passover cookie "cold treatment"

it's no secret that during passover most of us always complain and think we won't make it a whole week without bread (the leavened kind, at least), pasta, cereal and myriad other everyday things we take for granted, all made from regular flour and leavening agents like yeast and baking powder. in spite of the restrictions for the 8 days, however, we all know there is still PLENTY to eat — some of it great, some of it so-so and the remainder — stuff which just shouldn't be consumed! :o

passover desserts 'n things made with matzo meal and/or matzo cake (flour) meal generally tend to fall into the category of 'echhh......it's alright' to 'omg, i so can't eat this'. LOL. of course, there are always exceptions to the rule and there ARE desserts made with these two things which are really good. added to this is the fact that everyone has 2 or more opinions on the matter.

every pesach, i inevitably end up with a 3/4 box of unused cake meal since i don't make much with it but always need some in small amounts. this year, i decided i need to use it so i don't wind up throwing it out after the holiday is over. in a way, though, throwing out that box of unused cake meal has become tradition ;)

the following recipe is for cookies which turned out surprisingly good considering how much cake meal was used in them (i.e. a lot). my first thought was that they were going to be totally disgusting but not at all. while they won't win awards for cookies of the year, they were quite decent for what they were. i am therefore giving them a yiddish-isized name to their original one....


nisht gehferlach pesach refrigerator cookies
not-so-bad passover cookies

ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
pinch salt
1/4 c oil

1 c matzo cake meal

1/3 c chopped walnuts or almonds
1/3 c chocolate chips, optional


method:

beat the sugar and the eggs well with the pinch of salt until thick.

add the oil.

add the cake meal, the nuts and chocolate chips, if using.

mix well.

the mixture will be sticky.

cut a piece of wax or parchment paper and place half the mixture on it in the shape of a log. make the log the size/thickness of the cookies you want. they will be exactly the same size baked as they are raw; don't expect them to spread while they cook.

carefully roll up the cookie dough in the paper and refrigerate either overnight or for at least several hours for it to get firm enough to slice. if you want to be different, you can also press the roll into a square block after it has chilled for a few hours.

when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F.

unwrap the dough and slice only 1/4 inch thick.

place on a cookie sheet (greased or with parchment paper), and bake for approximately 13 to 15 minutes. they should be golden brown.

let cool before eating. they will be crisp. as an alternative, once cooled, you can also dip half of the cookies in melted chocolate and return them to the cookie sheet to dry.

enjoy!