We Love Cookies !

More About Where the Name of the Cookie
Cookies were first made from little pieces of cake batter that were cooked separately in order to test oven temperature. The ancestor of the cookie is said to have come from Persia in the 1600s according to many sources. (example) 2

Cookie Recipes
Cookies can be baked until crisp or just long enough that they remain soft, depending on the type of cookie. Some cookies are not cooked at all. Cookies are made in a wide variety of styles, using an array of ingredients including sugars, spices, chocolate, butter, peanut butter, nuts or dried fruits.

A general theory of cookies may be formulated this way. Despite their descent from cakes and other sweetened breads, the cookie in almost all its forms has abandoned water as a medium for cohesion. Water in cakes serves to make the base (in the case of cakes called 'batter') as thin as possible, which allows the bubbles – responsible for a cake's fluffiness – to form better. In the cookie the agent of cohesion has become some variation of the theme of oil. Oils, be they in the form of butter, egg yolks, vegetable oils or lard are much more viscous than water and evaporate freely at a much higher temperature than water. Thus a cake made with butter or eggs instead of water is far denser after removal from the oven.

Oils in baked cakes do not behave as water in the finished product. Rather than evaporating and thickening the mixture, they remain, saturating the bubbles of escaped gasses from what little water there might have been in the eggs, if added, and the carbon dioxide released by heating the baking powder. This saturation produces the most texturally attractive feature of the cookie, and indeed all fried foods: crispness saturated with a moisture (namely oil) that does not sink into it.

Obviously there is some variation in that some cookies are purposely undercooked to retain a water-moist center.

Classification of cookies
Eight types of cookies
Cookies are broadly classified according to how they are formed, including at least these categories:

Drop cookies are made from a relatively soft dough that is dropped by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough spread and flatten. Chocolate chip cookies are an example of drop cookies.

Refrigerator cookies are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated to become even stiffer. The dough is typically shaped into cylinders which are sliced into round cookies before baking. Molded cookies are also made from a stiffer dough that is molded into balls or cookie shapes by hand before baking. Snickerdoodles are an example of molded cookies. Rolled cookies are made from a stiffer dough that is rolled out and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Gingerbread men are an example.  Pressed cookies are made from a soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press into various decorative shapes before baking. Spritzgebäck are an example of a pressed cookie. Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie, while Rice Krispie treats are a bar cookie that doesn't require baking, perhaps similar to a cereal bar. In British English, bar cookies are known as "tray bakes".  Commercially-produced cookies include many varieties of sandwich cookies filled with marshmallow, jam, or icing, as well as cookies covered with chocolate which may more closely resemble a type of confectionery.

Biscuits (cookies) in the United Kingdom
A basic biscuit (cookie) recipe includes flour, shortening (often lard), baking powder or soda, milk (buttermilk or sweet milk) and sugar. Common savoury variations involve substituting sugar with an ingredient such as cheese. (In the U.S., these are called "cheese straws".)

One of the most popular biscuits is the Jammie Dodger, two sweet biscuits sandwiching a jam filling. The jammie dodger most commonly has a heart shaped hole in the middle. The biscuits in the UK are mainly madeby Burton's Foods who also produce the popular Wagon Wheel, two sandwiched biscuits filled with marshmallow and coated in milk chocolate.

More About Cookies

Split Bean Coffee Introduces Their Easter/Spring 2006 Collection

Split Bean Coffee introduces their Easter 2006 Collection of Artisan Alfajores, Micro-Roasted Coffees, Artisan Sweets, and Hand-Crafted Marshmallows.

(PRWEB) March 25, 2006 -- The 2006 Easter collection features a “Marshmallow Bouquet” consisting of Rose Petal essence from the Middle East; Jasmine essence from Asia; and Lavender from our friends at the Hood River Lavender Farms in Oregon. These “heavenly pillows” are hand-crafted using natural ingredients.

Split Bean Coffee’s Dulces del Rocío Marshmallows are available in over 20 flavors (including strawberry, cherry, coconut, vanilla, orange, green tea, chocolate, raspberry), and can be specially crafted for your needs.

The 2006 Easter Collection also feature a Super Size Alfajor – Alfajor Gigante filled with either Guava or Dulce de Leche. Split Bean Coffee is also offering a Fancy Box of Guava filled alfajores covered in White Chocolate and Gold-leafed with an Easter theme. These beautiful and delicious alfajores make a wonder and unique gift for the Season. Can’t decide what to give these Easter Season, let Split Bean Coffee prepare a special Easter Basket that best reflects your taste and budget.

What is and alfajor you may ask? Alfajores are South American Shortbread cookies. These delicious treats are normally filled with Dulce de Leche (milk caramel) and lightly dusted with confectionary sugar. Split Bean Coffee offers a variety of standard unique flavors including Quince, Guava, Raspberry, Strawberry, Lucuma, and a chocolate covered variety. Recently featured in Los Angeles Magazine’s Food Lovers Guide, The Miami Herald, The Oregonian, and The Oklahoman, these cookies are just to die for!

ABOUT SPLIT BEAN COFFEE: Split Bean Coffee® is a Southern California based Micro-Roaster of single origin Nicaraguan Coffees, and confectioner of Artisan Quality Gourmet Sweets, featuring their world famous Alfajores La Misión® and their Dulces del Rocío® Award Winning Marshmallows.

Split Bean Coffee is a family owned business dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of Old Fashioned Coffees and Treats. Using family treasured recipes from their families in South America and The American South, they have combined the time honored traditions of people’s love for good quality coffee and the old-fashioned sweets traditions their grand-parents learned to love.

Split Bean offers a fine selection of Micro-roasted coffees, of which Nicaraguan Coffees is their flag-ship coffee. Grown in the highlands of the Matagalpa region, and minimally processed in a family member’s fair trade co-op farm. Split Bean Coffee’s commitment to its customers is to provide freshest roasted coffee every time. Each bag of coffee is roast-to-order to assure the customer always receives the freshest roast possible.

Split Bean Coffee also features a selection of hand-made Artisan Sweets, of which Alfajores La Misión® are their best seller. They are quickly becoming America’s favorite cookie.

Split Bean Coffee's products have been featured in several national publications including The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, The San Jose Mercury News, Tu Ciudad Magazine, Specialty Food Magazine, The Dallas Post-Telegram, The Miami Herald, The Portland Oregonian, The San Fernando Valley Social, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Travel Savvy Magazine, The Oklahoman, The Candy Addict, and Indulge Magazine.

In addition to Alfajores, Split Bean Coffee also makes Artisan Marshmallows, Toffee, Southern Peanut Brittle, & Chocolate Truffles. These products are available under the Dulces del Rocío® label. Split Bean Coffee was recently voted one of the Top Five Gourmet Marshmallow Makers by Travel Savvy Magazine.

For additional information you may contact Split Bean Coffee via their website at www.SplitBeanCoffee.com.