I tried to make it sound exciting – two cookie recipes in one day! – but really I was just massively busy and missed a day of baking. That’s a slap on the silpat for me.

But to make up for it, you get the ultimate cookie contrast today! These were two major surceases in my book  - a little tricky at times, but most definitely delicious.

The Chocolate Wafers were the first one I’ve done that required rolling out and cookie cutters to get that perfectly even round shape.  The only things I ran into there were that the recipe called for “breakfast cocoa”, which I for the life of me couldn’t figure out what it was.  I picked a substitution of regular old unsweetened cocoa, the cookies whipped together like a dream.

The dough was a bit stickier than I would have liked – I had to use quite a bit of flour, and then re-chill the scraps to get it to roll out thin enough.  Final problem, and I think this is just me – I have such a hard time not burning chocolate cookies. I don’t bake with chocolate often enough to judge color like I can when you can see a cookie turn golden brown.  I only lost 3 (and the boy ate those anyway), so I’m still calling it a success.

Cookie number two was the Honey Refrigerator Cookie.  These I wasn’t as sure of – I like honey in baked goods (especially in honey cake), but hadn’t considered it as a cookie ingredient. I chose walnuts for my “nut meats” (man, are these recipes dated, or what?) and I loved how rich they were with the light crunchy cookie. I might try almonds next time, but I’m thinking they might be too hard for the texture. Mine were quite a bit lighter than gourmet’s picture…I’m not sure why.  Ah well – on with the eating.

Only four cookies to go…I’m almost saddened! Check in tomorrow for my favorite so far – the Strawberry Tart Cookie.

(recipes after the break)

Chocolate Wafer Cookies
adapted from Gourmet, February 1950

ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

equipment:
mixer, rolling pin, cookie cutter, baking sheets, parchment, plastic wrap

1. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract adn egg, and beat thoroughly.

2. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add them in several batches to the butter-sugar mixture, making sure that all the dry ingredients are iincorporated. Once you have a light dough.

3. Form the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours until firm. Once it’s stiff enough, roll out the dough into 1/8 inch thickness on a floured board. Cut with a 2″ cookie cutter (or other shape) and place cookies on a parchment-covered baking sheet.

4. Bake at 400F for about 8 minutes, or until browned.

Honey Walnut Cookies
adapted from Gourmet, June 1942

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

equipment:
mixer, parchment paper, plastic wrap, cookie sheets

1. With an electric mixer, cream together the honey, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until combined.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in 2 batches and beat well until combined. Using a spatula fold in the chopped walnuts and mix through.

3. Form the dough into a roll or loaf about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap well in plastic wrap and let sit overnight or up to 2 days in the fridge.

4. Heat the oven to 400F. Slice the cookies into 1/4 inch slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

And as always – my fellow bakers:  Jerry at Cooking by the Seat of my Pants, Judy at No Fear Entertaining, Sandy at At the Baker’s Bench, Courtney at Coco Cooks (who made the chocolate wafers beautifully), Kelly at Sass and Veracity, and Andrea at Andrea’s Recipes.