These poor things were baked to be crushed into biscotti crumbs needed for executing another dessert (getting ahead of the story: which is delicious and being posted later :). But I liked the outcome enough to give them their own life, they do deserve it. The biscotti are better the next day (yes, I don’t like this fact as, probably, most of you, but it is what it is…). The flavor ripens and becomes more interesting, anise gets more pronounced.
Adapted from Sherry Yard
These are the cookies I served with the Café Glacé. They are also nice with ice creams, or mousses, basically - anything creamy, for adding the texture contrast. If you are really seeking the crispiness in the cookies, don’t make them in advance (I mean – well in advance, like a day before). No matter how tight is your container where you’re storing them, the cookies will lose at least some of their crunch, or even worse – they will acquire unpleasant rubbery chewiness. I recommend baking them a couple of hours before the serving time; the process is not complicated at all.
The recipe is from the “Desserts by the Yard”.
…by François Payard. I love French chefs’ approach to traditional American desserts. They usually transform them into something quite stylish. I made these rice crispy balls to take to my son’s kindergarten year-end picnic. I wanted something relatively weather-resistant and this recipe seemed appropriate. Besides, haven’t you ever experienced a painful disappointment from bringing a stunning dessert to the youngsters’ class, and later taking it back almost intact because someone brought the lollypops preferred by everyone, and the teeth-rotting candies occupied the kids’ mouths the whole party. I’ve smarten up over time. Now I make things to suit the sophisticated palates of regular kids, who’ve grown on store-bought cupcakes generously covered with fluorescent frosting screaming: “I’m so artificial!”. The balls were very popular, none had been left. Though, it was not because they resembled these cupcakes mentioned above. They were simple and looked familiar: that’s what had caused the success.
I posted the recipe of these cookies quite a while ago. But since then I’ve got a really pretty bowl to serve them. So, here they are – new photos of my old favorite cookies.
If I was asked to name my favorite cookies of all, that would be it. Although, I’m not so sure that they can be actually considered as cookies per se. Or maybe they can because of their shape, in this particular case. Anyway, they are my favorite thing.
This is an adaptation of Martha Stewart’s recipe. To assure the crispiness of the cookies I substituted some part of the flour for cornmeal. For the same reason, I let them dry in the turned off oven overnight (suggested baking time was not enough in achieving the crisp, dry-throughout texture). Anyway, I liked the end result – the texture was right and they tasted well.
