Saturday, April 9, 2011

Cookie experiment

Have you ever tried to recreate something you ate at a restaurant? I've been dying to find a recipe for Italian almond cookies like the ones at Vaccaro's Italian Bakery in Little Italy, Baltimore. They are amazing. Chewy, super almondy, and just delicious! I've looked at all the recipes in my books at home and never found anything that sounded right. Andrew found this recipe and I've given it a try. The super almond flavor is from almond paste, which is a little pricey, but definitely has the right flavor.

I halved the recipe but actually had about 2 oz. less of the paste than I needed. I'm hoping that is not a terminal loss. The cookies are turning out ok, much flatter than the originals though. I'm not sure that is because of the missing paste though. What makes a cookie flat vs. rounder and puffy? Anyone know? Is it flour? Eggs? Type of sugar?

So, they taste perfect, but since they are flat, there's not as much chewiness available. Still happy though! Now I need some will power to keep from eating a dozen of them tonight!

The Vaccaro's cookie is in the middle, see it's shape?
Here are mine cooking on the sheet:

2 comments:

  1. Ooh yum! I'm not sure what makes cookies "puffier" but I have a hunch it's the amount/type of flour? I'm sure if you google it you can find out...

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  2. Actually, I was listening to an episode of The Splendid Table awhile back (on NPR), and this was the topic of the hour! They said the type of shortening has everything to do with it. The use of shortening vs. butter vs. margarine is what decides how fluffy or flat your cookie turns out. A quick google check reminds me that margarine and shortening have a higher melting point, so they lead to a puffier/chewier cookie (which many baking articles scoff at as less desirable), while butter leads to more "evenly baked" and crispier cookies.

    My roomie used to make this incredible oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and to get it chewy and fluffy, she made them LARGE (2-3 times more cookie dough than would go in a typical cookie), and shortened the baking time. Play with the recipe a little, and let me know how it goes!

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