I had a disastrous cooking session on Thursday when I decided to make my cookies for this month’s IMBB (hosted by Jennifer, she’s having a busy month!). I had decided to make some German Cinnamon Star Cookies from a recipe that I’d clipped out of a magazine a couple of years ago. The recipe looked quite reasonable (and beautiful – the cookies were supposed to have a snowy white baked meringue topping) and I couldn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t work, so I hunted high and low for some star cutters (this is a tale in it’s own right, and a lesson as to why you should call shops before you set out on a cold day) and went for it.
Alas, my cookies looked decidedly amaturish. I think a toddler could have done a better job – I bet the points wouldn’t have fallen off their stars…. The meringue topping was supposed to develop a crust which would allow you to cut the cookies cleanly; however, after letting the dough sit on the counter for the maximum of 3 hours my dough wasn’t exactly crusty. I let it sit for as long as I dared before giving in and just cutting it. The cookies looked thoroughly miserable, sitting on the baking sheet with trailing lines of meringue everywhere…. I had to stick the points back on the big stars I’d cut, and the shooting stars looked more like palm trees. At least the holly leaves looked vaguely recognisable.
The cookies did taste good once baked – there was a very strong cinnamon flavour in the base, toned down slightly with ground almonds and candied citrus peel with a lemon-y meringue on top. However, they just looked plain awful. Especially the ones that scorched in the second I looked away from the oven. And even worse than their looks, was the mess they left behind in the kitchen.
So, yesterday I decided to make something else. Something much less fiddly that definitely didn’t involve cutters. I wound up making “Phoebe’s Fabulous Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies” from the Friends Cookbook. If you’ve forgotten the episode (or have just never seen it), here’s what Phoebe has to say about her cookies:
PHOEBE: Ok, um, we haven’t known each other for that long a time, and, um, there are three things that you should know about me. One, my friends are the most important thing in my life, two, I never lie, and three, I make the best oatmeal raisin cookies in the world.
RACHEL: Ok, thanks Pheebs. Oh my God,
PHOEBE: I know.
RACHEL: Why have I never tasted these before?
PHOEBE: Oh, I don’t make them a lot because I don’t think it’s fair to the other cookies.
RACHEL: All right, well, you’re right, these are the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had.
PHOEBE: Which proves that I never lie.
So… a challenge! Were these really the best oatmeal-raisin cookies in the world? After making them I can tell you that it was the easiest and quickest cookie batter I’ve thrown together. It would have been much faster if I wasn’t jotting down metric weights at the same time.
The cookies had a deliciously crisp exterior but were gorgeously chewy in the middle. Like an armadillo (Dave’s valuable observation). The raisins hadn’t dried out at all and were still nice and plump. The overall flavour was much more complex than the short ingredient list would suggest, it tasted as if there was a subtle spice blend in the cookies. Maybe my kitchen has a haze of spices floating through the air? At any rate, they were a definite hit! Very more-ish too.
I can’t say for sure that these are the best oatmeal-raisin cookies in the world, but they’re certainly the best ones I’ve tasted or made.
Phoebe’s Fabulous Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies, from “Cooking With Friends”
12 tablespoons (175g) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (160g) firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup (130g) white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (170g) rolled oats
1 1/4 cup (160g) plain flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (200g) raisins
Preheat oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5.
Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract; beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl combine oats, flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into butter mixture until just combined. Stir in raisins.
Drop the dough by heaped tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving a 2″ gap between each mound. [I used a dessert-spoon and made ovals rather than balls (quenelles, if we're being posh) as I heard that this caused the dough to spread less.]
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on sheet for at least a minute before transferring to a rack.
Cinnamon Star Cookies
Makes about 40.
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons lemon juice
350g icing sugar
100g mixed peel, chopped finely
300g ground almonds
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest, from an unwaxed lemon preferably
Whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Gradually add all of the icing sugar until stiff peaks are formed. Divide the mixture: one-third of the meringue needs to be reserved for the topping. Place in separate bowl and cover tightly.
Stir the peel into the meringue. Add 250g of the ground almonds (reserve the rest), cinnamon and lemon zest. Mix well with a spatula. You may need to use your hands to incorporate everything. Cover bowl and chill for 45 minutes.
Knead dough a couple of times. Sprinkle the worksurface with a layer of the reserved ground almonds. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/2cm. Evenly spread the reserved meringue on top with a pallete knife. Leave for at least one hour and up to three. The meringue needs to form a crust.
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180C.
Dip a 5cm star cutter into cold water to stop the meringue and paste sticking and cut out star shapes – as close together as possible to minimise waste.
Place the shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes on the lowest shelf in the oven. The top should remain white and the base should be slightly brown. Leave to cool. Store in a biscuit tin for up to 4 weeks.
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Phoebe’s Fabulous Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies were way too dry to begin with and fell apart as I tried to place them on the cookie sheet. They were not done after 12 minutes so cooked them another 2 min. I let them cool but they were crumbly and fell to pieces if I wasn’t really careful to place them very gently on the cooling rack. I don’t understand it? It can’t be blamed on the elevation…I live in the Midwest. Marsha
Hi Marsha –the only thing that I can think of is whether your initial creamed mixture was light enough. And were you using medium or large eggs? That can make quite a difference sometimes.
It’s been a long time since I made these cookies so I can’t quite remember how the batter felt. Sorry
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Oh, my! I’m so sorry your meringue cookies didn’t work out the way they were supposed to, Angela…but these Oatmeal Raisin ones do look and sound absolutely amazing. And Phoebe doesn’t lie, it’s true.
Thanks so much for joining in on the Cookie Swap!
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Angela,
sorry to hear about the cinnamon cookies… the recipe did sound interesting.
but oh my! I have to say, those oatmeal cookies look and sound stupendously good!
ahem… would you mind sending some over? ; )
oh, btw, just thinking aloud… do you think rolling the meringue dough out on a baking sheet and chilling it after the topping goes on will help at all with the cutting out of the cookie shapes perhaps?
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I love that you made Phoebes cookies! So cute!
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Wow, I’m so impressed that you didn’t let the mini-tragedy of the Star Cookies stop you from making something fabulous. I’m always game for a new oatmeal-raisin recipe…thanks!
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Hey Angela, any left for me? I have a tall glass of cold milk ready!
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Angela – they both sound delicious!! I remember the Friends episode very well and it’ll be fun to try the recipe for those famous cookies (and I do love oatmeal cookies). The cinnamon stars really sound interesting. I love that combination of flavors – reminds me of a recipe I have, but it has a lemon glaze rather than the meringue topping (much easier!).
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Oooh, I have the same cookbook! And that *is* one of my very favorite cookie recipes! Aren’t they great? Everyone I’ve given them to just loves them.
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Hi Phoebe,
I think the recipe of the cinnamon star cookies is a little bit strange. Normally you make the dough, cut the cookies and then brush the meringue on top of the cookies. I tried different recipes but the one I like best is a recipe from a famous patisserie in Vienna (Konditorei Demel) you can see here in my blog http://www.20six.de/Chili_und_Ciabatta/archive/2004/11/19/10urn9qa64gqv.htm
If you are interested I could translate the recipe for you – I hope you’ll understand my english
Greetings from Germany
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Thanks everyone!
Jennifer – it was my pleasure to take part
I had great fun!
Hi Renee – There’s plenty of cookies left, and they’re still yummy! I’d be happy to send some over
Chilling the dough and topping together sounds like a good idea. I did think afterwards that having the dough on a baking sheet and just pulling the leftover bits of dough away from around the shapes would have been good….
Hi AJ – Thanks! I love kitchz cookbooks like this
Hi Debbie – It was a bit of a tragedy, wasn’t it? Phoebe’s cookies are so yummy that I’ve almost forgotten all the heartache
Hi Viv! I’ll swap you some cookies for some of your yummy brownies!!
Hi Cathy – The Friends episode is one of my favourites, along with the one where Rachel loses her engagement ring in the pan of lasagna. I keep meaning to try one of Monica’s lasagne recipes from the book; all the recipes I’ve tried have been really successful.
Hi Anne – Isn’t it a fabulous book? I’m slowly working my way through all the recipes.
Hi Petra – I’d be very interested in a translation of your recipe. The one I used came from a German baker, so I thought it would be okay! They were still very tasty and have been devoured by our friends
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I think your stars look charming. But I can see that they would be disappointing. My sister and I used to make coloured sugar cookies to give as gifts to our then young nieces and nephews. I spent about an hour cutting small (about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide) angels and then molding coloured dough so that they were all playing different instruments or singing. The angels filled a large cookie tray. And (you’ve probably guessed by now) I burned them. I couldn’t bear to throw them out. They are a lovely mahogany colour – instead of white. I strung them and hung them on our Christmas tree.
coloured sugar cookie recipe:
http://ejmtph.crosswinds.net/recipes/chrcookies.html#sugar
As for star cutters, if you have such a thing as a “dollar store”, maybe you will luck out the way I did. For a dollar, I got a card that had 4 star cookie cutters nesting inside each other. The largest star is 4 inches across and the smallest is an inch across. Those star cutters are great!
Marsha Stein, your cookies were too dry because you cooked them for too long… The cookies will be soft when they are taken out of the oven but will harden as they cool down, leaving them soft and yummy on the inside. Leave them in the oven too long and the outside will already be dry, so they inside will dry as it cools down to compensate.
To understand it better, things don’t stop cooking as soon as they leave the oven. A chemical reaction is only over when everything stabilises ie room temperature for baking.
These are a firm family favourite since I started baking them… A special treat my mum uses to bribe my siblings with!
i just made these oatmeal raisin cookies, and i haven’t tried them yet, but i have high hopes, as i’ve tasted the batter and i know it’s good!
hey, do you live in the UK? if so, where abouts did you get the friends cookbook? i’m dying to get my hands on a copy but can’t seem to find it anywhere!
I made the oatmeal raisin cookies today, using polenta instead of flour (I’m wheat intolerant) and they are FABULOUS. Seriously, such a good recipe, one I’m keeping in my mind!!!
Just made the oatmeal raisin cookies with my daughter. Wow! Really lovely. Thanks.