Mondays with Maida - Caraway Crisps

Page 147 in the old book / page 180 in the new book

I have to admit, I had my doubts about these cookies going in. I had never used caraway in cookies before and don't generally associate caraway with sweets. I envisioned a repeat of the poppy seed fiasco. But come to think of it, caraway seeds are really wonderful in Irish Soda Bread, and that's a little sweet, right? More importantly, these cookies have just two teaspoons of caraway seeds while those poppy seed cookies had one whole cup of seeds.

As it turns out, the caraway provides a lovely accent to the crisp lemon cookies. It isn't at all overpowering and is really only noticeable when you bite into a seed. I never would have thought to put lemon and caraway together, but it works very well.

One note about making these cookies: they're very easy to make, but don't be alarmed when after mixing all the ingredients together you have a bowlful of crumbly cookie dough! The dough comes together quickly when you squeeze it and knead it with your hands for just a minute or two. Even better, it is quite easy handle and shape into a roll.

Here's the panel...

Suzanne: "I liked that the cookie was thin and crunchy with a lemony flavor. I even liked the taste of the caraway with the lemon. I actually liked the cookie until the last bite when a whole caraway seed caught in my back molar. All I could think of was that you can’t eat this cookie when you are with a group of people unless you don’t mind picking your teeth in front of everyone. Rating- 3.0"

Denny: "If I wasn't a Polack, I probably wouldn't have tried them. Caraway in a cookie! What!! Actually, the caraway blended well with the tartness of the lemon. Kinda smoothed it out. Very good, with only my normal 1 point deduction for not being chocolate. 4.0. Now, Chocolate Caraway Crisps might be a 5.0. Rating - 4.0"

Laura: "Yummy cookie, although I don't care for the flavor of the caraway seeds in the cookies. Rating - 3.0"

Terri: "These wafer-thin cookies have a delicious combination of lemony flavor and caraway. I'm not a big fan of caraway seeds (since they get caught in my teeth!), but these cookies had just the right amount of seeds. They're more on the crunchy side then chewy. Delicious! Rating - 3.5"

Overall rating by the panel - 3.4

Next week - Almond Spicebox Cookies

Nutrition Facts