Simplicity is always in trend. Take these cookies, for example. Cookies with Macadamia Nuts and White Chocolate Chips They have all the usual charm of the original dark chunk kind. They are, however, produced with a sweeter, more mellow white chocolate. Also, you can present them in stylish bakery boxes wholesale. As you bite into these cookies, their edges crackle seductively as they are soft, chewy, and crisp.
They're excellent cookies, but they've never quite captured the attention of the cookie monsters that frequent the bakeries and sweet stores where I hang out. You may not consider it as fad food.
Nonetheless, there have been a number of edibles "its girls." In this absurd circle, we bloggers are both perpetrators and victims. We're the first to get on board, and we then drive these delicacies into even more fandom by publishing a ton of them. Usually within a two-week timeframe!
One example is the Krispy Kreme donut. It came and vanished in a flash. But gosh, they were hot for a while. In the following years, cupcakes shot up to become a hot new trend. This was a result of our blogging. Traditional cakes were almost decimated by the media's fascination with their little cousins, thanks (in part) to us. Do you know when children would have cupcakes (like Trix)? I don't think I need to inform you that cupcake attitudes and preparations have changed. Significantly. Don't even get me ready to start on macarons!
It's occurring again. This week, I was reading the Los Angeles Times when I came across a wickedly great column by Sharon Bernstein. It's exactly the type of foodie knowledge I'm looking for. Sharon believes that a new trend is on its way, and it involves pie.
The classic pie. Gourmet tarte. Large pies. Pies in miniature. Every sort of pie is available, including Wedding Pie. Wedding cakes seemed so yesterday, didn't they? I wouldn't go to a wedding where they offered cake. Nuh-huh. Not for me! I wouldn't even want to attend a gay wedding, although I would probably want to see what came out of the cake at one of those weddings!
But I'm digressing. I acknowledge that I could be ahead of the curve here. It's likely that I've gotten so pie-conscious because I live in Southern California and have my fingers on the people's bellies. The finest thing always originates here, then the rest of our wonderful country's pie-in-the-sky, mom-and-apple-pie dreamers consume and digest it.
Carrie Cusack is a pioneer in the LA pie craze. She realized that "everyone was doing cupcakes," so she came up with the concept of baby pies for the business where she works as the head chef. Due to Cusack's creativity, bakeries can offer 18 variations a week (excluding specials and savory pies).
Even traditional pie shops are experiencing an increase in pie sales. Holiday sales at Pasadena's Pie 'n Burger increased. This is a 15% increase over the same period the previous year.
But the fact that Evan Kleiman of KCRW's GOOD FOOD (my particular gastronomically obsessive idol) completed two summers of pies is the best gauge of pie's rapid climb for me. That's correct; she created so many pies that she couldn't fit them all into one season of pie-loving. I assisted her in creating my mother's rendition of Lemon Cake Pie, and many other LA area foodies were swept up in the pastry mania with her. I believe she should appoint me as a judge the next year. I'm not a person with strong ideas.
And pie holes aren't only being filled on the radio, at the newest and best candy stores, or at stylish weddings in trendy areas like Los Angeles. No way. "Last year, Americans purchased 722 million portions of pie in eateries around the country, an increase of 12 million slices over 2009. This halted a decreasing pie-eating trend that had been in place for years."
Cakes are on the decline while pies are rising. Cupcakes are just for losers. Why am I bringing cookies to you today?
Well, I'll tell you why: cookies are immortal, in my opinion. They will stay on top because they are resistant to the whims and tastes of fickle sugar hounds. As a result, I'm here today to pay tribute to the cookie. Nobody ever had to come up with a baby biscuit or a small wafer. Nope, they've always been perfectly proportioned for one cookie monster. Aside from that, you'll never hear the tiresome old adage, "Cookies are the new black (bottom pie)."
A rack in the lower-middle position should be placed in the oven to pre-heat it to 325°F. Make the oven hotter by pre-heating it to 350°F. Put parchment paper on two baking sheets. Put the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until well blended.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the mixer as you reduce the speed to low. Next, add the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.
Two tablespoons at a time, roll the dough into even balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Approximately 16 minutes of baking is enough for the cookies to be firm and begin to brown, but the interior should still be soft and fluffy. You can serve them warm or transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely after about 10 minutes.
We can only think one idea at a time; therefore, keep returning to positive ones. Practice this, and it will get easier and faster with time. Then, when you're feeling wonderful and cheerful, take a slice of cake and savor every mouthful. You can present it in catchy Bakery boxes. There should be no guilt associated with food, as it is for pleasure, not just survival. Take a couple of deep breaths for a time. Close your eyes and visualize a giggling infant, and only good ideas will come to mind.
