Maya's Day of the Dead Cookies
We recently had pavers installed out front and back of the house which had to be sealed which meant I was held hostage in the house for 6 hours. What does one do when there is so much to be done around the house and the perfect opportunity arises to actually get something accomplished? Bake of course!!
This recipe comes from a blog which my daughter follows and I was looking for a treat to make so that I could "BOO" her. If you don't know what "BOO-ing" is check it out here. This recipe is credited to Alice Medrich from her book - A Year in Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts. You cannot go wrong with an Alice Medrich recipe. My first cookbook in the baking genre was Cocolat by Ms. Medrich which I posted about back in February. I have to say that because of her simple and wonderful recipes I have flourished in the baking spectrum.
These cookies are made up of a vanilla and chocolate dough. You will need to freeze the chocolate dough till firm before shaping for it is much softer than the vanilla dough. As I was shaping and piercing holes in the chocolate dough I was thinking why not leave the chocolate dough solid since you place the vanilla dough atop the chocolate. As I reviewed my recipe again, it says to do just that. Shape and freeze. No piercing!! Thank goodness - for it did not fare well; my dough cracked and fell apart. I was quite happy to re-roll and re-shape this dough!
Success meter (1-3): 3
The chocolate dough is a much tackier, softer dough
than the vanilla and needs to be placed in the
freezer till firm enough to shape.
Skull taking shape!
"I dont want to go in the oven..."
The Tools: handle of pastry brush to shape the eyes,
wooden skewer for the nose, a knife for the mouth,
and floss to slice the logs.
Back side of log....hmmmm
So not working! Good thing you are not supposed to
make facial features in the chocolate dough.
With each slice the facial features became less and less existent.
You will have to rework them after layering.
Not quite as I had hoped...
but better than expected!
Happy Halloween Ash!!!
