Tuesday, March 09, 2010

TWD: Thumbprint Cookies for Us Big Guys

Sorry, big guys, but you can keep your thumbprint cookies.

I had high hopes for these. Because it is still coconut month, I substituted some ground toasted coconut for part of the hazelnuts, and the raw dough had a wonderful flavor--buttery, nutty, slightly sweet from the coconut but with a good hit of salt. I noshed an alarming bit of dough before baking them off, in fact. [The coconut flavor didn't come through in the final product, though, so I guess this squeaks into coconut month on more of a technicality.]

The cookies came out of the oven and looked beautiful! They smelled awesome, and I was careful to bake them for only about 14 minutes, so they didn't take on much color, as instructed. They looked gorgeous sprinkled with sugar and filled with raspberry preserves. After the photos were taken we eagerly tasted one, and...well...are these supposed to be...how you say...droopy? Soggy? Moist in the mouth? Instead of crunchy, buttery shortbread and smooth jam, the cookies turned unpleasantly soft. Now I love me some gooey cookies, but of the chocolate variety, not of the shortbread variety. It just seemed wrong. The texture was way too distracting, even if the flavors were nice. I did enjoy creating a Target logo out of my cookies, though:

So was this a fluke? Do thumbprint cookies usually go soft or stale so quickly? Truthfully I can't remember making these before, so maybe it's normal, maybe it's even desirable (impossible!). But for now, me and my thumbs will stick with chocolate chip cookies.

21 comments:

  1. As one can always find on Liz's blog, perfection is on time! ...even with somethin' as simple as cookies!

    Beautiful!

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  2. Mine were perfectly crisp, buttery, nutty and did/have not turned soft. Maybe it was the coconut??? But good to know, because I was going to try to make some with coconut, almonds and the coconut creme Kisses in the center, but I just didn't get around to it. Maybe stick with almonds in the cookies and roll them in coconut? Hmm. Yours do look beautiful!!

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  3. hilarious target logo! target should sell those, but the crispy variety, lol

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  4. I didn't make them so I can't comment on crispness but at least they look cute- especially that target logo!

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  5. Mine did not turn soft, but I am never the person to turn to when trying to figure out what baked goods are supposed to do. Sorry these didn't work for you, but it was worth it just for the Target logo!

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  6. Nice...Target rocks!

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  7. Mine turned a bit soft after a couple of days. The first day or two they were still nice and crisp. Sorry they weren't a hit. They look wonderful.

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  8. Fun logo! hehehe. Mine were crispy and crumbly not at all soft. Maybe the coconut? They look yummy anyway!

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  9. Love the Target pic.

    Sorry these turned soft on you. Mine were nice and crunchy, but didn't last long.

    You should try them again. They ARE good.

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  10. I agree, you should try these again. They were so buttery and flaky!

    At least your cookies looked really beautiful ;)

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  11. They are really pretty cookies!

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  12. Yeah, although mine were good, I'll take chocolate chips cookies any day!

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  13. They are gorgeous but how disappointing that they were mushy. I filled mine with ganache, and they were still great after 4 days when we ate the last one.

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  14. Beautiful cookies! Love the Target logo:) The coconut must have been the culprit of the softness.

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  15. Mine were very much like shortbread. Could it have been the coconut?

    Anyway, I like the way you went crazy with the powdered sugar. Made them very photogenic.

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  16. Hmmmm, mine were pretty soft the next day because of the jam and airtight container. The first day, though, they were crumbly and lovely.

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  17. Sorry you didn't like these cookies. They do look gorgeous though!

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  18. Ha! The Target logo is adorable! I'm sorry they didn't work out, but they do look beautiful!

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  19. Love the Target logo. I have seen them rolled in toasted coconut before. Maybe that would have been better?? (Like i am some kind of expert...)

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  20. Anonymous6:25 PM

    Your Target logo is fantastic! Mine were really crunchy and stayed crunchy. These weren't a hit with me either - they weren't shortbread-y enough.

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  21. Sorry these didn't work out for you. From what I've gathered, other TWDers liked it!

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