Garam Masala Cookies

Whoa....that's a spicy cookie (add generic Italian accent if you wish). I love masala, I even add it to my meatloaf, but I was intrigued when I saw it in cookies. Cumin and coriander aren't exactly baking spices, so I wanted to see how these would taste. I thought they might be similar to spicy Christmas cookies (not chili spicy, like ginger spicy)...

This recipe also uses browned butter, which I'd been avoiding trying as well, as I hate washing unnecessary pots. I think I over browned it a little because I couldn't see the color due to the non-stick coating in the pot, but I couldn't taste any burned flavor in the cookies later on.

Other than the browned butter, the recipe seemed like a pretty straight forward cookie recipe with your basic dry and wet ingredients. For those that don't know, always mix your sugars and fats (big bowl) first, then add your wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla), then add your dry ingredients in batches (small bowl). You add the dry ingredients in batches to as to not over mix the flour and activate the gluten, which would make for a tough cookie. Science!

The dough had the consistency of your standard Toll House chocolate chip mix, so I was a little nervous they wouldn't flatten out. Despite years of attempts, I am incapable of making a proper Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie. They always puff up and make little balls rather than flatten into cookie shape. I've tried adding the butter in various states of melting, I've tried different flours and sugars, I've mixed them with electric mixers and by hand with a wooden spoon. All failures. It's ridiculous.

These cookies, however, turned out perfectly. They flattened out, but not too much. They had a nice golden edge with a chewy center. It was like I finally reached cookie nirvana. All except the flavor. Don't get me wrong, they taste fine, but the flavor does not rise to the perfection that is the cookies' texture. Like I thought, cumin isn't exactly the spice you want in a cookie. Even after I added extra cinnamon and cardamom it was still a little...off. If you like Indian food, you should really give these a try, even just as an experiment. You can easily cut the recipe in half. I also discovered they go well with a hoppy beer, such as my favorite Stone's Cali-Belgie IPA. I'm going to be using this recipe again, but subbing out the spices for something of my own creation. Maybe I'll even give chocolate chip another go.