Umpleby's Bakery & Café

Day 11 The Plum Almond Drop  Unlike a plum pudding this almond drop cookie actually contains plum in the form of  preserves spooned in the middle.  When I baked them they flattened out a bit more than I would have preferred.  I think the reason is I got impatient and added a bit more butter than the recipe called in order for the dough to come together more quickly.  So what this  prototype cookie lacks for in aesthetics it makes up for in richness of flavor.

Day 10 The Chocolate Truffle  I could be accused of cheating a little bit by including the truffle as one of the Holiday cookies since I guess it really isn’t a cookie.  But it is close – it has the same size and shape as a cookie and it certainly has the flavor side covered.  It doesn’t have flour or butter (at least ours don’t)  but then neither does the macaroon as we learned on day 6.   And these things scream ‘Christmas Season’ so on the list they go!

We use Belgian Chocolate and Heavy Cream from McNamara Dairy to make these little shots of chocolate Nirvana.  Currently we have for flavors chocolate, espresso and hazelnut.  But we will be adding more as the season progresses.   Bon Noel!

Day 9 Orange Hazelnut Crescent We continue our exploration of non-round/ non-ball cookies with another shape – the crescent.  Speaking of crescents, do you know the origin of the croissant and why it is shaped the way it is?  Well, it originated in Budapest in 1686 when the Turks were besieging the city.  Damn those Turks! To reach the centre of the town, they dug underground passages. Bakers, working during the night, heard the noise made by the Turks and gave the alarm.  The assailants were repulsed and the bakers who had saved the city were granted the honor of making a special pastry made in the form of a crescent in memory of the emblem on the Ottoman flag.   That means this year the croissant is celebrating the 325th anniversary of its origin.  Happy Birthday Croissant!  I’ve enjoyed making you for the past 12 years.

But now back to today’s cookie.  We welcome back nuts to the recipe, this time ground hazelnuts.  Add some orange zest, give it that venerable crescent shape and finally decorate with some mighty fine chocolate.  What a tasty cookie!