I'll be honest - these didn't turn out as I had hoped. They were too solid for that, I wanted them to be lighter, airier. Could be the left-out ingredient, cream of tartar, I suppose. It's just that I can't find cream of tartar here, to save my life. So, I just omitted it. It worked, but.. well. Hard cookies. Per loved them so I still feel ok posting about them, but I was a little bit disappointed. The flavor is great though - VERY cardamom-y. Perfect for dunking in your coffee!
The recipe? It's from Maida Heatter, via Nic at Bakingsheet. I'd love to make them again, but maybe I should try to track down that cream of tartar first.
19 comments:
Hej,
Det här har inget att göra just med den här blogg-posten utan med din önskelista på råvaror som du inte får tag i.
1. Semolina är detsamma som mannagryn och det kan du ju få tag i överallt.
2. Maccademia nötter kan man köpa i hötorgshallen i ståndet som ligger mitt emot alla grekburgar-ställena. De har en massa olika nötter och grejer. Just maccademianötterna är ganska pricy men annars har de helt ok prisläge.
Karin - vilken pärla du är! Nähä, är semolina mannagryn? Jag trodde det var nån typ av.. eh, durumvete? Vad sjutton är egentligen mannagryn? Nu blev jag jätteförvirrad. Majsmannagryn verkar vara samma som polenta...
Fint tips om macadamia-nötter, får ta mig dit och kolla :) Du ser, vad skulle jag göra utan uppmärksamma blogg-läsare...
Next time (if there is a next time!) you can try subbing baking powder for some of the cream of tartar. The cream of tartar provides an extra baking powder-like reaction with the baking soda for added lift in the cookies. I think that would lighten them up a bit. That cardamom flavour is addictive!
Nic - thank you! What's really in Cream of Tartar, do you know? I'm wondering if it can be similar to a Swedish ingredient, which translates to powdered ammonium carbonate. Maybe it's the same?
And there *will* be a next time, because Per loved these, even though they were a bit rock-like. :)
It's potassium hydrogen tartrate and forms as crystals in wine casks during fermentation. Leaving it out woiuld leave the cookies hard as it is a leavening agent.
It is widely available in the US, but I don't think you can substitute anything for it - baking powder may be the next best thing, but not the same. I know Penzeys carries it, and they ship internationally.
http://www.penzeys.com/
Heather, thank you so much! Now I know! I'll have to consider a Penzeys order - I didn't know they shipped internationally! (That groaning sound is my wallet in anticipation) I'm guessing that the American import store in Stockholm *might* have it, too. Will look, for sure!
It's funny; I was looking for cream of tartar on the weekend, and couldn't find it either! Our box must be 20 years old, and I'm sure I see it regularly in supermarkets here, but not that day.
I was also going to suggest using some baking powder. Cream of tartar often appears in older recipes, before baking powder become available.
I recently made something that called for cream of tartar and was surprised to find that I didn't have any. It was amazingly cheap. Heather is right though. I have the latest penzeys catalog right on my desk and it's in there! Beware. Penzeys is seriously addictive. I love their curry powders and paprikas. Lots of other things too.
One of the good things about cream of tartar is that it is very shelf stable - it'll last forever. Baking powder's "oomph" decreases over time, though mine doesn't usually stick around long enough for that to be a problem!You can also add in pinch of cream of tartar to egg whites to stabilise them as you beat them.
Anne - this is in Norwegian, but may be helpful:
"kremortartari, kaliumhydrogentartrat (kaliumhydrogensalt av vinsyre, også kalt → vinstein). Brukes bl.a. i bakepulver og i medisiner"
Pille - you just cracked it for me! Vinsten! Yes, of course!! I *do* know that. I bet it's easily available, too. :)
Har precis upptäckt din inspirerande blog.
När jag bodde i England kom jag underfund med att cream of tartar + bikarbonat=bakpulver. Men resultatet skiljer sig ibland beroende på vad man använder. Har du tittat om the English Shop i söderhallarna har cream of tartar?
I would be willing to mail some of those items to you that you can't get!
Love your blog
Moira, Gypsy - you girls are just too sweet. :) Thank you for your super kind offers - it's really heart-warming and I feel extremely appriciated. :)
Hello, I have been looking for cream of tarter since 2 months! Today I found your blog entry - how did your search end up? Does the Vinsten help in Coop or ICA? :)
I never did find "vinsten" but English Shop (at Söderhallarna, Medborgarplatsen) carries Cream of tartar!
thank you! I will have to make one day trip from Taby to south of Stockholm for shopping :)
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