This is one of the treats I was able to sample while at BabyCakes NYC and I sure thought they were delish. However, I'm more of a chubby/chewy/hearty cookie person and BabyCakes makes them more flat. This probably assists them in making their delectable cookie sandwiches, which I have not yet attempted and at which my chubby little cookies might miserably fail. But on their own, I think mine won. I'm just sayin.
That said, I may have been a little too ambitious for the first shot as well. The book suggests throwing mint in these little guys to create a healthier, vegan competitor to Girl Scout Thin Mints. As a lover of Thin Mints but a hater of the guilt that comes with consuming an entire sleeve (or two) of the discs in one sitting, I was all about that idea. So I threw in some minced fresh mint leaves while mixing the dough. It wasn't necessarily bad, but apparently I completely underestimated the amount of mint this would take as you couldn't really taste the mint at all in the finished product.
Despite the unmintyness of it all, I found them yummy. A totally delectable and rich chewy chocolateness - just about perfect! (Spell check is telling me two of the words in that paragraph aren't really words... how dare they?)
The flaxseed meal adds a rich nuttiness, but it also looks like you ground a little bit of alfalfa into an otherwise perfect cookie. Don't mind the little hayseed looking specs. I swear, they were delicious!
Next time... no mint. Or at least extract instead of minced leaves. And maybe a frosting of some kind. Oh, the possibilities!
Also, I will try to get better at photos. I'm generally too lazy to get out a real camera when my wonder-working iPhone is just so handy. But the quality is somewhat lacking so I'll work on it. It's just hard to worry about photography when samples are waiting!
Um yum! Are you baking through the book at your preference or starting at the beginning? Page 71 makes me guess not the beginning but she really could have that much of a preface!
ReplyDeleteA few comments:
ReplyDelete1. "I'm more of a chubby/chewy/hearty cookie person" - Totes laughed out loud at that one, you are the only one I know who describes cookies as "Chubby". HAHA!
2. "Vegan competitor to Girl Scouts Thin Mints" - I gave the 'ol shifty eyes to this one, coupled with my ...MMMHHMMMM look. Because I do not think this is possible to create a vegan competitor to the Girl Scouts Thin Mints. Let's just be real here, okay.
3. Love your own commentary on your own blog in the italics. Spellcheck is definitely broke though, don't listen to that biz!
4. "Don't mind the hayseed looking specs" - classic Anna! Always a perfectionist! I do not think anyone would have noticed those specs except, obviously, you! After you said that I inspected the pictures and was like...ehh...I guess I can kiiiiiiind of see the specs!
5. I def think you need to snap more shots and post them here!! I am speaking on behalf of baking stalkers everywhere. Embrace your Bauer self. Bust out the camera for every step in your baking adventure, from getting out the pots and pans, dumping the ingredients in, mixing all the biz, putting it in the oven, etc. Also I would love for you to be in the pictures too. Give the people what they want!!
6. In response to Angie's comment, I totes laughed because my original thought was "ah, page 71, double chocolate chip cookies, she's starting with the most chocolatey recipe, not starting from beginning to end". Then I read her comment and loved it. Classic Anna!
How fun! Maybe I'll even branch out, and get this book for myself. I wish I enjoyed baking, or any kitchen activity, as much as the Bauer girls.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Jess's #5: Maybe you can put Amy on speaker phone and talk through the baking process. I'm pretty sure she will tell you when to take pictures, what angle to come from, and maybe offer a child to make the picture even cuter!
I welcome a niece or nephew to act as kitchen props any day!!
ReplyDeleteJess was right - it's random! It took me so long to get together all the necessary ingredients (I am currently subscribed to receive automatic shipments of three different types of flour from amazon.com), that I had plenty of time to peruse the book and develop cravings. I also realized going through it in order would mean I have to bake five types of muffins and four types of scones before I could graduate to tea cakes. I love both but that might be a bit much. Not too mention how excruciatingly long it would take to get to cookies, or what would happen when I'm suddenly producing multiple cakes per week.
I went with randomness!
I, too, welcome a niece or newphew to act as kitchen props in Anna's kitchen. This would really bring the blogging full circle for me.
ReplyDelete