We Should Eat More Tasty Cookies
Snacking is critical. I need a wide variety of snacks to keep me happy and working every day. Nothing wild – popcorn, gummy bears, hummus and crackers, maybe yogurt, definitely cookies. Usually some of them satisfy my hunger pangs. But recently my world of snacking has been turned upside down when I discovered a whole new side of pasture: savory biscuits.
I understand that some people may read the phrase “savory cookie” and see an oxymoron, while others are preparing for the “just add bacon” hack (and that sounds great too), but savory cookie is not a culinary contradiction and is not a culinary contradiction. . they were limited to adding jerky (or potato chips ) to chocolate chip cookie dough. Savory cookies are much less sweet than dessert cookies. In fact, if there is sugar, it is simply added to balance the other ingredients. It is much thicker than a cracker, crumbly and tender, with flavor and/or flavor additions ranging from nuts and seeds to herbs and aged cheeses. You might think they deserve the British use of the word “biscuit” more, but the word defines a wide variety of treats in the United States. Since we don’t have a better term, we’ll stick with savory cookies.
The thing that changed everything for me wasBrooklyn Brittle Italian Rosemary Parmesan Cookies. At first I was very doubtful about its tasty qualities, but the cookies were slightly sweet; rosemary, powerful and addictive; parmesan, thin and salty. Soon I ate the whole bag. I found myself looking for more painfully salty biscuits in grocery stores and was shocked to find a shortage of savory biscuits in local markets. It was hard to find even a Brooklyn Brittle (and I live in Brooklyn). I started scouring the internet for recipes. I found that there are plenty of sweet and savory recipes that add dried meat or potato chips to high sugar cookie dough, but I was looking for something a little more sophisticated: a savory cookie I could eat with it. coffee or sausages. Less about extreme flavors and more about texture and flavors.
Since my regular recipe sites were running out, I decided to check out recipes from other countries. After all, even the Brooklyn Brittle credits Italy with its biscuits. It turns out that everything I wanted, and even more, has always been the basis of international snack cuisine for as long as history remembers it. In Italy, you often get additional crunchy snacks with wine, including cantucci or taralli , which can be seasoned in a variety of ways, and are often shaped like a ring and a cracker, but sometimes shaped like crispy biscuits with drops. almond.
There is also Italian sbrislon, like this recipe from David Lebowitz, which is crumbly and nutty with a hint of sweetness. There are a lot of delicious cookies in India. zira – fragrant cumin cookies; spicy matri are baked or fried; nankhatai is made with besan (chickpea flour) to name but a few. In fact, the savory cookie-like snacks are so popular that some stores, like Neelam , dedicate large sections of their aisles to them.
How to make your own
If you don’t have any international snacks nearby, you should try any of the recipes above or experiment.
Try this equation : Shortbread dough – ½ sugar + greens + walnut.
Use a simple shortbread dough like this one from Easy Recipes, but instead of adding a full cup of sugar, use half. Then add the herbs you like, like chopped rosemary. Finally, add the nuts you like – how about chopped macadamia? Mix according to recipe, adding herbs and nuts until well combined. Divide into tablespoon-sized slides and bake as directed.
They are ready when the bottom starts to turn a light brown color, but the rest of the cookies will be light in color as there is very little sugar in them to cause browning. Once you try your own savory biscuits, you’ll be hooked. Before you know it, you’ll be researching olive oil biscuits and blue cheese shortbread for your next wine night.
For a savory cookie that pairs wonderfully with light red wine, try these crumbly, slightly floral, melt-in-your-mouth macaroons.
Macaroon Herbes de Provence
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup almonds, very coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
Preheat oven to 300℉. Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir and beat until all ingredients are evenly combined. The mixture will look crumbly but cohesive. Use a tablespoon or similar sized spoon to cut and shape the cookies in your hand, squeezing lightly; the rustic shape adds to the charm. Arrange on a baking sheet, leaving a distance of at least a centimeter between the cookies. Bake at 300℉ for 35 minutes. Cool completely. Makes 18 cookies.