Cookbook Case Study - Peanut Cookies - Quick and Easy

For some reason, I'd been putting off making this last recipe from Global Vegetarian Cooking: Quick & Easy Recipes from Around the World. I'm not sure why - perhaps I had some perception that it would be difficult or complicated - or I thought I didn't have time, expecting it to take much longer than it did. Happily, my procrastination has come to an end! I made the Peanut Cookies (macaroons) from Guadeloupe last night while I was avoiding making dinner. (Okay, perhaps my procrastination hasn't come to an end - it just moved on to something else.)

The recipe truly is simple. Beat egg whites, beat in sugar, stir in ground peanuts and vanilla essence. Bake. The only caution I have is to perhaps use baking paper, as I had some trouble getting the cookies off the baking tray once they were done. I even managed to scrape the surface of my baking tray off with a knife in the process - slightly worrying.


Ready for the oven


We had a cookie each with icecream and chocolate syrup for dessert. As they are meringue based, they go better with icecream than cookie cookies do, I think. I managed to avoid eating more until the next day, when I brought four cookies in to give to a friend, and two for myself. (Apparently, the four cookies for my friend disappeared that afternoon - they are so light and moreish that I'm not surprised!)

I received the following by email shortly after handing them over:

that was one of the best things I've eaten in ages - so nice and light and lovely tasting~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was certainly pleased that she liked them as much as I did! On arriving home, two more cookies quickly evaporated into my mouth, while I worked on making some bread. From the batch of 12, this leaves two. If she's lucky, there might be one for my sister to try if she drops in later tonight. (If there's not... I hope she doesn't read this and find out!)


Pile of Cookies


So, the verdict is: cookies that are quick, easy, and delicious! Also, not overly loaded with sugar (the recipe from the book has more egg white and much less sugar than the similar recipes I've found online) or fat (only really the fat from the peanuts). They are crunchy, crumbly, good enough to share or to keep greedily to yourself... I am already planning when I'll make these next, and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of the recipe.

In fact, the only problem is thinking of what to do with spare egg yolks! (Hint: it's not putting them in a stirfry - sometimes I wonder how I can even justify having a food blog when I do questionable things like that!)