuPuis focused a bit on the walnuts, calling them "a nice contrast to the rest of the cookie.
"And I agree with Lyndsay," he added. "They'd go well with ice cream."
Two tips from my experience: 1) the dough came out very powdery, and I had to add about a half cup of water before it would come together enough to form balls, 2) don't worry about the cookies spreading out during baking. For me, the ball I made was the final shape when they came out of the oven, so you can put them pretty close together on the sheet.
Dobru chut!
Italian Pepper Cookies
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ cup melted shortening
½ cup cocoa
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Heat oven to 400°. Cream sugar and shortening together. Add the cocoa and egg and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and mix in. If dough is too dry to form small balls, add some water. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
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Click now to support or get more information.Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
Cookie Recipe: Italian Hazelnut Kisses
Italian Hazelnut Kisses (Baci di Dama)20 small sandwich cookies
This Piemontese specialty celebrates the Italian region's great hazelnut production. The cookie dough is egg-free, and the filling is a chocolate gianduja. Typically, it'd be fine to make the filling in advance. But because this filling sets up so quickly, it's best to make it while the cookies are cooling.
MAKE AHEAD: The cookies can be baked up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The sandwich cookies can be stored in the same fashion (after a quick chill) for about 3 days. If you make your own hazelnut paste, you might have some left over; it can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for a few weeks.
Adapted from "Baklava to Tarte Tatin: A World Tour in 110 Dessert Recipes," by Bernard Laurance (Flammarion, 2015).
Ingredients
For the cookies
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons (3 1/4 ounces) finely ground almonds (skinless; may substitute almond meal)
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons (3 ounces) ground skinned hazelnuts (see NOTES)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
For the filling
31/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
7 ounces homemade or store-bought hazelnut paste (see NOTES)
Steps
For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (or preferably 285 degrees in a convection oven). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the butter, ground almonds and hazelnuts and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy. Stop to scrape down the bowl.
Add the flour all at once; beat on low speed just until incorporated, being careful not to overwork the dough. Measure out 40 equal portions (preferably using a kitchen scale), rolling each one into a perfect ball. Arrange them on the baking sheets, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Bake (middle rack) one sheet at a time for about 30 minutes or until the tops are slightly cracked but the cookies are not too browned. Let them cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the filling: Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in the microwave on LOW in 20-second increments, stirring each time, until just melted. Add the hazelnut paste, mixing until well blended.
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe a small amount of filling on the flat sides of half of the cookies, then top with the remaining cookies (flat sides to filling). Refrigerate the filled cookies for about 20 minutes, so they set up, before serving or storing.
Notes: To skin hazelnuts, spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the skins look cracked. While the nuts are still quite hot, transfer them to a dish towel; fold or close over the towel and rub vigorously to dislodge the skins. (This will make a mess.)
To make the hazelnut paste, combine 10 ounces of toasted, skinned hazelnuts, preferably while they are still warm, with 1 tablespoon canola oil and 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor; puree to form a paste that holds together. (You can substitute 1 large egg white for the oil.)
NutritionPer cookie: 250 calories, 4 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 18 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 14 g sugar
Categories: Uncategorized
Is This Cookie Spot In NJ Better Than Crumbl Cookies And All The Rest?
I got sucked into the black hole of the TikTok world the other day and stumbled upon this video of a cookie spot that re-released their famous rainbow cookies for a limited time.
My favorite cookie is an Italian rainbow cookie smothered in dark chocolate, so this particular video made my pregnancy sweet tooth that much sweeter.
So I did some digging and realized that this cookie place has a few stores in New Jersey and the only thing I could think of at the time was, where have I been?!
Clearly living under a rock because not only have I never heard of this place, but it's a New York-based company that expanded to the Garden State and is said to be better than Crumbl Cookies and Insomnia Cookies.
Now that's a statement especially since Crumbl has been all the rage lately.
Chip City Cookies started in New York and eventually made its way to New Jersey. They have 18 locations with 5 in Manhattan, 2 in Brooklyn, 2 on Long Island and 6 in Queens.
The New Jersey locations are:
Newark One Gateway Center Ridgewood 305 E Ridgewood Ave Hoboken 113 Washington StreetBut the best part is you can get these cookies delivered to you as well.
Like Crumbl Cookies, there is a weekly menu where you will find your basic, everyday flavors and then a few specials along the way.
If you can make it to the store, the go-to seems to be getting your favorite cookie with your favorite flavored ice cream on top.
I really don't know where I've been that I didn't know about this place, but I will be 100% making my way in for a visit.
Each State in America and Their Favorite Type of Cereal...
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Morning Show Producer Kristen. Any opinions expressed are her own.
Questions, corrections, or comments? Send Producer Kristen an email at kristen.Accardi@townsquaremedia.Com or follow her on Instagram.
NJ Diners that are open 24/7
Minnesota State Fair Unveils New Fair Foods For 2023: Photos
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