TWD: Pink Grapefruit Tart

(I'm still on time with this post :-)

I am always a bit reluctant from making tarts because I never manage to make the dough really right. But this dough was good to handle for me, although I didn't manage to roll and fit it in the shell (it broke while transferring). So I went half rolled dough half pressing dough and it was all rigth like that. I like the texture and taste of the dough so I think I am going to stay with this recipe as often as I can.

I also like the filling of the Pink Grapefruit Tart very much. Like with many tarts, you can prepare all the parts seperately and that can be a big advantage (if you have not so much time but are organized enough to start one or two days ahead) but also a disadvantage (if you are not so organized but would have time). I started two days ahead and that gave me plenty time for all the cooling periods needed here.

I did not really get the idea of the almond-lemon cream. My cream more or less "baked in", i.e. made something like a second layer to the tart shell. Ok - but what for? First I thought it is for preventing the tart shell to get soggy. But it is also a "dough" and does not have the consistence of a chocolate or at least jam layer. Anyhow - the taste was great, so why not?

The cremeux is mervellous! I like the light pink colour and also it's taste. I don't think the pictures give the colour as bright eas it was in realiyt. I used Aperol instead of Martini because that was what I had at hand - and I don't think it makes a difference. Maybe Aperol is a bit sweeter.

Preparing the fruit topping was aweful. I don't think I would do this ever again. Even though it is clearly worth all the mess. But I am a lazy baker. And as long as I don't find canned, stripped and ready-to-use- grapefruits, I will have to use other fruits for the next try.
But - as I said - I am a very lazy baker, so if you don't mind a bit more extra effort to have a very much extra looking tart, you should try it!

Have a look at the groups page to see the wonderful results of the other bakerds and buy the book by Dorie Greenspan for getting the recipe (p. 138)

PS.: I also made kind of a Crème Bruleed Chocolate Bundt from Baking with Julia (p 280-281), but, uhm, I didn't do the Crème Brulee, so I guess it doesn't count :-)

TWD: Mocha Brownie Cake

This is one of a great cake! It's not really what I would call a brownie - but it is an excellent chocolate cake. With a fabulous decadent chocolate ganache/glaze.

It is plain and simple in one way (because it is nothing more than a chocolate cake with chocolate cream), and sublime and oppulent in another (because it has three cake layers and the ganache/glaze is very rich). However you want to see it - the Mocha Brownie Cake is awesome!

Baking time was just like the recipe says. The cake and the cream are simple in the making. The only tricky point may be when you cut the cake in layers. Using a cake leveler helps a lot in this respect :-)




 


I made one normal cake but had more batter than needed (my mold is smaller then the recipe calls for) - therefore I also made a small heart-shaped cake with only one ganache-layer and some minis (baked in mini guglhupf molds) with a jam layer in the middle.
Not exactly what the recipe calles for, but great :-) With the jam it comes very close to Sacher Torte in its taste, a Viennese classic.

I can only recommend doing this one! It is far more simple than I thought it would be and the ganache/glaze really works fine! For the recipe, have a look on pp. 282/283 in the book by Dorie Greenspan. And step by the TWD group to see what the other bakers created this week!

TWD. Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

I adore cheesecakes, but am not such a huge fan of chocolate cheesecakes - maybe because I am not a big chocolate-lover in general. I always doubt that chocolate makes the sublime, wonderful taste of a cheesecake better. No need for improvement , in my view!

But I was willing to give this a try. What I do like is that is fast in the making, compared to other cheesecakes. There is no crust, so no pre-baking. Just cookie-crumbling, that's it.
Chilling is a bit longer and I doubt that leaving the cake in the fridge for more than one day (what I had to do) is good for the cookie bottom. It gets soggy.

The Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake is what it sounds like - a very rich, chocolatey cheesecake.
Next time, I would prefer to do the basic receipe without the chocolate part, but I am sure this is my personal trouble with chocolate ;-)

For everybody else I can just recommend to give it a try - it is fast, it is delicious, and the creamcheese/mascarpone-combo is heavenly!

For the recipe, have a look at Dorie Greenspans book on pp. 256-258 and to find out how other bakers liked the recipe, and what wonderful creations they made of it, see the "Leave your link" section on our TWD-group blog.

Update: ALL my colleagues LOVED this one. All. No exception. So, forget everything I sad about it and just do it, try it, enjoy it and ignore me chocolate-grinch :-)

TWD: Vanilla Chiffon Roll

I like chiffon rolls, I like vanilla - I like these Vanilla Chiffon Rolls.
Usually, I guess I would do them with a jam-layer instead of a chocolate-nut-mousse, but why not try something else?

I had so much dough, my cake turned out too high. So I cut the cake in two layers and made two rolls. Like that, I had enough mousse for my taste but less than in the picture in the book.

Baking time was much longer but maybe I used a too small baking pan and the longer baking time was due to the height of the cake. Anyhow, I had no troubles handling the cake.

It is a bit time-consuming, but you can prepare the mousse and cake in advance.

I can imagine to use the cake dough for other variations as well. The mousse might not be my favourite, but I am no chocolate fan in general, so I don't blame the mousse. :-)

For the recipe have a look at Dorie Greenspans book on pp. 277-279 - and to see how beautiful this recipe can turn out when more experienced and better bakers do it, have a look at the TWD-group-page!

TWD: Double Chocolate Cookies

This cookie-recipe was unfamiliar for me. You have to beat the eggs and sugar and fold in the dry ingredients into the thick batter. But the batter is extremely tasty and the cookies worked out fine! It gets really dense while chilling, so you can easily spoon it on the baking sheets.

I also used some white chocolate just because I had leftovers - and therefore ended up with "triple" chocolate cookies.

Maybe I should have chilled the dough a bit longer (mine was in the fridge for about four hours) because I had to bake the cookies  a bit longer and they cracked as usually cookies do - despite the recipe says they won't. They also didn't firm completely but kept a chewy texture.

But they did taste great and for are really, really great chocolate cookies!

For the recipe for Double Chocolate Cookies, buy the book by Dorie Greenspan and have a look at pp. 329/330!

TWD: X-Cookies

I'm not a native english speaker, so the recipes we bake are sometimes challenging for me. Although I learned a lot during these past years of baking I still have troubles sometimes figuring out what the author wants to tell me. And while I claim to be as good a non-native can be when it comes to speak about politics, economy or football - I still have serious troubles in understanding the directions for shaping a dough. In this respect, while the recipe itself for the X-Cookies was no that difficult, this recipe was not made for me. Seriously, up to now I have no idea what I should have done with the dough and the filling.

Therefore (and because I am kind of clumsy anyways and shaping a dough nicely is not one of my strenght), at some point I decided to forget about X-es and do what I can: shape filled logs and cut them in rugelach-style.

I'm sorry I didn't even nearly do what I should have done, but I really didn't get it.

So, see here my version of X-cookies, the rugelach-way.

Oh, before I forget it: cookies and filling are excellent! A bit christmas-ish, already, with the figs, nuts, cinnamon and chocolate, but really excellent!

For the recipe, have a look at p. 318 in Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking with Julia". And to find out, what X-Cookies really should look like, turn to the other bakers blogs!

TWD: Boca Negra

Beware of this "cake"! Once you taste it, you will never be able to stop from taking another piece, unless everything is eaten. I'm really not sure if the name "cake" is even allowed for this delight, as it is more or less nothing else than chocolate, butter and sugar. Chocolate-in-cake-shape is maybe a more appropriate term. (but I doubt this name will make it's way ;o])

The Boca Negra is a wonderful chocolate creation. I used about 400g mixed chocolate (200g 75% chocolate, 100g 80% chocolate, 70g Dolfin coffee-chocolate (great chocolate!!) and 30g couverture - just what  had at hand). I found it very exhausting to stir in the butter, as the chocolate-alcohol mix is only slightly warm and cooles fast. After the second piece I was tires, and eight more waited to be included. I put the pot on my induction stove on the lowest level and that helped a little. Still, it takes long time until all the butter dissappears in the chocolate.



Baking time was a bit longer, but my cake-form is also slightly bigger than the recipe asks for, so I used a bit more of everything and the longer baking time did not come as a surprise.

Because I had leftovers, I decorated the Boca Negra with white chocolate flakes. In my view, the cake needs some decoration because the top itself  is not very pretty.

The result is a moist chocolate-"cake". I let it wait in the refrigerator until the next day and similar to chocolate-heavy brownies the texture changes slightly to more fudgy. Great!

The white-chocolate-cream was very good, but I had to beat it after it was could so it gets the consistence as in the picture in the book. Next time, I would use less chocolate because the cream is very, very sweet, alsmost too sweet for my taste, and the cake is sweet enougb for itself.

After all, this was an easy but time-consuming recipe, worth any effort, highly appraised from everybody at the office, a winner, a riskless cake for any occassion, birthday, new years eve, whatsoever. Go to grab the recipe at Cathys blog 'A Frederick Food Garden', who is our host this week, or buy the book by Dorie Greenspan and have a look at pp. 253/254.

TWD rewind: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart and World Peace Cookies

I didn't do the Bagels lately, so I made two rewinds in October. Both recipes I wanted to try for a long time.

The Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart ist just marvellous. It is a bit work, because you have to chop nuts, prepare the caramel and make the chocolate ganache. But once you have all the parts ready, you just have to assemble them - and you're done! I stored it over night in the fridge and think this was a really good idea. Like that, the ganache got more dense and eventually a different texture to what was foreseen in the recipe. But it also gives you the chance to have a chocolate ganache that can be cut with a knife and a tart-filling that does not run out.

I liked it very muched, but would salt the caramel even more next time because I just love salt in sweets!
Besides: This was the first time I really REALLY managed the tart dough! Hooray! Finally! For the recipe, have a look at Carla of Chocolate Moosey who did host the week of Sept 29th 2009 (click), or buy the book by Dorie Greenspan and go to pp. 355-357.

My second rewind are World Peace Cookies. I am not so much a chocolate lover (funny both recipes this week are heavily chocolate loaded, though). But I wanted to try these because they are one of these "special" recipes. Some recipes in Dorie's book are paired with a special story, a very personal one. Like the Chocolate Armagnac Cake. The Rugelachs. Or - the World Peace Cookies. So I gave them a try.

For chocolate cookies, they are quite good. I'm not a chocolate lover, but a big shortbread/sablé-fan so I liked these. They are easy in the making. I used half bittersweet chocolate and half orange-infused bittersweet chocolate with tiny candied dried orange pieces.

Baking time was somewath shorter (more lik 6-10 mins, depending on the batch).
As so often, they do not look perfect but I really liked the texture - the cookie itself is more on the dry side, but there are very soft chocolate pieces in it, and I like texture-mixes.

Sorry for the bad pic. I am unable to get good pictures of chocoalte cookies. But if you google "World peace Cookies" and "Tuesdays with Dorie" you will get a hole lot of  of brilliant pictures! Some of them are by Jessica of cookbookhabit who did host the week of Feb. 3rd 2009 in "TWD-the first season". She has the recipe in her blog - or have a look on pp 138/139 in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking - From my home to yours".

TWD: Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

I started the new generation of "Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia" with a  shortfall. I was on the road and didn't plan ahead, so I missed the first recipe of a long, long list of recipes to come. But I love bread baking, therefore I will for sure catch up with the White Loafs!

But let's talk about this week. The new rules for TWD include we only do two recipes a month, an easier one and one that is more difficult. The Chocolate Truffle Tartlets are for sure on the more difficult, at least more time-consuming, side.

I am not a huge fan of tarte-baking - not that I don't like them, au contraire! But I am the biggest looser in tart shell baking. This dough recipe took me a long, long time do do (I did freeze it a bit longer, shaved it and pressed the curls in the form. Time consuming, but easy!) And in the end it is the first tarte dough I managed not to burn or ruin in another way.  - I like!

The filling sounds more than decadent - and meets the expectations also in taste!

I had to do some changes: Instead of Cantuccini I used milk-nut chocolate and sesame brittle because that was what I had at hand. I made one big tarte instead of 6 tartlets, because I don't posess 6 tartlet forms. I don't think it made a big difference. I increased baking time to about 20 mins. Maybe I should have added  a bit more, because the filling was very, very moisty, almost liquid. But oh so good!! Think Mousse au chocolat made of theree different chocolates with crunchy pieces in tarte. Mhhhh!
I chilled it and brought it to my office the next day. The texture was different, more chewy, but again more than yummi!

It was really worth all the fuzz I had with the tart shell!

You may find the recipe on pages 382-383 in "Baking with Julia" or on the pages of this weeks hostesses:   Steph, Spike, Jaime and Jessica.

TWD-rewind: Rugelach (and Chipster-Topped Brownies)

We're on the finishing-line with the book and as there is only one recipe left (which Dorie herself did chose), we had a rewind-week. Rewind weeks are nice - on the one hand side. They give me the opportunity to catch up with one of the many, many recipe that were on the schedule long before I joined the group back in autumn 2009. But on the other side they leave you with at least one week of questions, doubt and indecisiveness. Which one is the one I really, REALLY want to try? Which one sounds the most appealing to me, is storable overnight and will please the colleagues at work?

One recipe that fulfills all the conditions are the Rugelachs, originally picked by Piggy of Piggy’s Cooking Journal for November 4, 2008. Find the recipe on her blog or in Dorie's book on p. 150-151.
I was tempted to bake them ever since I held the book in my hands for the very first time. What kept me away was the double chilling time in-between. I don't mind if recipe involve a lot of steps and need some time - as long as everything happens in one time-period. I am just too impatient to wait - even though some of my favourites are shortbread and brioche recipes.
But this time, the last rewind-week, I had to do them.

I made mine with orange marmelade, the one with large pieces of candied oranges in it. I used very finely chopped walnuts (and added some shredded nuts as well), swapped the raisins for dried cranberries and used much less chocolate (I took shaved bittersweet chocolate, the one you use for torte decooration). I had some problems rolling the dough into the right, kipferl-like shape. (Kipferl are sort of croissant in Austria. Maybe "crescents" are the most appropriate translation)
The turned out as one of the best recipes I ever made. They fulfilled every expectation and I am glad I made them "my" last pick. My colleagues were delighted, too. "One of your top-three. Ever" was one of the comments. And three people asked for the recipe. Asking for the recipe doesn't happen very often at my office and only for recipes that really, really did score well.

I also made a batch of Chipster-Topped Brownies, because I was just in the mood for. They, too, were a big hit and I am also very much in love with them. My brownies mostly turn out well, but I am unable to picture them adequately, so I spare you from ugly picture - just imagine a wonderful, soft and moisty chocolate bottom topped with a cookie dough layer with mixed in mini-chocolate- and mini-peanutbutter chips and some Reeses peanut-butter pieces. Sounds decadent? Then it sounds rigth! It was Beth of "Supplicious" who did choose this great recipe for TWD- if you are interested in the recipe, have a look at her blog or go to Dorie's book, pp 94/95.

What a great week, what great recipes!

TWD: Bittersweet Brownies

The very last Brownies - and maybe the best (at least of the brownie recipes since I joined TWD)
They are fudgy, but not too much, and pure chocolat delight.

I followed the recipe exactly as written in Dorie's book on p.90. If you don't have the book (you should!!) got to Leslie's blog Lethally Delicious. She picked the Bittersweet Brownies for this week's TWD.

As we have double-hostings in this in the following month, Jessica of Cookbook Habit chose Alsatian Apple Tart (page 314 in the book). As I am horrified by tarte-doughs I didn't dare to do it. But I am a bit sorry for it, because I spent my exchange semester in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace. And as much as I am afraid of doing tartes, I like eating them equivalently. Have a look here how it did turn out for all the other bakers!

PS.: Sorry, I have absolutely not a single good picture of them. Just imagine wonderful, soft, chocolate-ey brownies and you got a picture :o]

TWD: Ginger-Jazzed Brownies

If you like ginger and if you like chocolate this is the perfect recipe for you!
These Ginger-Jazzed Brownies, chosen for this week's TWD by Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker are not very fudgy, but a bit more soft than really cake-like brownies.
For my taste preferences, they could have been even a bit more moisty. And even a bit more ginger-y.

I am a ginger-lover since some years now, therefore I was very much looking forward to this recipe, and didn't get dissappointed. I dressed them up a bit with a chocolate glaze and some chopped candied ginger.

I wonder if you could swap the corn syrup for honey and the chocolate glaze for lemon glaze as both are usually a good flavour combo with ginger. Next time, I'll try these changes!

For the recipe turn to Hindie's page or have a look into Dorie's book on p. 101.

TWD: Classic Brownies

Back after two weeks in Chicago and New York - great summer holiday! Even though Irene almost destroyed it. But only almost.

The name of the recipe "hits the nail by it's head", as we like to say in Austria: These Classic Brownies are indeed what you would expect from brownies you call "classic": an easy, simple in the making, basic recipe that results in good, just right brownies. I kept the nuts fairly big and did chop them only very coarsely, because the picture in the book also shows relatively big pieces. And it was good like that! I baked them slightly longer then the recipe calls for (abour 40mins insetad of 33), and they turned out cracky on the surface and smooth-soft in the middle. Exactly what a classic brownie should be like!

(event though I have to admit: the brownies I like most are very, very soft and chewy in the middle, and cake-like brownies are not my kind of treat - but these weren't cake-like, just a good middle-of-the-road between cake-like and completely soft)

Not much more to say about them. Find the recipe on Anne's page, who opted for this recipe to be the TWD-group's duty for this week, or have a look into Dorie's book on pp. 88-89.

TWD: Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet

Doing icecream is one of my favourite things to do in summer. I especially like doing french-style icecream, which is not for everybody, as it involves uncooked eggs you have to temper. But I like the creaminess of custard-based icecream more and for me, in the end it is easier to handle. I don't have an ice-machine, therefore Philadelphia style icecream tends to get too hard and have too many ice-crystals.

The same is true for sorbets and sherbets. Therefore, the recipe for Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet choosen by Steph for this weeks TWD was an "oh, I don't know, can't I just make ice-cream?"-recipe. But I decided to stick to my "duties" and try it out. And I am glad I did. The sorbet is in fact a sherbet, as it includes dairy (milk), and ice-crystals were no problem - I guess thanks to the fat in the chocolate. It is really a creamy sorbet - yes, these kind of things exist! :o]
Find the recipe in Dorie's book on p. 431 or go to Steph's page "A Whisk and A Spoon".

I made some fresh/dried-apricot icream (combined from the two recipes in David Lebovitz' "Perfect Scoop"), too, so I am going to bring this mix tomorrow to my office, sprinkled with some roasted pinenuts. If my colleagues don't like it, they don't deserve it!!

This recipe is really a good alternative to "real" icecream because it is so much faster, easier, and does not involve so many pots, bowls and utensils.

TWD: Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Big surprise!

First surprise: I thought we have chocolate cookies on the schedule, this week again. Didn't read the monthly preview thoroughly.
Second surprise: I am not a huge chocolate lover, so I would never make chocolate muffins on my own. But - I really really liked these!

For the melted chocolate I used bittersweet as in the recipe. But for the chunks I used white chocolate. Not extremely creative, I know, but a bit. Looking at the dough I had the feeling, some more chocolate chunks would do no harm. I took about 3 ounces - more would still have been no problem. Afterwards I saw that some other members also recommended to use more chunks.

Well, I ended up with pretty good Dark-White Chocolate Chunk Muffins, some of the few ones I really like!

Thanks to Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles for chosing this unexpected good and easy recipe! Go to her page for the recipe, or have a look at page 18 in Dorie's book.

TWD: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

To begin with: These are not my favourite cookies. They taste like gingerbread or lebkuchen (not sure if there is a difference), event though I did omit the cinnamon.

Maybe it is my recent non-enthusiasm for chocolate. Maybe it is because I am not a huge fan of soft cookies in general and my cookies need "pieces" in it - more than some sprinkled dried cherries (what I used instead of the raisins. The chocolate-cherry combo just won me over when me made the Chocolate Biscotti some weeks ago).

After all - I like cake, I like cookies, I like sour cream, but the combination is not made for me. This is pretty sad, as they are easy to make.  They look a bit like Macaron shells, so maybe they are useful for "false macarons"?

But tastes are different, so let's see what my co-workers will say about them!

This week's "Tuesdays with Dorie" recipe was chosen by Spike of Spike Bakes. Go to her page for the recipe, or have a look at Dorie's book on page 160.

P.S.: Am I the onyl one who sees a comic-cat in the picture above? And a pig in the right picture???

TWD: Chocolate Biscotti

 Boy, this was a failure! I have no idea what went wrong. Maybe I had just a bad-baking-day. Guess that happens to the best of us...

The dough went together very easily. I used dried sourcherries, because the chocolate-cherry-combo did sound extremely appealing to me

The baking time was far too long for my dough. No idea what went wrong. So I ended up with almost burnt logs, that were still so soft in the middle, that one of them broke up. How could that happen? Either I did bake it too long (would be an explanation for the almost black surface) or too short (what would be an explanation for the softness in the middle) - but both at a time?

Then I tried to cut them, what was impossible for about 2/3 of the dough.

Putting them back in the oven, for consolidation, it was clear that I had to shorten the baking time. Still, even 5 min. was too long.

So I ended up with about 6 or 7 acceptable biscotti, some "when I am generous you may call them mini-biscotti"-pieces and a whole lot of crumbs.Well, let's store them and make some cookie-icecream soon!

Nevertheless: The crumbs I tested did taste great. Biscotti dough with chocolate, almonds and dried cherries - a wonderful and excellent flavour combination. So don't blame the cookies for my lack af baking-abilities!

Sorry I can't give you better pictures for these (Cherry) Chocolate Biscotti, chosen for this week's TWD by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes. On her page you will not only find the recipe, but far better pictures!
(for the recipe you can also open Dorie's book on page 144)

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

This TWD week has two host: Caroline and Claire of Bake With Us chose Chocolate Oatmeal Drops (got there for the recipe or have a look at page 75 in Dorie Greenspan's book).

This is an excellent choice for this week, as Dorie herself will have been involved into heavy cookie baking this last week... I have been in NYC by chance, when the Cookie Bar did pop up last year. What a great experience! The cookies are great and it is nice watching Dorie and her son talking with baking friends.

So, now what about this week's TWD-recipe?
Generally, I love doing cookies, but I am not all too much into chocolate in the batter. I like chocolate chunks, I like chocolate chips, but I am not thrilled by chocolate cookie dough.

Taking this into account, these cookies are very good. The combo of dark chocolate cookies and oats is a fine one, and gives the cookies a special texture.

They are easy to prepare and don't need a lot of baking experience. But don't misinterprete them as "healthy", just because they have some fiber in it :o]

(P.S.: If you wonder why some of the Drops in the first picture seem to be completely pale - these are Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, originally due long time ago in September 2008. I was looking for a way to bake something with the oat-leftovers, and peanutbutter is my all-time-favourite baking ingredient, so the choice was easy!)

TWD: Chocolate (Fluff Filled) Madeleines

I have, as probably most of you, no Madeleine mold and really didn't wanted to buy some just for this recipe. But - I once brought my mother Calison-molds from Paris (explanation and pictures for Calissons), so I thought I am going to try it with this form.

For the filling: Marshmallow fluff is extremely rare in Vienna. I once saw it at an extremely high-end gourmet supermarket. With lemon curd it is the same. But I had a glas of chocolate spread, infused with Sicilian blood-oranges waiting since aeons in the cupboard...

No idea wheather the form made a difference, but anyhow, the Calisson-"Madeleines" turned out well, but when I tried to fill them, they were too dense and compact. Some broke, some were so solid, the filling came back out the pipe. So after some attempts I stopped and decided to go for plain "Madeleines" and top half of them with what was intended as the filling, and the other half with white chocolate ganache.

Taste and looks are fine, despite they are not what the recipe has foreseen. But as always - the not-predicted is sometimes the best :o]

Thanks to Margo of Effort to Deliciousness who was so brave to choose this TWD-recipe for Chocolate Fluff Filled Madeleines. You can find the recipe on her page, or in Dorie's book on page 170 and 171.

TWD: Midnight Crackles

 Cookies! Yeah! Haven't had them on the TWD-schedule for some time... Midnight Crackles are pure chocolate. They come with not much more than a whole lot of bittersweet chocolate and cocoa. Sounds like great chocolate cookies, not too sweet, but chocolatey ad nauseam. Good, huh?

Well. The cookies where a pain in the making and didn't turn out well. :o[  The options where I may have failed:

I used less sugar. Because all the recipes always turn out very, very sweet for my taste, and for that of all my colleagues. I started to mostly use less sugar than asked for. This time, I maybe went too far.
The batter didn't come together. Not. At. All. I had individual crumbles like shortcake-crust for tartes. I included another egg. That was a slight improvement. But I wasn't able to get somehting like one piece of dough before I mixed it with some water. Then, the consistency was as described in the book.

But, after chilling the dough for 2 hours (much longer than most other bakers recommended), it was still a soft, smooth dough. So I had no problem to scoop and form it, but: despite the softness, my balls didn't really stick together.

Somehow I managed to roll balls and press them softly (see again the hints from other bakers) on the baking sheet. But: After about 8 minutes, not a single ball had spread. They remained in their shape. That's not what a cookie should look like! I took a spatula and pressed them flat. That was about the moment when I thought: What a mess. Nothing did work properly today. Nothing. I had to fudge on these cookies in every step.

At least, in the end they looked like cookies should in my world. But the first bite from a still slightly-warm cookie: disappointment. Sometimes cookies seem to absorb some taste from the cookie-scented air in the kitchen while cooling. So, let's wait and taste again later. --- Later: No difference. The cookies taste bland and boring. Not sweet at all. No good not-sweet-at-all like shortbread, just ... flavourless. Don't ask me. No idea how I managed to mess so completely up with them.

I am sure the problem is all on my side, so have a look at the perfect Midnight Crackles from all the other gifted TWD'ers, and especially at wep-pages of Laurie of Slush and Jules of Someone’s In the Kitchen, a.k.a. our wonderful TWD-team who can't get enough thanks and thumbs-up for their great work and devotion! There (or in Dorie's book on page 74)  you will also find the recipe as it was their turn for TWD-birthday to choose this week.

Interestinlgy, they really look much better than they taste. And: I tried them with orange marmelade and this is really a winner-combination! So, a mess in between, a dissappointment for the plain cookies, but in the end I can close with a slightly positive balance sheet.