Oktoberfest Beer Cookies

Oktoberfest Beer Cookies

Oom pah pah! This weekend marked the official start of Oktoberfest, the German harvest (and beer) festival. Yes, it sounds like it should be held in October, but that's because the first one was. The original Oktoberfest, held in 1810, celebrated the wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince. It must have been some wedding, because the celebration became an annual tradition, and was prolonged to start in mid-September to ensure better weather. Since we are unable to pick up and fly to Munich for a party, we feel especially fortunate that our friends, the Zs, have an annual Oktoberfest right here in Connecticut. 

Creamed butter and sugar

Some of the other ingredients

The Zs are great cooks, which you can tell when you read the menu. They offered partygoers such as ourselves a feast of traditional German goodies like sweet onion dip, homemade soft pretzels, grilled vegetables, bratwurst with sauerkraut, baked ham, potato salad and cooked red cabbage. Many of the guests brought dessert, and that's where our Oktoberfest Beer Cookies come in (although people were eating them well before dessert). 

The beer and honey is almost reduced

The batter

In the spirit of the day, we decided to try making cookies with beer. We found an interesting recipe on Food Network and made our cookies with Shocktop Belgian White. This particular beer has flavors of coriander and orange peel, so these same ingredients are added to the batter. These not-too-sweet beer-in-cookie-form treats were crisp on the outside with a cakey inside texture. We didn't bother with icing but instead  used some of the honey-beer reduction as a light glaze. Also, you will note there is no salt in the recipe; the beer has some in it and adding some will make them too salty.

Tablespoons of batter staggered on parchment-lined sheets

Surely, you could experiment with different beer flavors and spices and get some amazing results. If you do, do let us know with a comment!

Oktoberfest Beer Cookies

(adapted from Food Network's White Beer Cookies, makes about 3 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

2 12-ounce bottles beer (we used Shocktop Belgian White)

5 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 drops orange oil

1 1/2 tablespoons dried Valencia orange peel (or zest of one medium orange)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Place beer and honey in a medium saucepan and allow to reduce over medium heat until there's about 1/2 cup left (this can take a while, so be patient; you'll know it's about there when the mixture is extremely foamy like in the picture above). Allow the reduction to cool to room temperature. While it is cooking, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (we do this in a stand mixer). Add and completely incorporate the egg. Then add the vanilla, orange oil, orange peel, coriander, and 1/3 cup of the cooled beer reduction. Blend thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda, then slowly add these dry ingredients to the batter. Preheat oven to 350 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto parchment-lined sheets without crowding (about 12 per sheet is good). Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to wire racks to cool. Drizzle with remaining beer reduction. 

Baked and glazed!

Chocolate Stout Chili

When two people cook a 4-pound spoon roast, there's bound to be leftovers. And when that particular spoon roast has been cooked in chocolate stout, those leftovers are destined for chili. We know that chili is all about creating layers of flavor and letting them simmer together, so we set out to do just that with chipotles, spices, tomatoes, dark cocoa powder, unsweetened chocolate, beef, beans and of course, the most important ingredient - Thomas Hooker Brewery Chocolate Truffle Stout. The fact that the beef had been cooked in the stout was just another added layer of flavor. It was a blustery cold weeknight, and the result was a chocolatey, deeply dark brown, and very spicy chili that made our noses run and our brows sweat. Can't stand that much heat? Leave out one (or both) of the chipotles.

Chocolate Stout Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 28-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder

1 28-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked beef, cut into bite-sized pieces (we used leftover spoon roast cooked in the chocolate stout)

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups chocolate stout (divided)

1/2 cup tomato puree

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute onion, garlic and chipotle peppers for 2-3 minutes stirring often, until onions start to brown and garlic becomes fragrant. Add chili powder, cumin, tomato paste, salt and pepper, and continuing to stir, cook for another 2 minutes so spices bloom. Stir in stewed tomatoes, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan well. Add the cocoa powder, beans and beef. Stir in the unsweetened chocolate until it melts. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate stout, turn heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 2 hours. After 2 hours, stir in the additional 1/2 cup of chocolate stout and the tomato puree. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Simmer another 1/2 hour and serve hot with a pint of chocolate stout to cool off with.

Chocolate Stout Spoon Roast

Last Friday, we attended what may be the best party (at the best price!) in town: the Thomas Hooker Brewing Company Open House. Happening on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month from 5-8, this happy hour shindig takes place right in the brewery in Bloomfield, Connecticut and costs a mere $10. In exchange for your tenner, you get a little plastic cup and access to two bars, with four taps each, flowing freely with the freshest beer around. There are pizza slices on sale (proceeds go to charity) for when you need sustenance, and oh, did we mention you get to take home a souvenir pint glass? Hollah!

On this particular Friday, the beer everyone was buzzing about was Hooker's brand new seasonal brew made with another Connecticut favorite, Munson's Chocolates. Hooker is using Munson's proprietary cocoa blend to create a smooth, luscious "Chocolate Truffle Stout" that is a dark, delicious, easily drinkable beer with hints of chocolate and coffee and a surprising lack of bitterness. We loved it so much, we purchased a growler ($11 new, $8 to refill) with every intent to use it in our cooking.

Wash, slice and dice the veggies. Aren't those purple carrots gorgeous?

Season, flour and brown the roast

Let the roasting magic happen

The very next morning it was starting to snow. Undeterred, we carefully drove to the nearest market where we picked up a 4-pound spoon roast (a top sirloin cut) and some vegetables. That afternoon, we seasoned, seared and cooked the roast and veggies in a cup of the chocolate stout and served it with creamy mashed potatoes (with a pint of stout to wash it down with, naturally). While the wonderful chocolate flavor of the beer wasn't very pronounced in the dish, the meat was especially tender and the carrots, celery and onions had a dark flavor and color that we could only attibute to the stout. Now what to do with the leftovers? Check back in a couple of days for our own "Chocolate Stout Chili."

Hooker Brewer is located at 16 Tobey Road in Bloomfield, CT. They also have tours and tastings on Saturdays. Their Chocolate Truffle Stout should be hitting grocery and liquor store shelves in the beginning of February, just in time for Valentine's Day. Drink local!

 

Chocolate Stout Spoon Roast

Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb. spoon roast

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

3-4 cups vegetables (we used celery and carrots), chopped

1 cup Hooker Chocolate Truffle Stout

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sprinkle it all over with flour. Heat olive oil in a roasting pan and sear the roast on all sides until nicely browned. Remove roast and set aside. Place vegetables in the pan and saute for a minute or two, until onions start to caramelize. Return the roast to the pan, on top of the vegetables. Pour the stout into the pan. Cook at 425 for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 325; cover or tent pan with aluminum foil and continue to roast at 325 for one hour, or until internal temperature reaches 130 for medium rare. Remove roast from pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. In the meantime, stir the vegetables and stout and continue to cook to reduce and thicken slightly. Serve vegetables on the side of slices of roast topped with "stout gravy."

Cajun Clams

One food Amy missed while living in New Orleans is clams. While NOLA was an amazing place for seafood, they didn't serve clams. Oysters? Sure. Shrimp? Tons of 'em. Crawfish? Catfish? Crab? Check, check and check. But clams? Nowhere to be found. Back in Connecticut, however, clams are common and we're glad for that. Last week, we bought some steamers and littlenecks and made them, Cajun style.

Our NOLA-fied inspiration was two gorgeous links of andouille sausage Amy's mom bought us from Pekarski's Sausage in South Deerfield, Massachusetts (they don't have a website, but you can read about Pekarski's here). The other ingredients we chose because they enhance the fabulous flavors found in andouille, are typical ingredients in Cajun-style cooking, and/or they add a touch of pretty color to the dish. For our liquid, we used a pale ale, but only because we can't find Abita Turbodog here in New England. If it's not one thing, it's another!

Ingredients:

2 links andouille sausage

1 pound steamer clams

1 pound littleneck clams

1 cup chopped Vidalia onion

1 small yellow bell pepper, roasted, then chopped

1 cup chopped tomato

1 cup chopped sweet potato

1 bottle of pale ale

small bunch chives (chopped) for garnish

Brown the sausage over high heat on all sides, then cut it into rounds. Place the sausage and remaining ingredients (except chives) in a large pot and cook, covered, over high heat for 10-15 minutes, until clams open. Garnish with chopped chives and serve with crusty French bread and ice cold beer.