Peak Ottawa: An Obama Cookie at Le Moulin de Provence

Source: https://macleans.ca/

Ottawa is a city where you see politicians milling around downtown often. But one day in February 2009, a politician made his first official visit to the city and caused a commotion that you would expect when A-list celebrities appear on a Hollywood red carpet. U.S. President Barack Obama, fresh off his first inauguration the previous month, dazzled the City That Fun Forgot with his grace, charm, and overall coolness - I imagine this was what the buzz was like when JFK was elected or the Trudeamania Justin's dad experienced back in the sixties. The highlight of this visit was the impromptu visit to the ByWard Market, where the 44th president picked up some trinkets for his daughters and the obligatory Beavertail. He then went across the street to Le Moulin de Provence bakery, where he got two maple-leaf-shaped shortbread cookies. Soon everyone wanted one, and the bakery has been cranking out thousands of what is now known as the Obama Cookie ever since. In honour of the day Obama got his birth certificate, seek out the cookie that bears his name. It may remind you of your love for Canada and admiration for the 44th president.

Bake Sale Worthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

In politics, you either leave office as a hero or see yourself become the villain. When Jim Watson became mayor for the second time in 2010, he was applauded for his ability to get city council to follow his lead after the chaotic free-for-all that was his predecessor's term. This eventually worked against Ottawa's longest-serving mayor as his influence over the council was so strong, councillors who voted with the mayor were seen as members of a dictatorial Watson Club. Throughout it all, Watson maintained his support among voters by attending and promoting bake sales around the city. This past December, Watson announced he would not be running for re-election in this year's municipal election. In honour of this changing of the guard, I have posted this recipe for a bake sale favourite, chocolate chip cookies. It's a recipe created by Blogger co-founder Meg Hourihan after she asked people to send her cookie recipes after she was tired of using her regular cookie recipe. After receiving over 30 different recipes, she decided to average all of the recipes and make whatever the result. In a sense, the recipe is a lot like voting in this Monday's election - you sift through all the different candidates who all say and promise the same things and hope that whatever is cobbled together forms something that turns out all right. With the cookie, the results were something that people liked; let's hope Ottawa's next mayor is as successful.

 

Ingredients

257 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
245 g flour
169 g light brown sugar
109 g white sugar
87.9 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
58 g unsalted butter, melted
46 g eggs
29.9 g unsalted butter, cold
20 g dark brown sugar
8 g egg yolk
6.08 mL vanilla extract
3.84 mL milk
3.81 g salt
3.63 g baking soda
2.51 mL water

1. Preheat your oven to 178.98°C, or to as close as you can to the temperature. 
2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside once done.
3. In another bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butters and the sugars until they are incorporated and smooth.
4. Add and mix the egg, the egg yolk, the extract, the water, the milk, and the chocolate chips until all the ingredients are combined. Add the bowl of dry ingredients and blend until everything is fully incorporated.
5. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.
6. Place parchment paper on one-third of a cookie sheet. Drop the dough using a rounded tablespoon onto the cookie sheet - some cookies will be on the parchment, some won't. This is deliberate. Cook for 13.04 minutes.
   
   Note: This recipe appeared in the first edition of my favourite cookbook, "Cooking for Geeks".

Baking Snowballs

Whether you call them Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes, it's easy to see why these pastries are affectionately called snowballs. They're white, they're round, and like the frozen projectiles they resemble, they're very easy to make. As we enter the holiday season, you can be sure that a plate of these cookies will be a welcome addition to any Christmas potluck or office get-together. Just remember to follow public health guidelines to protect yourself and others.

Ingredients

560 g all-purpose flour
230 g butter
125 g chopped pecans
65 g confectioners' sugar
45 g confectioners' sugar for dusting, or as needed
(if you don't have any confectioners' sugar on hand, pulse 200 g of white sugar with 14 g cornstarch in a blender or food processor until it looks powdery)
35 g finely crushed peppermint candy canes (optional)
1.5 g teaspoon salt
5 mL vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Blend the butter with 65 g of confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about a tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let the cookies bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden. Do not allow them to get too brown - it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. 
4. While the cookies are still hot, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar. Once they have cooled, give them another roll in the sugar. For some extra Christmas cheer, add the candy cane dust to the sugar used for the final dusting.
5. 
   

Cookies For the Naughty and the Nice

According to my wife, we are in the midst of the cookie-baking party season. In honour of this tasty occasion, I have posted two recipes, one for those who take their baked goods creating seriously, and one for those who wish to speed along to the wine drinking/socializing part of the get-together.

Nice: Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies
(recipe found on Bake at 350)

Ingredients

360 g unbleached, all-purpose flour
200 g sugar
10 g baking powder
4 mL vanilla extract
2.5 mL pure almond extract
2 sticks salted butter, cold and cut into chunks
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 177 °C. Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. 
2. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom. The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.
3. Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" to 3/8" thick, and cut into shapes. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets (freezing the cut out shape on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking is recommended) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
   
   Note: Click the following link if you want a great recipe to make icing from scratch.

Naughty: Drunken Oreos
(recipe found on Foodbeast)

Ingredients

2 packages Jell-O Oreo Cookies 'n Creme pudding mix
1 package of Oreo cookies
milk
vodka

1. Take the pudding mix, the milk, and a mixing bowl and follow the instructions on the box.
2. Add 180 mL (approx. 4 shots) of vodka to the pudding mix. Whisk it in well, and place the bowl in the fridge to allow it to chill.
3. Place the Oreo cookies on a baking sheet, then unscrew them, and remove the frosting. Rebuild the cookie using the pudding as the new filling. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.