Tough love

[muckefuck]

Ever since my coworker suggested I bring in last month's disastrous lebkuchen anyway, I've been meaning to foist them onto the committee both of us are a part of. I missed the last meeting due to illness, but we met again today and I somehow managed to remember to drop the container into my bag before leaving.

I'll grant them this, they were all game. (Well, all except for the member old enough to be everyone's mother.) Lesson: Present it as a challenge and this group will rise to meet it. I had to overcome some resistance at first when I revealed how long I'd been letting them soften. Finally, in exasperation, I said, "Clearly none of you is a baker," which prompted my neighbour to say, "Cookies come from the store. Baking? They're made by little elves, everybody knows that."

But, again with one exception (he said he had his crowns to worry about), everyone finished their cookie--though in a couple cases it took some wheedling over the course of the hour. Everyone agreed that the flavour was good, but the texture...well, the kindest comparison was to teething biscuits. Hmm, maybe I can pawn them off on utopian_camorra? I actually brought along boughten pfeffernüsse as compensation and no one went for them.

So although a lot of them will end up consigned to the compost pail, at least it won't be the entire batch. Once I recover from the disappointment, I think I'll have another go at dad's gingersnaps. Could be just the thing for next week's Game Night!

Comments

[areia.livejournal.com]

Can you soak them in coffee and/or liqueur and turn them into some variety of tiramisu? Even layering them with custard or cream to make a trifle would probably work.

(Yes, I've ruined many a batch of baked goods, and I was raised by a very frugal grandmother.)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

No, the problem is toughness, not hardness. They retain their denseness and unpleasant chewiness even when wet.

I'm wondering if there might be some way of grinding them to crumbs and then incorporating those into something. That seems like an awful lot of work for little payoff, however.

[areia.livejournal.com]

Graham cracker style crust? Cake balls? Whenever I make cakes for friends I rub the cutoffs together with some leftover frosting, roll the mixture into balls and freeze. They make the base of fancy looking party treats if you take the time to coat them in chocolate later, but they make pretty decent snacks in their own right.