What is the recipe for these grandmother cookies?
December 14, 2009 7:08 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for a recipe for a very specific cookie I ate as a youngster.
They were made by the grandmother of someone at my Jewish summer camp, so it's possible that they're a traditional Jewish cookie, but I've never seen them since. We all called them __ Grandmother cookies, where __ was the name of the camper in question. They always arrived in an empty Quaker oats canister.
They are, basically, rings -- rolled up dough that's been sliced thin and baked as a cookie. They are rock hard and have a very faint cinnamon taste with a bit of nuttiness as well (it's amazing that I can still remember the taste from over 15 years ago).
I want to stress the rock hard element. They were nothing like the pastry-like rolled up cookies. I'm aware there are cookies like that and they always get me: I see a rolled up cookie like that, pop it in my mouth, and it instantly disappoints because they aren't the grandmother cookies.
So please, does anyone know this kind of cookie? Because I would love to know the recipe.
So, here are the key elements, best as I can remember them:
They were made by the grandmother of someone at my Jewish summer camp, so it's possible that they're a traditional Jewish cookie, but I've never seen them since. We all called them __ Grandmother cookies, where __ was the name of the camper in question. They always arrived in an empty Quaker oats canister.
They are, basically, rings -- rolled up dough that's been sliced thin and baked as a cookie. They are rock hard and have a very faint cinnamon taste with a bit of nuttiness as well (it's amazing that I can still remember the taste from over 15 years ago).
I want to stress the rock hard element. They were nothing like the pastry-like rolled up cookies. I'm aware there are cookies like that and they always get me: I see a rolled up cookie like that, pop it in my mouth, and it instantly disappoints because they aren't the grandmother cookies.
So please, does anyone know this kind of cookie? Because I would love to know the recipe.
So, here are the key elements, best as I can remember them:
- hard as a rock
- cinnamon
- very nutty flavor
- relatively tiny -- maybe as wide around as a half dollar or silver dollar
- the dough itself is very sweet (I know in many cases the sweetness comes from the filling between the layers; in this cookie, it does not)
- Very clearly layered in the ring, which is to say it was very obviously rolled up and then baked, and in fact you could snap off pieces of the ring
- addictive as crack
Response by poster: In fact, rugelach would be the evil cookies that fool me every time.
I almost put "Rugelach is not the answer" in the question, because I had a feeling I'd get that as a suggestion. It's possible that someone out there makes a rugelach that matches these cookies, but I doubt it.
Every rugelach I've eatn is composed of a flaky, pastry-like dough. It's only mildly sweet with a sweeter filling. The grandmother cookies have a dough that is sweet and closer to an overbaked refrigerator dough cookie in texture. The filling is visible basically as a dark line only, whereas in rugelach it's much more pronounced.
posted by Deathalicious at 7:28 AM on December 14, 2009
I almost put "Rugelach is not the answer" in the question, because I had a feeling I'd get that as a suggestion. It's possible that someone out there makes a rugelach that matches these cookies, but I doubt it.
Every rugelach I've eatn is composed of a flaky, pastry-like dough. It's only mildly sweet with a sweeter filling. The grandmother cookies have a dough that is sweet and closer to an overbaked refrigerator dough cookie in texture. The filling is visible basically as a dark line only, whereas in rugelach it's much more pronounced.
posted by Deathalicious at 7:28 AM on December 14, 2009
This recipe describes the spices and rolling/slicing technique. There doesn't seem to be a discrete filling layer, but perhaps your friend's grandmother developed that variation on her own.
posted by maudlin at 7:34 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by maudlin at 7:34 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: Pfeffernusse (aka Peppernuts)?
I don't think so...these were definitely a rolled up cookie (which apparently are known as pinwheel cookies).
Thanks for the ideas so far, please keep them coming!
posted by Deathalicious at 7:34 AM on December 14, 2009
I don't think so...these were definitely a rolled up cookie (which apparently are known as pinwheel cookies).
Thanks for the ideas so far, please keep them coming!
posted by Deathalicious at 7:34 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: Oh man, should have previewed.
posted by Deathalicious at 7:35 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by Deathalicious at 7:35 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: ...actually, read through your recipe carefully and it sounds like the cookie is rolled into a rope and then sliced into 1 inch pieces. The grandmother cookies were rolled jelly-roll style and sliced very thinly (more like 1/4 inch).
posted by Deathalicious at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by Deathalicious at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2009
Is it possible they were some version of elephant ears (aka palmiers)? Very popular in Jewish bakeries, crisp, rolled.
posted by neroli at 7:46 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by neroli at 7:46 AM on December 14, 2009
Mandelbrot? Kind of like biscotti but nuttier? Very hard, nothing like rugalach.
posted by tk at 7:56 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by tk at 7:56 AM on December 14, 2009
I still think that Pffernusse is likely because of the ingredients and their rock hard nature. The cookie formation method seems to vary a lot:
- Rolled into logs, then sliced
- Rolled into individual balls or spooned out
- Dough rolled into a sheet, then cut out with a small tin
I haven't found a pinwheel/jellyroll variation yet, but why not try a recipe and adapt it and see?
posted by maudlin at 8:03 AM on December 14, 2009
- Rolled into logs, then sliced
- Rolled into individual balls or spooned out
- Dough rolled into a sheet, then cut out with a small tin
I haven't found a pinwheel/jellyroll variation yet, but why not try a recipe and adapt it and see?
posted by maudlin at 8:03 AM on December 14, 2009
Best answer: It's possible that part of the texture of the cookies came from the baking characteristics of the grandmother's oven. My mother used to make the most amazing chocolate chip cookies where all of the chips would melt together and form a solid layer in the middle of the crisp buttery cookies, but then she got a new oven and the next batch was just a regular batch of cookies. Still good, but not at all the same. Maybe you could find a recipe that has a similar flavor and then try to play with the oven settings. (Though I was never able to reproduce my mother's cookies.)
posted by defreckled at 8:05 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by defreckled at 8:05 AM on December 14, 2009
So the cookie consisted just of rolled up dough, right? There was no filling?
Can you draw a picture? I need a visual aid ;)
posted by iconomy at 8:07 AM on December 14, 2009
Can you draw a picture? I need a visual aid ;)
posted by iconomy at 8:07 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: So the cookie consisted just of rolled up dough, right? There was no filling?
There was a pencil-line thick layer of filling. Enough so that the cookie layers were clearly distinct, and enough so that on their side the cookies had clearly visible faint brown lines running in a spiral. Every picture I find online has filling that's far too thick. The sugar spiral cookies on this page are closer.
Mandelbrot...Palmiers
Mandelbrot are a favorite of mine (I love hard crunch cookies) but they don't have quite the right texture and I'm not sure how they would work rolled up (a very key quality of this cookie). Palmiers are made from pastry. There is zero pastry texture in this cookie.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:23 AM on December 14, 2009
There was a pencil-line thick layer of filling. Enough so that the cookie layers were clearly distinct, and enough so that on their side the cookies had clearly visible faint brown lines running in a spiral. Every picture I find online has filling that's far too thick. The sugar spiral cookies on this page are closer.
Mandelbrot...Palmiers
Mandelbrot are a favorite of mine (I love hard crunch cookies) but they don't have quite the right texture and I'm not sure how they would work rolled up (a very key quality of this cookie). Palmiers are made from pastry. There is zero pastry texture in this cookie.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:23 AM on December 14, 2009
Best answer: I wonder if they were some kind of snickerdoodle? I make mine just like this recipe, (that photo, is it what your cookie looked like?) and just like it says there, you bake them however long you like depending on the hardness desired. I bake them forever, so they're like rocks, because they're amazing in coffee. You could try that recipe, adding finely ground almonds to it. Which I have done in the past, and it's super delicious.
posted by iconomy at 8:30 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by iconomy at 8:30 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: The cookies I remember actually look almost exactly like these spiral snickerdoodles (although a bit more rustic-looking, which would be expected when made by a slightly arthritic grandmother instead of a magazine food editor). I will give them a shot and report back on my findings!
Thank you all!
posted by Deathalicious at 8:39 AM on December 14, 2009
Thank you all!
posted by Deathalicious at 8:39 AM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: I plan on using iconomy's recipe.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:41 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by Deathalicious at 8:41 AM on December 14, 2009
Awaiting the results of your delicious experiments! I think I'll make them this weekend too....they're just the best. And yes, like crack.
posted by iconomy at 9:20 AM on December 14, 2009
posted by iconomy at 9:20 AM on December 14, 2009
I'm going to have to go with some variant on pfeffernusse. There is a looooot of variation. In my own amish/mennonite background they're formed in thin logs (like 1/2 to 3/4 inch diameter) and sliced to make teeny-tiny spice cookies. Really eaten like little nuts. And no powdered sugar coating.
They didn't have a visible spiral pattern, but I could easily imagine that if you rolled the dough flat and sprinkled maybe part of the spices/sugar on as you do with a cinnamon roll, then rolled it up and sliced, you'd get what you're describing.
posted by madmethods at 11:49 AM on December 14, 2009
They didn't have a visible spiral pattern, but I could easily imagine that if you rolled the dough flat and sprinkled maybe part of the spices/sugar on as you do with a cinnamon roll, then rolled it up and sliced, you'd get what you're describing.
posted by madmethods at 11:49 AM on December 14, 2009
Springerle would be another rock hard variety of cookie. Traditionally flavored with anise, they can also have almond flavor. The dough is made with very little moisture and then is aged for several weeks before cooking. Makes for a dentally challenging addictive little cookie.
posted by cross_impact at 1:50 PM on December 14, 2009
posted by cross_impact at 1:50 PM on December 14, 2009
Response by poster: We have cookies!
Although they look somewhat similar, these are definitely not it. Basically, these cookies taste very much like a standard sugar cookie, while the grandmother cookies had an utterly unique flavor.
Nonetheless, the recipe iconomy gave was excellent, although the cookies do not spread out at all as claimed (as you can see, they are nowhere near as flat as the cookies in the recipe page) and the amount of cinnamon sugar called for in the recipe is obscene. You only need about half that amount. My spirals ended up falling apart a bit because the cinnamon sugar kept the layers too far apart.
As to the mysterious cookies, I am still at a loss. I know there was some cinnamon but equally certain it wasn't overblown spice like I imagine it would be in the Pfeffernusse. Now that I think of it, I wonder whether the oatmeal canister was not a coincidence. Perhaps somehow they were made with ground up oats?
posted by Deathalicious at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2009
Although they look somewhat similar, these are definitely not it. Basically, these cookies taste very much like a standard sugar cookie, while the grandmother cookies had an utterly unique flavor.
Nonetheless, the recipe iconomy gave was excellent, although the cookies do not spread out at all as claimed (as you can see, they are nowhere near as flat as the cookies in the recipe page) and the amount of cinnamon sugar called for in the recipe is obscene. You only need about half that amount. My spirals ended up falling apart a bit because the cinnamon sugar kept the layers too far apart.
As to the mysterious cookies, I am still at a loss. I know there was some cinnamon but equally certain it wasn't overblown spice like I imagine it would be in the Pfeffernusse. Now that I think of it, I wonder whether the oatmeal canister was not a coincidence. Perhaps somehow they were made with ground up oats?
posted by Deathalicious at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Constant Reader at 7:09 AM on December 14, 2009