Can't help picking up the new products...

I admit it... I'm a sucker for new products - especially when I think we could use them in a baking project. Browsing through the new King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book, I found yet another recipe to try... and better yet, I worked in the new ingredient we picked up a week or so ago - some Candy Cane Kisses! Score number 4 from the new cookbook!

From what I understand, this whole grain cookie - Kissed Molletes, is typically rolled in pine nuts and may or may not have anything placed in the center. To ensure the "whole grain" part of the recipe, whole yellow cornmeal is used - this is not the same cornmeal you would normally find in the baking department. I had to go to the bulk foods area of our local co-op to find it... you can spot this cornmeal easily as it is little more coarse and has darker specs of color throughout instead of being all a golden yellow. Because it contains the germ of the kernels, you will need to keep this in the freezer as it can go rancid fairly quickly.

These do need some pre-planning to make: the whole grain cornmeal needs to soften in orange juice and water for an hour, and the dough will need to rest in the refrigerator overnight. This helps to ensure it will be less sticky when you go to roll the balls. Once you start scooping out the balls, they are dipped in a beaten egg white and go for a dip in finely chopped pecans. They are then baked until the cookies are a light golden. Immediately after they are taken out, we pressed a white chocolate candy cane kiss slowly in the middle of each one. Once you press down, try not to touch the kiss as it will be soft from the heat of the cookie - it will firm back up once the cookies have time to cool. The cookies have a nutty crunch from the cornmeal and pecans, but have a moist fluffy interior. I don't think I would call them cake-like though.

With the use of whole wheat flour, the cookies are pretty hearty - they do have a slight "healthy" taste to them, but Jeff said it was barely detectable. The candy cane kisses had a smooth flavor with small crunchy peppermint bits swirled in. While we thought it was a good pair with the cookie, a regular chocolate kiss might go over better - you could also use the chocolate truffle, peanut butter or caramel filled ones to change up the taste!

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Recipes
Kissed Molletes