Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet chose the last Tuesdays with Dorie recipe for the month of April. I love Mary, her stories, her self deprecating sense of humor, and her excitement when she finds something she's excited about.
I thought these cookies sounded so good (though I did substitute butter for the vegetable shortening) until I got to the part where you add molasses. Molasses, to chocolate chip cookies? Really? There was the sweetness of the chocolate chunks. The sweetness of the sugar. The sweetness from the coconut. And raisins. And Dorie wants me to add molasses, too? But I added it. And the cookies tasted more like toxic waste than cookies. I had to throw them away. I wrote my post, queued it up for today, and moved on.
A few weeks went by. The P&Q was posted and the other TWD bakers liked these cookies. Had I done something wrong? A peek at my bottle of molasses confirmed that I had. Dorie specifically said not to use blackstrap molasses, so I bought unsulphured. See:
But a closer look at the ingredients revealed this:
No wonder they tasted like toxic waste.
If you'd like the recipe, Mary will have it here. And check out the rest of the TWD bakers here. They used a variety of sweeteners to replace the molasses, some of which sounded very good to me.
I wonder how much difference there would be in taste if the recipe called for honey or maple syrup rather than molasses. I am not a fan of molasses and almost did not use it but stuck to the recipe and then really could not taste the molasses.
ReplyDeleteI substituted brown sugar for the molasses. I just didn't think it would go well with all that chocolate.
ReplyDeletesneaky black strap molasses! Glad the second batch worked out better
ReplyDeleteHow cool you made a second batch! Im glad they were better then the first one..they sure look good!
ReplyDeleteWe loved this jumbled cookie. It was fun and different. I'm impressed you made two batches. I don't like failures either!
ReplyDeleteaww sorry they weren't a hit, but they do look good anyway!
ReplyDeleteWanted to tell you I was sorry I could not cook the jam cookies you chose on BB because I am allergic to oatmeal! All the cookies this month look delicious. Sorry you did not love this one.
ReplyDeleteI subbed Golden Syrup since I didn't have any molasses on hand (I had just finished a bottle for my Southern Molasses Cake!). Sorry they weren't a fave of yours, but they look great! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to say that in the forge ahead with great zeal, you win this week. Making them twice, when you were questioning them even the first time, has to be above and beyond the call of duty. Have to say that your cookies look really nice!
ReplyDeleteYou did them twice? You are amazing and a good sport. I liked them, but I think next time I might try some golden syrup instead of the molasses.
ReplyDeleteGood catch. I wondered why that first one was so dark. It's good you gave them a second shot. Glad they were enjoyed, finally!
ReplyDeleteYou're such a good label reader. I LOVE molasses - so the blackstrap is something I would have used. But so glad you tried again with something "you" enjoy - that's what's most important. It's just a cooky, after all! There's plenty more to be made. And by the way -they LOOK delicious!
ReplyDeletemike
TWD blog
web.me.com/mikejdunlap
That's too bad that you had to throw them away the first time. I hate it when labeling gives the wrong information.
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't love these. They look yummy to me!
I was just reading everyone's recaps of these cookies and they sounded (and looked) amazing. Better luck next time :)
ReplyDeleteGood on you for trying these again. The second batch look delectable.
ReplyDeleteHahahah stupid hidden ingredients! I don't mean to laugh, but I thought it was funny that you said that these taste like toxic waste!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed you tried them twice! These were good, but I don't think I'd make them again.
ReplyDeleteyeah i am not a fan of blackstrap molasses!! i love chocolate but just not chocolate cookies. your cookies look chock full of goodness :)
ReplyDeleteI use molasses a lot, and being adventurous I tried blackstrap once, toxic waste is an apt description. You are a really trooper to give them a second chance.
ReplyDeleteMimi
Oh no!! That stuff with the molasses could have happened to me too!! I wasn't too keen on these either, I'm just not a big fan of oats...
ReplyDeleteYou're good for trying these cookies twice! I reduced the molasses to 1TB and upped the sugar. Much better.
ReplyDeleteDetermined - to make them a second time. Funny how we don't read the labels sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThey look good.
I love love love that you made these twice. I am glad that the next time was not toxic waste :). Thanks so much for your kind words and thanks for baking along with me on my Queen for a Day TWD week.
ReplyDeleteYour post cracked me up Leslie - toxic waste, that can't be a good thing! I'm glad they turned out better the second time, even if they weren't a favorite.
ReplyDeleteI love molasses, even the blackstrap variety. I try to be good and only use it when the recipe directs me to, though. I'm beyond impressed that you gave these a second chance.
ReplyDelete