I approached the TRAO-MAD WITH PEACH COMPOTE recipe with an almost comically serious focus. For one, I knew how delicate cookies could be. So many factors had to be just right: the dough consistency, the oven performance, and most of all, the timing. I vowed to watch these babies like a hawk to ensure not a single morsel would burn. Plus, there was the whole freezing of the dough for an hour. I'd never done that before. A deep breath and into the kitchen I go!
First off, I needed a substitute for the almond flour. I have a pretty serious tree nut allergy, and this is always an issue with baking recipes. After some online sleuthing, I discovered a very handy blog from paleoparents.com. Behold: raw, hulled sunflower seeds – ground fine in a blender. This worked splendidly, and they still gave the suggestion of a nutty undertaste to the dough. I used a good old-fashioned wooden spoon. It's excellent exercise for upper arm definition, and I like the feel of putting more of my own hard work into it. Plus, no incidental splatter of wayward beaters. The true test – a small taste of the uncooked dough – proved heavenly. I was on my way. It was somewhat awkward managing the sticky dough into the plastic wrap, but I eventually got it sectioned-off in two rolls the way it needed to be.
Actually, the timing of everything worked out incredibly well. While the whipped-up cookie dough was freezing, I started the compote and got that cooking. I did need to adjust the stove temp several times to ensure no burning would occur here, either. Stirring the fruit mixture often certainly helped.
By the time the cookies were ready to bake, the compote was nearly finished. I opted to do one sheet at a time, to give them my full attention. Checking them half-way through, I also rotated them, as suggested. Sweet success. Unlike most recipes, the 10 minutes on parchment baked these babies to picture-perfect beauty. They were light crispy brown, just on the edges, and lightly on the underside. I was so happy I started to sing to them as I slid them out onto the cooling rack.
A special thanks to Tammy Circeo for suggesting a good canning jar for the compote. I really did not feel like messing with any plastic wrap at this point. I let the compote chill out while I baked up my second rack. The people that I shared these with, rhapsodized about the butter cookies "melting in your mouth." They were also quite passionate about the peach compote, and excited to know that you could utilize left-overs for a chunky jam on toast. All-in-all, this one was indeed a treat.
First off, I needed a substitute for the almond flour. I have a pretty serious tree nut allergy, and this is always an issue with baking recipes. After some online sleuthing, I discovered a very handy blog from paleoparents.com. Behold: raw, hulled sunflower seeds – ground fine in a blender. This worked splendidly, and they still gave the suggestion of a nutty undertaste to the dough. I used a good old-fashioned wooden spoon. It's excellent exercise for upper arm definition, and I like the feel of putting more of my own hard work into it. Plus, no incidental splatter of wayward beaters. The true test – a small taste of the uncooked dough – proved heavenly. I was on my way. It was somewhat awkward managing the sticky dough into the plastic wrap, but I eventually got it sectioned-off in two rolls the way it needed to be.
Actually, the timing of everything worked out incredibly well. While the whipped-up cookie dough was freezing, I started the compote and got that cooking. I did need to adjust the stove temp several times to ensure no burning would occur here, either. Stirring the fruit mixture often certainly helped.
By the time the cookies were ready to bake, the compote was nearly finished. I opted to do one sheet at a time, to give them my full attention. Checking them half-way through, I also rotated them, as suggested. Sweet success. Unlike most recipes, the 10 minutes on parchment baked these babies to picture-perfect beauty. They were light crispy brown, just on the edges, and lightly on the underside. I was so happy I started to sing to them as I slid them out onto the cooling rack.
A special thanks to Tammy Circeo for suggesting a good canning jar for the compote. I really did not feel like messing with any plastic wrap at this point. I let the compote chill out while I baked up my second rack. The people that I shared these with, rhapsodized about the butter cookies "melting in your mouth." They were also quite passionate about the peach compote, and excited to know that you could utilize left-overs for a chunky jam on toast. All-in-all, this one was indeed a treat.