Last night while making Cauliflower and Broccoli Flan with Spinach Béchamel for dinner, I accidentally added twice the amount of flour to the melted butter in the first stage of the béchamel sauce. I certainly didn’t want to waste nearly a stick of butter so I quickly transferred it to a container before starting the sauce over. Incidentally, the flan turned out lovely and I highly recommend this rich dish if you find yourself with an excess of cauliflower and broccoli in the future.
This morning I still wasn’t sure what would become of the clotted, buttery mess in the refrigerator. Cookies seemed like a desirable option and I set out to find a recipe. Thanks to the Domestic Goddess and Il Forno, food bloggers now have an extensive resource for finding the perfect cookie to bake up. Each of the above links will lead you to a portion of the SHF/IMBB Holiday Cookie Swap write-ups.
While perusing the list I noticed the Baking Beast’s Browned Butter Crisps. This simple and flavorful recipe immediately drew me in.
I wasn’t sure how my flour and butter mess was going to fare, but I gently heated it in a saucepan until it began to brown and to my surprise, it incorporated into the other ingredients quite well. I pushed a pistachio into the tops of each cookie before baking to make them a bit more attractive.
These cookies turned out excellent and filled the house with the luscious smell of cinnamon and cardamom. I dropped a few cardamom seeds into my tea and enjoyed a freshly baked sample. Delicious. Thank you for the recipe Emily!
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mumu - that looks absolutely delicious. ever trying to be the consummate home economist — plus the fact that a lot of mishaps happen in my kitchen — i feel an enormous sense of accomplishment whenever i manage to “save” and “recycle” ingredients. 8-)
Bea at La Tartine Gourmande - All those flavors are really attractive to me. This looks really a nice success!
genevieve - I love pistachios and I love cardamom! They are a perfect addition to any baked good. And the green is so pretty.
Emily - haha whoa! it’s always exciting to me to know when people make the recipes that i put on my blog. i’m glad i could help provide the recipe for you! and that the cookies turned out so well. :) they look awesome.
kasia - I was also immediately drawn in by the cookie recipe. I love spicy, chewy cookies, so I couldn’t resist trying these. I innovated a bit and added some almond extract, which gave them a really interesting flavor, though I think it muted the spiciness a bit. I think next time, I’ll cut down on the sugar – they’re really, really sweet – and up the spices, but I do like the hint of almond.
gemma - Thanks Mumu. I agree, it is so nice to save a downhill situation, especially when it becomes dessert!
Thanks Bea, they sure were tasty.
Yes, they are two of my favorite flavors as well genevieve. I knew right away that I would enjoy these.
Hi Emily, they turned out great. Thanks again for the recipe.
Hi Kasia. I am glad you tried them. I would agree with you, they were too sweet for me too. The almond extract is an interesting idea. I will test that out next time I make these. I hope you are feeling better!
kasia - Hmmm. So they were all soft and chewy when they came out of the oven, but an hour later, they were hard as rocks. not so ideal. perhaps it would be better to actually make them crisp-like, ie, shaped as flat little discs?
gemma - hrm. That is no good. I have to say that mine did not stick around long enough for me to experience that. (No, I didn’t eat them all, I gave them to my family.) That seems like it might be a good idea Kasia. . .