Monday, August 07, 2006

Mondays with Maida - Almond Spicebox Cookies


Page 148 in the old book / page 181 in the new book

OK, first off I must call your attention to the name of these cookies. I didn't get it until long after the cookies were out of the oven. Do you see it? They have almond and spice and they're icebox cookies, so.... Almond Spicebox Cookies. I like that.

Anyway, these cookies were crunchy and loaded with almonds, cinnamon and brown sugar - they reminded me of Jan Hagels, except that the almonds were on the inside. They were definitely crowd pleasers - who doesn't like cinnamon? The recipe made a huge batch, so there were plenty for the office to enjoy over two days and some for people to take home as well.

There was nothing unusual in the making of them. The only (slight) difficulty was in shaping the dough. The dough is soft and sticky, so it is spooned onto the wax paper, the paper is folded over it, and then you press the dough into shape (rather than shaping with your hands and then wrapping it). Others of the icebox cookies have been shaped in this way, but this dough was softer than most and I had a little trouble with it. Once frozen, slicing was no problem.

Here's the panel...

Suzanne: "Delicious! I actually ate two cookies. I usually limit myself to one. Trying to keep my girlish figure. The cookie tastes like a thin ginger bread cookie with thinly sliced almonds. The shape was long like a lady finger and the cookie had a crunch to it, but the cookie melted in your mouth. I loved this cookie. Cathy has broadened my horizons. In the past I would have only rated a cookie with chocolate in it as a 5, but I will give this cookie a 5. Rating- 5.0"

Denny: "Very good. Crunchy and not too much spice. -1 for no chocolate. Rating - 3.8"

Laura: "A wonderful blend of cinnamon and other spices, brown sugar and almonds. Delicious! Rating - 4.0"

Herman: "This week’s cookies were/are DELICIOUS … I rate them 5 out of 5 as they obviously delighted my palette! Rating - 5.0"

Overall rating by the panel - 4.5

Next week - Anise Icebox Cookies

Nutrition Facts

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow Cathy! Even before I read the reviews I knew this one was going to be a winner...that pic is just awesome scrumptious!!! I'm like, yeah!

Amy said...

That sounds like my kind of cookie! I better be sure I have it marked in the book. I hope I can shape them as pretty as yours...

Cathy said...

Hi Rowena - thanks so much!

Hi Amy - I've found this oblong shape is the easiest of all, to slice and shaping something with flat sides is much easier than something round!

Cathy said...

Thanks Monisha!

Rosa said...

I used to always buy these at the grocers. Love them. Thanks for the tip on photoshop. It's coming along, but sloooowly!!

Cathy said...

Hi Rosa - I hadn't had jan hagels in ages or even seen them in the store, so I was happy to find this recipe was so similar. Good luck with Photoshop!