Monday, September 11, 2006

A Model for Insanity, plus Almond and Molasses Moonrocks

Molasses Moonrocks with Vanilla Buttercream Filling

It’s been…

A week of sunshine,
a week of rain,
a week of gale force winds,
a week of unpredictable weather.

A week of shopping,
a week of presents,
a week of chaos.

A week of piling workloads,
a week of never-ending phone calls,
a week of insanity.

A weekend of seeing old friends,
a weekend of making new friends,
a weekend of endless chatter,
a weekend of laughter,
a weekend of fun.

A weekend for a wedding,
a weekend for a birthday,
a weekend for celebration,
a weekend for friends,
a weekend for putting your dancing shoes on.


A week of bliss,
a week of food,
and a week of wine.

This week…


A week of sleep.

I’m exhausted.


Almond and Molasses Moonrocks
(makes 15 cookie sandwiches)
adapted from
this book

Molasses and Almond Moonrocks with Vanilla Buttercream Filling

¼ cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/3 cup plain all-purpose flour
1 cup almond meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FILLING

¼ cup unsalted butter diced
½ cup unrefined icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tsp milk

Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking with parchment paper or non-stick liner.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter sugar and molasses over low heat, stirring constantly until the butter melts and sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to medium-high and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be smooth and glossy.
Remove saucepan from heat and sift in the flour and stir.
Add the almonds, vanilla and almond extracts and stir to incorporate. The batter will thicken.
Drop 2 teaspoon mounds of batter 5cm apart onto baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 11 minutes, until they have browned all over. The cookies will not spread too much.
Remove cookies from oven and cool for 5minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool further.

MAKE THE FILLING

Combine butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
Add the milk, half a teaspoon at a time. Add more milk if required.
Mix until buttercream becomes smooth.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yummmm....moon rocks never looked so gOOD!!!!!

wheresmymind said...

I have one heavy duty week ahead of me...I'll need a week of sleep after this one :)

Anonymous said...

Cookie sandwiches are so lush - almonds and molasses, so good together.
Moonrocks is such a great name.

Erin said...

these look sooo good, and they are adorable! I love the idea of "moonrocks"...

christine said...

Those look divine! Hope you get the sleep you deserve, sweet dreams. :)

L Vanel said...

These look like my kind of cookies.

lobstersquad said...

Yum, just what I´d need after my week.

Belinda said...

Lovely description of the week but yes, no wonder you need a rest. Moonrocks sound so cute! Have a good sleep!

Cerebrum said...

Heh - I was about to say you needed a weeks rest after eating these!:-) Gotta try 'em - they look absolutely delish!

Anonymous said...

What a whirlwind of activity! Be sure to get some well-deserved shut-eye!
The moonrocks look incredible!

Alpineberry Mary said...

A well deserved week of rest after all that activity! May you dream of buttercream...

Anonymous said...

Those look so cute.

Joycelyn said...

hi jen, WOW! what cute moonrocks - they've never looked more awesome ;)

Anonymous said...

Yum! I need to use molasses more often. I love the flavor it brings but I almost never use it. I hope they help your sanity!

Anonymous said...

love your word snapshot of your week jenjen...

Anonymous said...

Hope you're getting plenty of sleep this week - and these moonrocks should provide a nick kickstart to help you get motivated for when you wake up ;) How adorable they are!

Anonymous said...

You and your sandwich cookies - I love it! And these look perfect for (our) now-Fall weather. Thanks for another great idea.

Jen said...

Thanks everyone for your nice comments, I managed to get lots of extra sleep and the bad weather actually helped in keeping me in bed.
I think if there were too much sunshine I would have been coaxed out of bed prematurely. I hate to waste good sunshine : )

Anonymous said...

I want to marry these cookies. Is such a thing possible?

Jen said...

Ivonne- you are too funny!
If you really want to marry the cookies I am happy to oversee the proceedings. Any excuse for a party is a good one : )