high-bar baking

I felt like an after school special when the lid and the freshness seal of the cookie butter came off in my hand without even trying. I looked around like, “Did anyone else just see that?” Because now I have a choice to make. The cookies themselves didn’t require any cookie butter, they used crushed Biscoffs instead, but the glaze on top did. And I had plans for it later in the week. And… I like to eat it.

But I tried some, and it tasted a little off. So like my good character on the after school special I was helping film, alone, in my apartment, where no one could see, I got rid of the jar. With no small amount of disappointment. No glaze for the cookies today. 

This recipe was Biscoff Cookies with Biscoff Glaze (psych!) from Maria Lichty’s Let’s Eat Cookies. I went through and pulled the Biscoff recipes, because while I’m not sure if I can forgive her for not including weights in her cookbook (good God, man!), those recipes would give her the best shot. Glaze or not, I was very happy with them. 

I did a little experiment in my kitchen to see what amount of flour fluff-scoop-and-level would yield for me, and I got 133 grams. I chose to go ahead with 142g though, because that’s the amount I feel most comfortable with. No problems there. 

I disagree with her characterization to beat the butter and sugars “until smooth.” That should be, in all recipes unless there’s an explicit reason not to, “until light and fluffy.” That air matters. Leaveners act on the air that you’ve beaten into the butter and the sugar (and they do their own air too, but the butter-sugar air matters!). This is your moment to go hard in the paint. Before the egg, though. Egg air is unstable and too much of it will cause a post-oven collapse (think soufflé). So get it in before the egg arrives to the party. 

It doesn’t take much to make me happy where Biscoff cookies are concerned. Biscoff cookie-cookies are even more fun.

A friendly reminder that Rome was not built in a day, for whoever needs to hear that. No matter how good your intentions are, don’t burn yourself out on day one because you can’t go as fast as you wanted to. It’s going to be ok. Have a cookie.