Monday, April 03, 2006

Mondays with Maida - Polish Wedding Cakes


Page 118 in the old book / page 155 in the new book

Polish Wedding Cakes, which apparently also go by the name Mazurka, are sweet, crunchy cookies with a tangy apricot filling. The cookie alone has lots going for it - it is crumbly, buttery, loaded with brown sugar, and studded with walnuts, coconut and oats. The apricot filling is the icing on the cake (or in the cake, as the case may be), providing a moist middle and balancing the sweetness of the cookie. I thought they were delicious.

I decided to make do with the coconut I happened to have on hand - frozen fresh grated coconut. I used more by weight than called for in the recipe and than squeezed out most of the moisture after it thawed. I was very happy with the end result. I expect this coconut was not as sweet as the shredded coconut called for, but that was not a problem in these cookies, which are very sweet on their own. The coconut flavor was quite noticeable, but not at all overpowering.

I knew Denny would be out until Thursday, so I stuck one cookie in the freezer for him. I was pleased to learn that these freeze well. Here's the panel...

Suzanne: "I had this bar with my morning coffee and really enjoyed it. This was a great combination of oats, coconut, walnuts and the distinct apricot filling taste. Rating - 4.0"

Denny: "First off, there ain't no coconut trees in Poland and I've never seen one of these at a Polish wedding. However I would suggest growing some coconut trees in Poland as these were a 5. Flavorful and crunchy. I almost deducted a point for no chocolate, but I'm Polish and they're fantastic! Rating - 5.0"

Terri: "If these are served at Polish weddings, I'm going to find one to attend! These are absolutely delicious, but I really like desserts with apricots. In fact, these have all the ingredients that are my favorites - coconut, walnuts, and oats too. Rating - 5.0"

Laura: "Tasty and crunchy goodness. The apricot filling made certain there was the perfect amount of sweetness. Rating - 4.0"

Phil: "A chewy, tangy concoction with great texture but not quite sweet enough for this sweet tooth. Rating - 3.6"

Overall rating by the panel - 4.3

Next week - Viennese Marzipan Bars

Nutrition Facts

5 comments:

Nic said...

Oh, Phil was rough of these. I think that they sound fantastic!

Anonymous said...

I like the sound of a sweet, crunch cookie with the apricot filling... sound like something just perfect with coffee in the morning.

I got a great laugh out of what Denny said!

Jackie said...

Oh my yumm! This looks wonderful!

I think that you are a brave and resourseful woman to be using a drill too wind bobbins. I choked at the price too. But thankfully, a bobbin winder came bundled with my 45" loom, as did a bench and a bunch of yarns, which made it worth every penny of the $250 that I paid for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gustad said...

Mazurka sounds good

Cathy said...

Hi Nic - I know, I was sort of surprised since these were very sweet, it's just that the filling was very tangy (which I loved).

Hi Rowena - I did too! He's generally a man of few words (in cookie reviews that is), but on those occasions when he's really liked the cookie he seems to find his voice!

Hi Jackie - thanks! You know, since I first used my drill for winding bobbins six or seven years ago, I don't think it's been used for anything else! I am so jealous - that package deal you got sounds amazing! I would love to have a 45" loom, but would have no where to put it. Unless I were to fix up the basement... hmmm...

Thank you for stopping by!

Hi Gustad - thanks!