Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Indulgent chocolate treat off-set by a healthy dinner...

The other item for the Wednesday Treat Day that I made was these addictive Chocolate Peppermint Pizzelles. We've had a pizzelle iron for several years and have sadly only used it 2 or 3 times! While I loved the cookies the last time we made them, I was glad to find a chocolate variation! We used Dutch-process cocoa for a smooth chocolate flavor, but you can use natural cocoa if that is all you have. The cookies on their own were good, but since it is Christmas time, how can you not take them over the edge? A decadent combination of bittersweet chocolate and butter are gently melted together and combined with a few drops of peppermint extract for a fun holiday flavor. Half of these crisp gems are topped with the rich mixture and are then sandwiched with the remaining plain cookies. If you want to bring out the pattern a little more on your cookies, you can dust them with a light coating of confectioners' sugar before serving. If you're looking for an indulgent and very chocolate-y treat, these cookies are for you!

Tonight's dinner may look a little like the croquettes we had on Monday, but the flavor is certainly different! These few simple ingredients, cauliflower florets, panko breadcrumbs, crunchy cashew butter and green onions meld together to create these lovely Cauliflower Cakes. The florets are first steamed until very tender so they can be easily mashed with a big ol' potato masher or even just a fork if that is all you have available. Once the chunky florets have been smashed into small bits, the other ingredients are stirred in to create a mixture that can be formed into small rounds. Coated in more panko, they are transferred into a hot skillet that has a layer of canola oil dancing around waiting to turn these white patties into golden crisp beauties. The cashew butter worked as a binder and added a unique nutty flavor that we both thoroughly enjoyed. Since I make my own nut butters, I kept it pretty chunky for this recipe - finding the nuggets of cashews in each cake was the best part. Jeff couldn't stay away from these... he insists that they remind him of onions rings from Burger King. While I think it has just been a long time since he had onion rings, they were certainly delicious however you want to describe them.


6 comments:

  1. Pretty cookies, loved them! From your description I believe they are even better than they look!
    Ana

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the cookies. When are you starting your Chrismas baking. I can't wait for your reviews and pictures. Have a good day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, you amaze me - always! You've been busy. Got any recipes for Monkey Bread? I think I'll have the grandkids Sat or Sun and they would have fun doing that...
    See ya
    Janice

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ohhh, those cookies look wonderful. I wish I would have a pizzelle iron.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Joe,
    Seeing these cookies I had to react. After making Dutch speculaas for the last few weeks (because of the feast of Sinterklaas, they have special patterns too) and receiving a special iron plate to make authentic iron cookies from the town of Vlaardingen (going to show that on my blog of course)I know come across these beautiful irons or pizelles that I didn't now about. Never seen them here but I sure want one now (or more ;))

    Greetings from Holland

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ana - Thanks!

    Helene - I can't wait to post them!

    Janice - I haven't made monkey bread in forever! I don't really follow a recipe per se though.

    Dani - It is a fun tool!

    Marieke - They do make unique looking cookies!

    ReplyDelete