I just received the nicest email from Sherry Lance, coauthor of Dahlia Bakery cookbook.

M

marilynfl

Moderator
Hi Marilyn,

I got your question about making a big batch of our peanut butter cookies for an event.

First off, I am very, very sorry about this, but in the first printing of the book, there were some errors/typos, and several in that pb cookie recipe! (My editor told me these mistakes would be corrected in later printings). Please see errata sheet attached.

Did you make the dough by volume (cups and tablespoons etc) or by weight? Other than one ingredient (which works successfully either way), the errors are in the weights. If you used the cup/tablespoon measurements when you made your dough, you won’t have any problems with the success of your cookies.

There is an error in the volume of the butter for the cookie dough in the first printings, but I have tested the cookies with both volumes (“correct” and “incorrect”) and they both work fine. The volume of butter for dough says “2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons,” when actually it was supposed to be “2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons.” (11 ounces of butter is correct) However I have made the dough using both volumes of butter and the smaller amount of butter which was a mistake (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) actually works extremely well, though the texture of the cookie is slightly less soft. (in a way, it’s easier to work with the smaller volume of butter because this cookie dough has a lot of fat in it, about as much as it will hold.) So for the butter in the dough, you are ok either way.

If you have one of the early printings of the book, the grams of the oats is low (ounces and cups are correct), and the ounces of the crunchy peanut butter is a little low (grams, and cup measures are correct). If you used the incorrect grams weight for the oats or the incorrect ounces weight for the crunchy peanut butter, I don’t know how big an effect this would have on the cookies. Maybe not too much. You could bake off a few cookies from your dough well before the event and make sure all is well.

It sounds like you haven’t made the filling yet. There’s one more error and it is in the grams weight of the butter in the filling. The butter in the filling says 168 grams and it should be 85 grams. (the volume 6 tablespoons and the weight of 3 ounces butter in the filling are both correct.) This error in the grams of butter in the filling is quite big (2X as much) and it would make your filling way too buttery, so please use 6 tablespoons/3 ounces/85 grams for the butter.

Whew! Onto your actual question:

You can most definitely bake off the peanut butter cookies, let them cool, then wrap and freeze them. The cookies will totally be ok.

We have never frozen these cookies filled. I’m a little worried that as they thaw, the moisture will leach out of the filling and it might get a weird texture.

The best way to do this would be to bake off all the cookies and freeze them. Make the filling and refrigerate it. Transport the baked off cookies and filling to the event separately and fill them. (You could do this a day ahead or the morning of the event.

If you want to try the cookies frozen after they are filled, my advice would be to try a few first- make some filled cookies, put them in the freezer for a few days, then thaw them and see what you think.

Please let me know how this all works out.

Shelley Lance (co author)

 
My response:

Dear Sherry,

Good grief woman...I think I love you!

As an engineer, you’ve just provided all the anal-retentive information I like when I’m baking. THANK YOU!

For the past few years I’ve been using weights as opposed to volume and prefer that method. It’s easier, faster and the results are more consistent. Plus I’m lazy. In fact, including ingredient weights is one of my determining factors now when I decide whether to purchase a recipe book.

I have no idea what printing my book is, but the test samples I baked this weekend (filled and unfilled) looked fine and tasted fabulous. I truly appreciate the little hints in the text, like NOT to flatten the scooped cookie (which is something I would typically do with cold refrigerated dough). I was testing various scoop sizes and each cookie turned out exactly 200% bigger than its scoop diameter. I love dependability like that.

I’ll check your numbers against my book tonight, but can HONESTLY say that whatever printing I used turned out fine. The filling was very, very soft—so that may have too much butter. However, I can always whip up another portion, use less butter and blend the two--that should even things up.

I’ll go with your suggestion to bake the cookies and package them unfilled, then fill when I get to Pittsburgh.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide “God is in the details” information. It is much appreciated.
~M

PS: I’ll let you know how the filled/frozen samples turn out. I’m going to thaw/check in 1 week and then check another sample in 2 weeks.

 
My decision on getting cookies to Pittsburgh:

The hazelnut brownies are already baked, wrapped and in the freezer.
I'm baking the remaining three types of cookie a few days before I leave and wrapping them securely, then packaging them in a suitcase I'll check on the Delta flight. I've already scored some 2" thick foam padding from work to line the suitcase.
I'm prepping the peanut butter filling but not adding the filling until I get to Pittsburgh, a few hours before the event.

I followed my book's recipe and--based on Sherry's Errata list--while I used too little butter, I also used too little oatmeal. Regardless of those issues, the cookies still turned out fine.

I'll let ya'll know how the filled/frozen test samples work out.

 
Are you checking that bag or carrying it on? I'm a bit worried

about checking it. Nice response from her but what a shame a recipe in their book has so many mistakes! They must have been very upset.

 
I am checking the bag, but feel pretty confident the foam padding I'm adding will take care of

rough handling.

Yes...I think Sherry was pretty upset...and embarrassed. I have an entire page of errata, but the peanut butter cookie had the most errors. Thankfully, I used a random assortment of quantities....some I weighted out; others I used measuring cups and on the butter, I simply cut on the TBL marker. So while two of my ingredients were the wrong amounts, they canceled each other out.

 
do you suppose someone 3rd party was tasked with the conversions and got sloppy? I just can't

understand writing a cookbook and not having many many edit checks before printing. I would go over that baby a dozen times.

 
OK, but I'll have to stay worried about it. I just don't have confidence

that the movement inside the foam will keep them from crumbling. If it was me I'd check my clothes and carry the precious cargo. I have never seen cookies do well shipping no matter how well they are packed. I truly hope all goes well.
Signed,
Worry Wart

 
I am so impressed that she took the time, effort and energy to provide you with such a well thought

out response. I am sure it took courage to admit to the changes / mistakes in the recipe. It would have been easier for her to just ignore your email. I don't bake, but if I did, I would certainly look at her book. Very, very impressive!!

Good luck with your travels and event in Pittsburgh!

Have fun!

Best,
Barb

 
I think I'll be able to wrap the unfilled flat cookies easier.

And actually, with 200 flat cookies & a filled pastry bag to fill my time before the party, I'll be in my happy place.

 
aw honey, I designed circuit boards for 12 years. You have NO IDEA how much I can compress into a

small area. As soon as I saw that 2" foam (look at your thumb length...it's THAT THICK) I knew I could go with the suitcase.

And I can't put the filling in the carry-on or I might get another TSA body pat-down. Although, now that I think about that...

 
OK, maybe this cookie is more sturdy than most. I've never seen

it work but I look forward to you saying all went well.

 
I agree...my last trip came back with a giant boot print in the middle of my pink suitcase

We'll be praying for your precious cargo!

 
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