Once I had them mixed up the dough looked too gooey. I have had this problem with the Farm Journal cookie recipes before and I am not sure if it is a flaw in the cookbooks or the age of them. Flour and other ingredients are different now than they were fifty years ago. Anyway I adjusted the flour up a bit and ended up with cakey cookies. I prefer my cookies chewy so maybe that is why I was a little disappointed. The flavor was awesome but the texture was not my favorite.

The cookies were sweet but wanted something a little extra. I made a browned butter glaze to put on them and then they were just a bit too sweet. Sigh.

I sprinkled turbinado sugar lightly over the top and then added finishing salt. In the future I will add smoked finishing salt…but Eureka! I had it.

These are a lot more rich than you might think they are at first. Even my family, although they each have a sweet tooth of prehistoric proportions, was unable to finish off the batch. A miracle! The few that did survive until day 2 were not quite as good, but the weather has been very humid and things go stale/soggy fast.

Butterscotch Walnut Cookies with Salted Brown Butter Glaze

• 21/2 cups of flour (I used 3)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs vinegar
• Enough milk to make one cup when added to the vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place silpat over cookie sheets
2. Stir together dry ingredients
3. Add vinegar to 1 cup measure. Add enough milk to make one cup
4. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy
5. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
6. Add vanilla
7. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour
8. Stir in walnuts
9. Drop by tablespoons onto prepare cookie sheets
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until puffy and golden
11. Cool

Browned Butter Glaze

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Heavy cream as needed
• Turbinado sugar
• Smoked finishing salt

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and continue to cook, stirring, until it becomes golden brown
2. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter. This will immediately stop the browning process so it doesn’t continue to cook and end up scorched
3. Stir in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth
4. Add heavy cream as needed for a spreadable consistency
5. Spread on cooled cookies
6. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and salt

Makes 4 dozen or so

images:marye audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

These cookies, well the original, have quite a following. They are available only in the Baltimore area or by mail, and the recipe seems to be a closely guarded secret. Others have tried to come close but it just doesn’t ever seem to be quite right.

These are intensely vanilla, soft and cakey, moist, with a thick layer of chocolate ganache on top. If they aren’t what you are looking for, you still might like to give them a try and tweak the recipe to be a bit closer. Eventually we will get it right, I am sure.

Expect these to disappear quickly. Very quickly.

And do me a favor? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Berger Cookies a la Baking Delights

Makes 24- 48  depending on how big you make them

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups buttermilk

2 tsp. baking soda

5 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tbs vanilla

Cream sugar, butter and eggs. Add vanilla. Sift together flour, salt soda, and baking powder and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Drop by tablespoon fulls on greased cookie sheets, or sheets covered with parchment or silicone.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cookies spring back when touched.

Let cool.

Frosting

6 oz milk chocolate chopped

6 oz dark chocolate chopped

6 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped

1 c heavy cream

Bring heavy cream just to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly, to a thick but spreadable consistancy. Smear over tops of cookies in a thick, 1/2 inch layer.

Post from: Baking Delights