We are introduced, at an early age, to the sweet wondernous of a cookie. From teething cookies to soothe the swollen aching gums of incoming incisors, onto animal crackers purchased in rectangular-shaped boxes bearing a string handle for easy toting by little fingers. Deciding which part of the animal should be eaten first-the trunk of the elephant or the tail of a lion-depended on how hungry one was. Savor each and every one or simply gobble them down as fast as possible.

My next cookie memory would be the ever famous, possibly all-time favorite, the chocolate chip cookie. There is nothing better than to bite into a round circle of baked dough sprinkled with gooey melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. A chocolate chip cookie can dry tears, heal broken hearts, mend scraped knees and elbows and solve sibling arguments. Most of the problems in the world could likely be solved by a properly baked, right out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie. The power of a cookie is underestimated.

I will attempt in the next 365 days to prepare and comment on a year’s worth of different cookies-one for each day. My goal is to share with others my extreme love of cookies-baking them and especially eating them! Feel free to send me your favorite recipe, your earliest cookie memories, or how cookies may have influenced your life. Cookies Rule!


Thursday, April 1, 2010

Cookie Recipe #89 - Chocolate-Almond Tassies

It's April Fool's
Get off your stools
and grab some tools.
Let's bake some tassies
you lads & lassies
No joke-the Cookie Rules!!!

Ingredients: Dough: 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup flour. Filling: 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons Amaretto or 1 teaspoon almond extract, 2 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds, 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Instructions: Dough: Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt in bowl until blended. Stir in flour (dough will be soft and sticky). Scrape dough onto sheet of plastic wrap. Shape dough into a disk; cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Roll dough into 24 1-inch balls; place 1 ball in each of 24 mini muffin cups (ungreased). Chill 15 minutes. Using floured fingertips (I used a melon-baller dipped in flour), press dough over bottom and up sides of each muffin cup, forming shell. Pop back in frig while making filling.

Filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk brown sugar, egg, amaretto (or almond extract), melted butter, and salt in medium bowl until blended. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips. Remove pan from frig and fill each shell with filling.

Bake tassies until crusts are golden brown and filling is set, 23-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Using a small, sharp knife, cut around each cookie to loosen, then turn out onto cooling racks.

Note: I had extra filling, so I made a small pie crust, pressed it into a small pie pan, poured in the leftover filling and baked until set.

Makes 24 tassies (and possibly a small pie).

Cookies Rule!!!

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