Curiouser and Curiouser
Oh look. Those pesky, little white rabbits brought me a present.
Do I dare try one? I’m sure there’s no harm in taking just one, little bite…
Clearly these sweet mushroom cookies were destined to belong in our tribute to Alice in Wonderland. Remember the Flowering Sugar Cubes from last week? Well, these little cookies are just the thing to accompany your cup of tea, and do be sure to nibble with care, you never can trust these silly rabbits.
I found the technique for making the mushroom shape in a vintage cookbook, and later discovered these are usually called “Turkish Mushroom Cookies.” I adapted the recipe to make a shortbread-style cookie that holds it’s shape better (basically, I took out the eggs.) I love their light, melt-in-your-mouth texture and the fact that they are pretty low in sugar, (but don’t be fooled though, there’s plenty of butter!) All in all, it’s a very simple and satisfy recipe with a charming twist. I couldn’t possibly imagine a better cookie to enjoy whilst drinking a cup of tea.
The recipe
Preheat oven at 350 degrees - yields approx. 42 cookies
1 – 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
One empty soda or beer bottle (cleaned and dried)
Cocoa powder (about 1/4 cup)
Water
Sift together flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar and salt. Add softened butter and vanilla, and mix thoroughly until a thick but light dough is formed. It should be soft but not too sticky, and easy to handle.
Roll the dough into 1″ balls and place about 1″ apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silpat mats. Place about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder into a small bowl, and about 1/4 cup water in to a separate small bowl.
Dip the top of the soda/beer bottle into water and shake off any excess. Dip the bottle into the cocoa powder and tap the side to shake if any excess. Gently press the bottle straight into one of your dough balls, pressing just barely into the dough, only about 1/4″ inch, then pull the bottle away.
Continue with the rest of your cookies, dipping your bottle into the cocoa between each pressing. If it gets too light, do another water-dip then keep going.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Take them out when they are just done, and barely the tiniest bit brown on the bottom. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
*Details:
- You can substitute flour for the cornstarch if you like, it will make the cookies a little more dense and toothsome. I definitely reccomend using the cornstarch if possible, it really adds to the delicate and crumbly nature of the cookies.
- The green berry baskets, striped bakers twine, “eat me” stamped tags, and miniature rabbits used in the above photos can be purchased at the Bake It Pretty shop.
March 8th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
omg! These are so fun! I am totally tucking this away for later!
Kim @ http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com
party inspiration
March 8th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Those are too cute! I’ll definitely be making these soon.
March 8th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
I love these! How cute, and I particularly love the use of the beer bottle. They’re good for far more than just holding tasty beverages!
March 8th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Absolutely devine. Since I went to see the new Alice in Wonderland movie on Friday, I will be iching to bake these pretties. Thanks for sharing.
Maureen
March 8th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I love it! This is such a brilliant & cool idea! Thanks for sharing!
March 9th, 2010 at 1:05 am
[...] Curiouser and Curiouser | Bake It Pretty [...]
March 9th, 2010 at 2:05 am
This is such a gorgeous, clever idea! Thank you for sharing! Will definitely try these on my next picnic!
March 9th, 2010 at 6:47 am
What a great idea! We just saw Alice in Wonderland and adored it. I’m definitely in the mood for a mismatched Mad Hatter tea party and these gems would be perfect! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and how-to!
-Rachel
March 9th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Too adorable, I sent this to my grandkids, they love to bake. I think they’d get a kick out of these.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
These look awesome! How do you think cinnamon and sugar would fare in place of the cocoa powder?
March 9th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
What a cute idea?! Who would’ve thought to use a cork! Ingenious!
March 9th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
love this post amanda! love…
these are adorable…i have been emailing this post to all my peeps! too cute!!
March 9th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
What a neat technique, very cool!
March 9th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Love the look of these cookies, so cute!
March 10th, 2010 at 1:26 am
I am going to have to try those. Cuter than I would have thought possible for mushroom cookies, and I feel like that technique could be adapted in a variety of ways.
March 11th, 2010 at 10:03 am
These are too cute! I am going to make some very soon! Oh, and we just moved to Hickory, NC so we are kinda like neighbors
March 15th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Sooo cute! ♥ Just posted the link on Facebook! {http://www.facebook.com/poshpixelsdesignstudio}
March 15th, 2010 at 10:53 am
these are awesome! I cant wait to make them!!!
March 17th, 2010 at 5:31 am
These are absolutely darling. Thank you for sharing the idea/recipe.
March 20th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I tried these out last night and had a ball! They were super easy to make and turned out crumbly and lovely! Thanks for sharing the recipe and tip!
Here is my post about making your mushroom shortbread cuties!
http://www.acupcakeformoose.com/2010/03/bake-it-pretty-friday-night.html
Thanks again! Have a great weekend!
-Rachel
March 24th, 2010 at 5:37 am
hi,
I’ve made these mushrooms, here : http://prunillefee.canalblog.com/archives/2010/03/24/17322202.html#comments
but I change the recipe, because yours don’t keep the form of mushrooms, I don’t know why, so I re-made them with my recipe of cookies…
thanks for the idea !
March 24th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Brilliant idea! I tried them immediately and everybody loved them! I found out that when you put the mushrooms into the fridge for half an hour, they hold their shape much better!
March 24th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Yay! So glad you liked them. I tried the fridge trick but it didn’t really work for me…you must be special
March 28th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
too adorable, genius!!
April 14th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Yummy recipe. Great Pics!!
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:21 pm
oh. my. gosh. I love these!
April 26th, 2010 at 6:45 am
Those look totally amazing!! I just want to eat them all up. Can’t wait to make them later today. Thanks!!
May 1st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
That shortbread recipe is the exact one I have been using since I discovered shortbread (how to MAKE it that is!). I love it! People that I feed it to (people at church, friends, family, coworkers….) adore it, and a few of them have loved it so much that they have paid me to make them a batch or ten.
Thank you for the neato idea of making them into mushrooms! I just found your site through Bakerella, and, well, I’m addicted. Bookmarked for sure!
May 2nd, 2010 at 7:06 pm
These cookies are delicious! Although next time I might add just a tad more sugar. I refrigerated the dough for an hour or so and the mushrooms kept their shape perfectly.
May 7th, 2010 at 10:53 am
That is seriously cute!
May 20th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
those are totally cute and sound SO yummy!!! i was glad to see the cameo molds back in stock…i have been wanting to make those chocolate boxes since i saw them on little pink studio!!!
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 am
[...] (just a box mix, but the best box mix EVER [Ghiradelli box mix]). I also ended up making him Turkish mushroom cookies which were really fun to make, and incredibly [...]
June 18th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
I adore mushroom shaped treat and this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
June 24th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Love the shape and the taste! I can’t wait to share these with my friends. Thanks for posting this