Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ashes, Ashes...

Can I fall down now? I mean, happy Ash Wednesday!

Seriously, today was awesome, but exhausting. Never could I have thought that an hour of talking in front of a group would drain me like that! But no matter, it's over for now, and I may even have another chance to do it again! Since the weather was sooo bad today, a lot of the people slated to attend my little seminar couldn't make it into the office. That meant a LOT of leftover food, and leftover note booklets that will be hanging around my mom's cubicle until we can book the room and projector again. I did feel very know-it-allish today, but in a good way, like I was able to help people out in a new way of thinking about food. If I accomplished nothing else, at least I got more word out about my bakery and my blog, and I was taken out for a late sushi lunch by my wonderful friends afterwards (BIG thanks out to you!).

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I had some left-over frosting from the cupcakes I whipped up, and yesterday I put it to good use in a double-whammy of caffeine type of snack for Andrew. Oaty, whole-grain and coffee flavoured brown sugar cookies made with rich, decadent butter were filled with this sweet, thick frosting and stuck in the fridge, where the cookies softened up just an itty bit, allowing for easy chewing. Andrew enjoyed the blend, though he did say the frosting was a bit too sweet for him. That said, he admitted that he isn't really a sweets kind of guy (though he is very sweet himself, haha), so those of us out there who do like out-of-the-can or "bakery-style" frosting will probably find it just right. You'll notice I didn't add the chocolate sprinkles in the version I recently made, but the frosting kind of negates that. Feel free to go all-out though, if you love your sugar!

Coffee-Spice Slice Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup salted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled quick oats (NOT instant)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chocolate sprinkles (optional)
  1. In large mixing bowl beat shortening, brown sugar until light and fluffy.
  2. Beat in egg, vanilla and coffee mixture.
  3. Beat in flours, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Divide dough into two equal parts, and shape each half into a roll about 1 1/2" wide.
  5. Roll in chocolate sprinkles (if using), pressing lightly.
  6. Wrap tightly, and refrigerate at least 12 hours, or freeze for 2-3. For make-ahead variation, you can freeze logs up to 6 months before proceeding.
  7. Heat oven to 375ºF.
  8. Cut rolls into 1/4" slices, and place 1" apart on ungreased baking sheet.
  9. Bake 6 to 8 minutes (12 min if frozen solid). Cool on rack.
  10. I filled mine once cooled with Hazelnut - Espresso Frosting.
Amount Per Serving (Cookies Only)
Calories: 52.0
Total Fat: 2.4 g
Cholesterol: 7.6 mg
Sodium: 19.9 mg
Total Carbs: 7.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.3 g
Protein: 0.7 g

2 comments :

  1. the cookie was so freaking amazing.. you are so perfect in so mnay ways thanks for always cooking for me

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the feedback!