Flowery Cookies For A Summer Party Recipe
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Flowery Cookies For A Summer Party
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions", ever hear that one? It's usually delivered by someone who's very, very disappointed in you, like Sister Mary Juanita who's noticed that the flowers you brought in to class so that you could have the honor of crowning The May Queen still have the roots on them... and dirt. And the lady down the street from you has called the school about the little girl who had climbed over her fence in her school uniform and was ripping flowers out of her front yard. It's not about you wanting to crown the statue of Mary, it's about flower thievery, and Mary doesn't roll that way.
So what did I learn from that? Don't break into the neighbors yard in your sailor collar, middy blouse and little navy blue beret with a stem, school uniform (note to Little Kathy: Next time go ninja.) And always have a back-up plan. Yes, the road to hell truly is paved with good intentions...it's also paved with desserts as I recently discovered.
So, as I was pouring my wretched, rancid, grainy-tasting pineapple pudding into the garbage, I realized I had company coming in a few hours, 7 or 8 dishes as part of my Indian dinner, and no dessert. I needed a back up plan. Fast.
I learned long ago when in doubt...make ice cream. The Cuisinart ice cream maker I bought a few years ago has been worth it's weight in gold or at least gelato, and whenever I'm in a pinch I grab it. I decided to make a rose water ice cream, but somehow it seemed like it wasn't going to be enough.
I turned to Lord Google and grabbed a cookie wave. It washed me ashore at the UK paper "The Telegraph" and their food writer Diana Henry. In among stories about who catered the Queen's Garden Party, (no, not Guy Fieri. Greggs) and a restaurant giving back a Michelin star to attract local diners who wanted lower prices... sort of like Lady Gaga taking the veil. Oh wait, she already has, multiple times...
In the middle of a this I found a recipe for rose pistachio biscuits, (cookies in Ammerricun) I was in!
Rosewater Pistachio Cookies
Here's what to do:
- In a large bowl mix together
- 1 stick of softened unsalted butter
- 4 and 1/2 Tbs of powdered sugar
- Beat them together with an electric mixer on low (mustn't over mix)
- Then add in:
- 1/4 cup of roughly ground unsalted pistachios
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1 Tbs rosewater
- Mix them in by hand (mustn't over-mix.)
The recipe warns this may be a little difficult, but I felt that the dough came together pretty easily.
Roll it into a ball, wrap it in a bit of saran wrap (clingfilm if you're classy) stick it in the fridge for about 20 minutes so that it firms up, (If only life were as easy as cookies) and the dough is made.
While that is going on....
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
After the dough has firmed a bit, break it into walnut sized pieces and flatten them into rounds.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or a little more. They're done when they start to turn a bit golden. They should still be a bit soft, they harden as they cool.
While the cookies are cooling, sprinkle them with a bit more rosewater.
When they're a bit cooler, slide the cookies off the sheet and onto a cooling rack.
Sift the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar.
Before serving the cookies, sprinkle each with a tiny bit of ground pistachios and ground cardamom.
Serve them up.
Our friend Heikki enjoyed them.
And that's even before he got his tea...
And his ice cream.
So did the fall-back cookies do the trick? You bet. They were a perfect match for the ice cream and the perfect finish for a spicy, South Indian dinner. I can't wait to make them again. Sometimes the road to good intentions is paved with cookies. Coming up next, an unexpected treat that may push potato chips off the table. Yes, really. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori