TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

So here's the problem folks. As I hope she knows, I absolutely adore Jayne's blog. The kids, the cats, the... Okay, I'd use cookies for the alliteration, but truly, I love all the food on there too. Please don't strike me dead for not continuing the alliteration? So yes, love. Love love love. Lots of love here. But, umm... none of that love is going to coconut. Or shortbread. Or macadamia nuts. You see, I really don't like coconut. The flavor, the texture of that sugary shaved stuff you can get in bags - blech! And macadamia nuts? Well, they're just not my favorite nut. That'd be the pecan. I could eat those suckers by the handful. And do. And shortbread tiptoes a fine line. I really like the not too buttery kind, that's a little drier and perfect for dunking in tea.


No worries though here, because I did make the Coconut Butter Thins that Jayne chose for TWD this week. I just, well, quartered the recipe. And took them all into work. And handed them out via an email saying "It's Friday - Have a cookie!" Have I mentioned that my coworkers love cookies? And yes, I did try one. As in, I broke a corner off, tasted it, and realized that I really do like my shortbread with a bit less butter. The cookie, well, oozed butter as I bit into it. A bit too greasy, but that's just me. Everyone else who tried them loved them.


I must admit, I really actually liked the flavor of the cookies though. The coconut just made them a little chewy (I loves me some chewy cookies). And the macadamia nuts weren't too soft and buttery, although I'm still thinking almonds or pecans would get them more in my "like" column, for both the flavor and the crunch factor. The best part though? That amazing browned butter / cookie smell while I was baking them. *swoon*

Oh yeah, and the reaction of people as I told them they had to try a cookie before they could leave my office. Priceless, let me tell you!

Last Week: Blueberry Crumb Cake
Next Week: Banana Cream Pie

BBB: Pane Francese

Umm... so I know I've professed love for all sorts of other breads here. But, well, this one takes the cake. It is 10000000x better than anything I've ever made. It's slightly sour, complex, sturdy, with a chewy, not too dense crumb. There are no superlatives that I couldn't use on this bread. It smells just like sourdough, the real deal.


There's only one thing. It took 4 days to make. FOUR DAYS. I even carried it with me to an afternoon of baking with a friend. For serious. She didn't even look at me funny. Is that a good sign, or a bad sign? First, I had to revive George, my sourdough starter. Let's just say it's been at least 5 months since he's come out to play, so I was very glad to see how lively he was after a couple feedings. Then there was a first stage levain. And a second stage levain. Neither of which I kneaded, because there was no way I was kneading that soupy mass. But, oh, when I tipped the second levain into my stand mixer - the gluten strands throughout were so exciting, I even flagged the boyfriend down to show him. For some odd reason, he wasn't quite as excited as I was, but oh well. Then a bulk ferment. And shaping, and a final proof. 4 days of blood, sweat, and tears.


All for some magnificent bread. Really, there's only one problem. There isn't enough of it. I want more. I need more. And I don't have four days to make it for the next month or so. This is a problem of epic proportions, people. So, um, if you happen to have four days to kill in the next week or so..... I wouldn't say no to a package of this bread :)

Thank you Sara, for picking such a wonderful bread for this month's Bread Baking Babes challenge, and to all the babes for letting me bake along with you!


PS - Since I used my 100% hydration sourdough starter, I added an extra 1/2 cup of flour to my final dough in order for it to get to the right level of tackiness.


PPS - See that final pic? I'm thinking I should have slashed the loaves, even though it told me not to. And I definitely should have baked it with steam. But eh, I guess that's just aesthetics, right?

March DB Challenge: Lasagne

This month's Daring Baker challenge definitely used the oven... just not in the way most of us were expecting! Lasagne - not really something we DBers think of when we want to bake, but it was definitely a challenge for me! I've made fresh pasta before, but never spinach pasta, and I barely ever make lasagne. I'm more of an instant results sorta gal when it comes to dinner :)

Lucky me, that my boyfriend gave me a KitchenAid pasta roller attachment for Christmas this year! I felt so bad for all the Daring Bakers who struggled to roll this pasta out by hand - it wasn't the most supple of doughs, and I even had to add an extra egg because it wasn't quite moist enough.


I did have an ulterior motive in my changes to the recipe. I decided almost immediately to make it vegetarian, and figured it was a perfect excuse to shove more veggies into my boyfriend, who apparently can live on meat and pasta every day all day with no ill effects. So into the pot went every vegetable that looked good at the grocery store today, but minced up so finely that he couldn't tell what veggie he was eating. And so finely he couldn't pick them out. Sneaky, huh? If nothing else, I at least told him what I put into it! No deceptively delicious here!


And oh, was it good. Ricotta instead of bechamel made it a bit more traditional to me, and I loved how whisper-thin the pasta was. It was also the sturdiest lasagne I've ever made - just look at how neatly it sliced! I had it for dinner, then for lunch for the rest of the week. And that was a half recipe of everything! It was so worth the time and effort, and I'm incredibly glad I finally made lasagne with fresh pasta - thanks Mary, Melinda, and Enza, for another fabulous Daring Baker Challenge!

Vegetable Ragu

1 large onion
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 cup button mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can finely diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup red wine

Coarsely chop the celery, onions, carrots, mushrooms, squash, zucchini, and bell pepper. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to do this in multiple batches. Saute in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until softened. Add in everything else but the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the red wine a bit at a time, as the mixture dries out. Simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes - I simmered for an hour, and it really helped develop the flavor.

Spinach Pasta Dough

7 oz flour
3 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 eggs

Combine the flour, spinach, and eggs. Knead 5-10 minutes, or until smooth. Allow to rest at least 30 minutes, covered, before rolling out.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Okay, so this is a toughie. Sihan, you totally threw me a curveball with this one. So I'm tossing a poll question out there to all of you TWD bakers, because it's what I was wondering while I mixed up the blueberry crumb cake, baked it, and later when I sampled it - Breakfast, or dessert?

Isn't the batter pretty?

I mean, it has all the hallmarks of a fabulous breakfast - fruit, a little tender cake, and a nice sprinkling of streusel. But it also has all the hallmarks of a great dessert - fruit, sugar, and butter. Yes, I know, fruit showed up both times, but I think you'll all agree that it goes with any meal, snack, or whatever. After that, however, I'm stumped. I totally wanted to bring it in to work as a breakfast-type item, but it's just so sweet! And really, the quantity of butter in the crumble is astounding - I peeked into the oven after 30 minutes to see a pool of butter in the very center of the cake. Yikes!


And really, while I'm all about sweets, this was almost too sweet even for dessert for me. I really wanted a tarter berry in there, just to provide a pop of sour to balance the sugar. Right now, I'm sort of kicking myself for not trying the variation mentioned by a TWDer on the P&Q post - cranberries. Now those would have been killer.


So here's my plan. Because I now write little notes by most of the recipes I make, I have a couple things on the docket to write next to this cake:

1. It actually rises. A lot. Rare for most of Dorie's cakes, but I very nearly regretted not putting a baking sheet under this one.
2. Halve the streusel. For serious. It was almost an inch thick in the pan pre-bake, and was even a little difficult to get a fork through after it cooled.
3. Lower the sugar. Maybe even halve it. Your dentist will thank you.
4. Try a tarter berry - cranberries, raspberries, or something like that.

Oh yeah, and number 5? MAKE IT AGAIN. Double it. Share it with all your friends. You'll find that, all of a sudden, you have a lot more friends than you even realized.....

Last Week: French Yogurt Cake
Next Week: Coconut Butter Thins

Mini Whole Wheat Bagels

As I promised, so I deliver. Mini bagels. With cute little chubby bagel-y cheeks. Totally pinchable, no?

I know I've mentioned before that I've essentially cut storebought bread out of my diet. Sure, there are multiple reasons, from health to wealth, yadayadayada. But really, who're we kidding? Once you go homemade, you can never go back. Homemade, hand kneaded bread is just worlds away better than anything you can buy in the store. Yes, that includes those silly "fresh-baked" breads you can get by the donuts. I'm sorry, they still have some pretty funky ingredients in them, and you can still tell they're storebought. And I'll stand by that, even as I'm cursing the fact that I have a three (really four) stage bread currently in the works. Luckily, my friends don't bat an eye when I bring the first stage levain over for baking sessions / dinner out.


Don't you love friends like that? I appreciate that I don't have to hide my baking craziness from them. Oh, and they completely understand when, after a perfectly hellacious day at work, you just had to go home and bake cookies. Then bring them into work. Because really, there's only a few ways to de-stress, and after a tiring day, the last thing I want to do is run. So baking it is!

We'll ignore the fact that people from work now know I have a food blog. On the one hand, I hope they find it so they can see what I make, and on the other hand - yikes! Holy baking insanity revealed! Anonymity = gone.


Oh right, the bagels. Can we get back to how absolutely adorably cute these little buggers are? Because I can barely stand it. They're so chubby, they rose and filled in the hole in the middle. And the fact that I still love them is a testament to my baking insanity as well. You see, I was at the boyfriend's when I made these. Boyfriend's apt = no KA stand mixer. And when you're trying to develop the gluten in a relatively dry dough, a few swear words tend to eke their way out. Seriously, I kneaded this dough for 20 minutes, breaking a sweat in the process.

But oh, isn't it worth it? Because they were chewy, wheaty, and just salty enough. I've had one for breakfast all week, and the boyfriend (who has been deprived of them since he lives 1.75 hrs away) has had one with every meal so far this weekend. If those aren't ringing endorsements, I don't know what would be.


And the final pic? Yeah, I was piling the bagels, taking pictures of them, and the boyfriend looked over and said - "Oh look, it's a turtle!" So yes, that is a bagel turtle. Or turtle bagels. One more point in the cute column, don'tcha think?

I'm submitting this to Susan's Yeastspotting extravaganza, in all of its cute, carby goodness.

Mini Wheat Bagels (adapted from here)

Starter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cool water
1/16 tsp instant yeast

Final Dough
all of the starter
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Water Bath for Steaming
4 cups water
1 Tbsp brown sugar

To make the starter: Combine flour, water, and yeast in a small container, stirring until smooth. Cover and let rest overnight or for about 14 hours, until bubbly and expanded.

To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, all purpose and whole wheat flours, brown sugar, and yeast. Mix until you've formed a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes with a stand mixer (or by hand for 15-20). It will still be quite stiff and a little shaggy.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or until puffy.

While the dough is rising, get out a deep skillet and fill it with water about 1/2" deep, adding the brown sugar. Place a steaming rack on top, or do as I did - use a cooling rack that will fit over the top of the skillet. Grease the rack so the bagels will not stick.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Gently deflate the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Set aside half, and shape each of the pieces into balls. Using your thumb, punch out a hole in the middle of each, then gently widen it until it is about 1 - 1 1/2" in diameter. While you're doing this, have the skillet of water heating until it is just simmering.

Once all 6 are shaped, place them on the rack and cover the skillet with a lid (or do as I did since a lid wouldn't fit over my impromptu steaming rack and use a cake pan). Steam the bagels for exactly 2 minutes. While they are steaming, get out a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.

Using a spatula, carefully transfer the bagels to the baking sheet. Bake the bagels for 20 minutes. If you want to top them with seeds or anything, take them out after 20 minutes, spritz them with water or brush some egg white on them and sprinkle them with your chosen topping. Place them back in the oven to bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful your toppings don't burn though!

Repeat with the second half of the dough.

NFR: Search Terms

So, as I might have mentioned, I use a third party website to get visitor statistics. It's pretty fabulous, because as I blog more, I see more readers coming from various places around the world. And I see what the most popular posts are for the past month (I have a free account, so it only allows me to go back 30 days). For instance, the most popular post in the past 30 days was the peanut butter korova cookies (nice choice, I must admit), followed closely by those mini chocolate layer cakes and my first successful attempt at macarons. On the geeky side of things, I get to cheer whenever I see that Firefox is again the most used browser by my readers (44.9% to 40.1%, kudos!). Oh, and on the not-so-useful side, since I use a standard template and don't have lots of bells and whistles on my sidebar, I can see what screen resolution most of you see my site in (1280x800, if you were wondering).

But the funniest and most entertaining thing that I can see is the search terms that redirect people to my site. And dear readers, I got a doozy just a couple days ago: "how does a baker make a crack free cheesecake."

So let me pose a couple questions for you, at least once you stop snorting. Don't lie - I'll bet you at least giggled a little. I know I snorted. In my empty apartment, luckily. The boyfriend tends to look at me funny when I laugh at my computer. First question - how do you make a crack free cheesecake? Because really, the person searching has a point. Cheesecake intrinsically contains crack. It's the only way to explain its addictive deliciousness. And question two - what's the funniest search term you've seen pop up as a way for people to get to your site?

Darling readers, inquiring minds want to know.

TWD: French Yogurt Cake

Wow, what a slacker I've been in the posting department. Always seems to happen mid-month, but I've got the cutest bagels coming right up later this week. You'll just want to pinch their cute little bagel-y cheeks.

On to this week's TWD pick by Liliana - this was one I was glad to see, and for multiple reasons. Okay, really just one. One reason, one bowl, one spoon, one pan. One happy girl.

I did change it up a bit, mostly because I found some shelled pistachios (in bulk! in my local grocery!) and decided that I needed them. Unfortunately, since the boyfriend was there, I needed some sort of excuse. So I just told him that I needed them for this yogurt cake, and proceeded to bag up three times as many as I knew I needed. Sneaky, aren't I?


The smell was absolutely fabulous, made more so by the excessive amount of citrus zest I put in it - both a lemon and a lime sacrificed their zest for this cake, because citrus means sunny to me. And since it was finally sunny and warm (a whole 55 degrees F!) outside, I wanted my baking to join in on the fun.

Word to the wise though. Well, actually two things. One, make sure your (or your boyfriend's, *ahem*) baking powder isn't expired. Or else you get a sort of sad, flat cake that's still pretty darned tasty. And two, grease the heck out of your loaf pan. Unless, that is, you want a little taste of what the cake will be like without cutting into it and possibly having it dry out because then you just let it stick a little bit to the bottom of the pan and scrape it out with your fingers and eat it right then and there (ow, burny fingers!) but make sure the boyfriend doesn't see and request a taste because it's your cake, darnit! *deep breath*


In other words, make this cake. It's simple, it's tasty, and it's fabulously open to any spin you want to put on it. I totally would have put rosewater in instead of vanilla if I had fancy schmancy ingredients like that. But don't let that stop you from doing something wild and crazy like that. I would never stand in the way of wild and crazy baking.

Last Week: Espresso Cardamom Custard
Next Week: Blueberry Crumb Cake (just in time for spring and fresh fruit :) )

French Yogurt Cake (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours)

1 cup sugar
zest from 1 lemon and 1 lime
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup finely ground pistachios
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously grease a loaf pan (I used a 9 x 5, but you get greater height using a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2).

Combine the zest and sugar in a medium bowl, rubbing together with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until just combined.

Fold in the oil. It might not want to cooperate at first, just give it time. The batter should be smooth and glossy.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out and cooling on a rack.

TWD: Espresso Cardamom Custard

Okay, so I know I gave up caffeine for Lent. But lemon custard was just not calling my name, not while good ol' Wisconsin was dumping a few inches of snow on my doorstep. As much as I liked that it meant the boyfriend couldn't leave for Madison quite yet, I don't really relish the drive into work tomorrow. And when it's snowing, I don't really get excited about spring-y flavors like lemon. I want heavy flavors instead - spices and coffee especially. And since I picked up cardamom pods during my last random spice trip, that was destined to be the spice of the day.


Moment of truth here though - I walked into this expecting to hate it. You see, I had this perception that I was permanently against eggy desserts due to an unfortunate experience traveling abroad in Spain. We were served flan, and it was as scarring experience. Eggy, gelatinous, overall just bad. And from then on, I decided that I didn't like baked custards. As a result, when flan was picked last summer for TWD, I chickened out and didn't make it. As a personal test (and thanks to some exchanges with Laurie and Di), I decided to make this week's custard, just to see if I'd like it.


It smelled fabulous, with cardamom pods steeping in milk; even better was when the espresso powder was added. It looked wonderful, carefully poured into my adorable little butterfly teacups - creamy, light brown against white. And you know what? Thirty five minutes later, it tasted good too. No, it tasted better than good. It was pure, creamy fabulousness. I think I'm going to have to go back and make that flan now...


So kudos to Laurie for guilting me into at least trying it, and Di for guilting me into making it when she made it knowing she wouldn't like it. And a million thanks to Bridget for giving me the chance to get over another food phobia!


Last Week: Chocolate Whiskey Mini Cupcakes
Next Week: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red velvet. You know, I don't believe that I've ever eaten a red velvet cake that was made from scratch. That vibrant, bloody red color just isn't natural. No two ways about it, beet juice and vinegar are not going to make a cake that color. And I've been told it's poor form to use your own blood to color your baked goods. My bad.


But after seeing Bridget's red velvet cake comparison, I decided that since she had gone to all the trouble to let me know what the best recipe was, I should take advantage of all of her hard work. I'm a nice fellow blogger like that. [Speaking of being a nice fellow blogger, I do apologize for my spotty and tardy commenting on TWD posts - the whole 40 min commute + 5-7 mile run + DINNER = me waiting until Saturday or Sunday to comment. Mea culpa, my friends, and I promise that after the half marathon is over, I'll do better. Hold me to it, though, mkay?]


Oh right, red velvet. You see, things have been crazy at work lately, which has led to some rather frazzled maintenance guys as I go and ask them to fix just one more thing in prep for an audit in the next week or so. Oh yeah, and can you completely clean such-and-such machine in 2 1/2 days? Thanks! So I needed to thank them, and when that happens, I just scroll through the goodies that I've starred in my good ol' Google Reader and pick one. This week, it was Bridget's red velvet comparison, so I decided to whip up a half recipe of her favorite from Apple a Day in cupcake form for our maintenance guys. Even though I have some pretty rad piping tips thanks to my cake decorating classes, I went with just a nice smear of brown sugar cream cheese frosting instead. Because seriously guys, that stuff is the nectar of the gods. Nothing comes close.


PS - I even got to use another of Clara's super-awesome-fantastic gifts in this latest baking venture - silicone muffin cups. With just a little spritz of cooking spray, my cupcakes slid right out of them without a problem. Well, minus some burnt fingers, since I was removing them five seconds after they came out of the oven while talking to the boyfriend on the phone about how hot they were. But those are just details, right? Because these muffin cups are amazing - I can use just as many as I need for the recipe, and they have a handy-dandy little fill line which made my cupcakes just barely crest over the edge of the cups. All you need is one overflowing cupcake disaster to fully appreciate the brilliance of the fill line. So a million thanks go to Clara for another amazing gift!

TWD: Chocolate Whiskey Mini Cupcakes

When something is titled "The Cake That Got Me Fired," wouldn't you think it would take less than a year before someone picked it?!? I mean, really guys - we waited a year for the Korova cookies, over a year for this... It's like we're saving up the ones with the really good stories. And the ones that only take 5 minutes to mix in one bowl. I'm thinking the latter issue is one that needs further investigation actually; what's so wrong with muffins? My dishwasher (aka me) needs a break here! Lyb, we need to have a discussion here. Real soon.


Speaking of, the end tally for dishes was: two pans, four bowls, three spoons, one measuring cup, one food processor, one hand mixer, and one mini muffin pan. Phew! Now, a couple of those things probably weren't necessary, especially the food processor. But the last thing I wanted to do on Monday night at 6p was make a full-size cake. So I thirded the recipe (approximately, I wasn't really measuring so much), pulverized my whiskey-soaked prunes into a tasty paste, and spooned the resulting cake batter into a well greased mini muffin pan. Twelve minutes later, I had my first batch of ooey-gooey chocolatey goodness. In all, I got 16 mini chocolate whiskey cakes.


And yes, I did try one (how else would I know how ooey and gooey these were?). Dear. Lord. I might have difficulty taking these into work. Intensely chocolatey, slightly bitter, incredibly moist... These were good. These were better than good. I could potentially eat waaaay too many of these little buggers. Which is why I immediately wrapped them up, stashed them away, and decided my only revenge was to not tell anyone that there were prunes in them. Until after they ate them.


It's the little things, people. It's the little things.

Last Week: Caramel Crunch Bars
Next Week: Lemon Cup Custard

SHF: Copycat Pocky Sticks

This month's theme for Sugar High Friday is copycat recipes. And while I always see things floating around for "Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits" or "Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli," copycat recipes have never really done it for me. Generally, there's a reason why those sorts of things are mass produced, and I don't really want to know what goes into them. *shudder*


But getting back to the pocky. I must admit, I had an ulterior motive for making this - the boyfriend is a pocky freak. He loves them, and seriously inhales boxes of them in no time at all. But since you can really only find them at those random (fantastic!) Oriental groceries, I figured that when I saw this post on Not Quite Nigella that making them would be the perfect Valentine's present for him.


Dipped in white, milk, and dark chocolates, dressed up with heart sprinkles (thanks to Clara!), and chilled to firm up, they were indeed perfect. He's been happily snacking away on them, and pronounced them to be identical to storebought pocky. Success!

Pocky

135 g bread flour
80 g all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
13 g confectioners sugar
6 g instant yeast
65 mL milk, warm to the touch
16 g tahini
25 g honey
zest from 1/4 orange
25 g unsalted butter, room temperature

Combine the yeast and milk in a measuring cup and allow the yeast to proof for a bit.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. The quantity isn't quite enough to use a stand mixer, so I did all of this by hand.

Mix the honey and tahini together in another bowl, or you can just measure it into the same cup as the yeast and milk. I do so hate doing dishes, and you have to mix the two things together anyway. Add that to the dry ingredients. Mix until you form a dough - mine was a little dry at this point.

Add the zest, butter, and 60 mL of water (I made sure this was lukewarm too, just for the yeast). Mix until everything comes together, then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. I added just another couple spoonfuls of flour to this so that I could knead it by hand. If you're using a fancy schmancy hand mixer with a dough hook attachment, you won't need to do this. By hand though, the dough is a bit sticky.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. Allow it to chill for at least an hour, or overnight. Or for a couple days because you spend too much time at work. You know, however it fits into your schedule.

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees F. Halve the dough and place one half back in the refrigerator. Knead the other half until it is smooth, then roll out until it is about 1/4" thick. With a sharp knife, eyeball strips that are about 1/4" wide and 6" long. Or you can get out a ruler. Or do what I did, and just make strips 1/4" wide and haphazard lengths depending on how rectangular my dough was at the time.

Transfer these to a parchment paper lined baking sheet (if you don't use parchment, grease the sheet so they don't stick). Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until they're nice and brown. Golden brown means they'll be crispy, as they should be - this took closer to 18-20 minutes for mine. Keep an eye on them though, because they go from crispy brown to crispy black in no time flat. Crispy black is not what you're going for, if you were wondering.

Transfer to a rack to cool, then decorate as you'd like. Melt some chocolate and spoon it over, then sprinkle whatever you'd like all over them. Or just snack on the crispy things by themselves, I promise I won't tell. If you won't.