These were good. Please help me make them "perfect": Oatmeal Cheddar cookies from "Salty Caramels"

marilynfl

Moderator
Pastry chef: Ginna Haravon

Shop: Salty Caramels

We watched these being made on Unique Sweets and Larry asked me to try the recipe. The only change we would prefer (and both of us said the same thing at the same time) is a crunchier version (more cracker-like).

During the show, the commentators called these oatmeal cheddar cookies so I'm unsure where Carousel comes from. Be careful if you search for this term on the Internet because Ginna has also provided an "oatmeal cheddar cracker" at Food & Wine (I've linked that recipe as well). We liked the idea of the apricots/prunes/cheese, so this version was our choice. It's a very good blend, especially with the light sprinkling of turbinado sugar on top. Sunsweet has a new no-sugar/preservative-free dried plum ("prunes" in my world) that I was very pleased with.

With the food processor grating the cheese and the frozen butter, this went together in 5 minutes. Be aware you have to chill the log before baking.

So...do I add more fat (more butter? more cheese)? Or remove some of the flour? I tried putting some back into the shut-off oven for 5 minutes and 25 minutes later popped off the couch like a freakin' jack-in-the-box when I realized they were still in there. It slightly hardened them, but they were still a tad soft in the middle. They end up looking just like the photo.

I wonder if the shop uses a convection oven? Would that make a difference?

I only baked a dozen (1/8" thick) and so tonight I'm going to try my "Wallace & Gromit Holy Communion Cheese Wafer" trick of baking them in a pizzelle/krumkake iron.

(Oh! I just re-read through this for typos and realized while I made HALF the recipe, I used the whole egg-yolk. Would that make a difference??)

CAROUSEL COOKIES:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup dried apricots

1/4 cup dried plums

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 pound English Cheddar, grated

1 stick chilled butter, cut in small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg yolk

Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Add the flour, oats, apricots, plums, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process until a coarse meal is formed. Add the cheese and butter and pulse just to combine. Whisk the milk and egg yolk together and stream into the food processor while the machine is running. Process until the dough begins to form a ball. Roll the dough into a log on a lightly floured surface, wrap tightly in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unwrap the dough and cut into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the slices on the baking sheets, allowing 1/2 inch between each cookie, sprinkle lightly with turbinado sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/salted-caramels-carousel-cookie-ice-cream-sandwiches-recipe/index.html

 
Add bacon. smileys/smile.gif Doesn't help your problem at all, but when in doubt, everything's better with bacon smileys/smile.gif

Sorry, I'm no help when it comes to baking! smileys/frown.gif

It sounds like the pizelle press will make them nice an crispy. Good luck!

 
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