Tuesday, April 27, 2010

TWD: Chockablock cookies

For Tuesdays with Dorie this week, Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet chose the Chockablock cookies from page 86 of Baking From My Home to Yours.


These cookies were not what I expected.  You know how sometimes you just have this image of how things are going to be made, and then they aren't it at all?  When I started first grade and was going to eat cafeteria food for the first time I would try to imagine what the food was when we got the menu each week.  When I saw "chuck wagon" on the menu, I was so far off....I imagined that the cafeteria ladies would actually have made little covered wagons out of vegetables!  (i tried to find an image of what I was imagining with Google, but apparently I am alone in this fantasy...)  Well...needless to say, I was very disappointed when instead of an intricately designed sculpture, I was served a breaded patty of mystery meat.  *sigh*


My thoughts were similar (though a little less grandiose) when it came to these cookies.  Apparently I just think very literally:  I imagined square shaped chocolate cookies (you know, like chocolate blocks?).  I did read the recipe and figure in all the chunks of things, but I just thought they would be a little more chocolatey.  When I mixed up the dough I was kind of "eh" about it.  I really felt that the molasses flavor was overpowering.  I liked them pretty well when they came out of the oven though, and I'll update you tomorrow to see if I like them even more (I've heard that they are even better the next day).  

I did as Dorie suggested and froze some of the dough in lumps in the freezer for later consumption and only made six little (ok, BIG) cookies for myself b/c I knew in advance that these would be a "Sarah cookie" aka, too many "ingredients" for hubs to try.  I did use dried cherries for my fruit component b/c I had some on hand and I LOVE them.  I got excited with my new chopper and cut the walnuts a bit too much, so they weren't quite as chunky as I would have liked, but overall I think they are good--lots of flavorful components and a very little amount of fat compared to most recipes that we do, and that is always great!

Thanks to Mary for picking this week's recipe (check her blog for the recipe) and check out the TWD site to see who baked along this week!

**Update: I really like these the next day!  I think some substitute other than molasses would make them even better, but they are pretty darn tasty cookies!  :)  **

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful cookies.

    I was afraid that the molasses would be nasty so I didn't use it.

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  2. Looks good! I like the picture of the cookie with bite out of it. So gooey and inviting. :)

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  3. I thought they would have more chocolate taste too. With that said I thought they were good.

    Yours looks good!

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  4. I remember 'grade school' fanasys! I sold my cinnamon roll for 5 cents. I thought I was pretty smart!
    I thought these cookies were delish. I liked the combo of add-ins. Every bite was a party!

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  5. I wondered about the molasses, too, but I only had half the amount called for, so by the end, you couldn't even taste it. Your cookies look great! And you've sent my thoughts back to elementary school...cubed jello with slightly dried out whipped topping...and the smell of "hot lunch." No matter what was on the menu, the lunchroom always smelled the same.

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  6. I imagined them to be more chocolatey, too... oh well! Yours look great! :)

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  7. The inside of that cookie looks delicious! I went with maple syrup which didn't add much flavour at all.

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  8. These look delicious! I bet they are the type of cookie that is better the next day. Anxious to hear what you think tomorrow :)

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  9. I added some trail mix to mine and it was the bomb! Great picture of the inside of your cookie..yum!

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  10. Ah! Mystery Meat! The bain of all school cafeterias. Thin, greasy, and heavily coated.

    These cookies wer not my 'cup of tea' so to speak. Would like them without fruit.

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  11. I'm sorry to hear they weren't exactly as chunky and chocolaty as you expected. But they look delicious nonetheless. =)

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  12. I thought the molasses overpowered as well and made a version without that really worked well.

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  13. I made these with honey and the flavor was pretty subtle! Your cookies look great - I like the dried cherry addition!

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  14. Dried cherries sound like a great addition, and I'm glad you liked these in the end. I didn't get to make them, as I was caught up in Daring Bakers. Next week for sure!

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  15. We did use the same fruit/nut combo! Weren't they tasty? I took them to my students, and most of them liked them...but one guy said, "They're pretty edible." Hmmm...what does that mean?!

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  16. The cookies look great! I thought these were going to be a chocolate cookie, too. I also used cherries and walnuts, a yummy combination.

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  17. I'm not a big fan of oats, so I thought I wouldn't really care for these. But they surprised me: I liked them, although I am still considering making them again without the oats....

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  18. Love your pictures. I did use Golden Syrup instead of the molasses, because I don't care for molasses either. That might help. Otherwise, I loved the cookies. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. I subbed lyle's golden syrup for the molasses and was super happy with these cookies. And yes, they do get better the next day.

    Your fruit nut combo sounds yummy - I'll have to try that the next time.

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