I have always fancied the idea of old travelling circuses. Right from when I was a child and watched
Dumbo to a young girl reading
Mr. Galliano’s Circus by Enid Blyton under the covers at night to being fascinated by the mystery of
HBO’s Carnivale. The adventure and romance of the gypsy life and the lure of living in colourful caravans parked amidst a field of daisies in the countryside is very palpable to many.
Then when you come across a recipe called Carnival Cookies, you just can’t pass up the chance to bake it. Continuing my exploration of
Heidi’s Super Natural Every Day cookbook, I was mesmerised by the ingredients in this cookie. Banana? Popcorn? Peanuts? A Popcorn cookie? Really? How insanely fun!
Heidi’s book didn’t have a picture of the cookies, so I was very excited to see how they would turn out. They looked gorgeous. And they had the makings of a proper carnival. I realised that the minute they started baking in the oven. The smell! Oh, the smell! They smelt like a banana cake smothered with buttered popcorns and kissed by milky chocolate. In other words, utterly divine! They tasted even better. There is a lot of crunch and texture to this cookie and the banana gives it a cake-like chewy middle which we all loved. There is no sugar and it is amazing how the sweetness of just 3 bananas powers up these cookies.
Food Styling And Prop Alert - "Carnival Cookies" Flag made from Red Striped Straws (
$7.95 for a pack of 144 from House) & Scrapbooking Paper. Old Wooden Tabletops (
$4 each at the Salvage Yard). Red Striped And Green Scalloped Edge Tea Towel (
a gift from a friend). Brown Paper Bag (
Wine Bag from the Liquor Store rolled down and reused). Red And Silver Bottle Caps (
$2.99 for a pack of 12 by Design Originals).
Circus Alphabets (
$9.95 by Comstock). Music Note Sheet (
$1 Thrift Store).
CARNIVAL COOKIES
Preparation Tim -20 minutes
Baking Time – 18 minutes
Makes – 24
Ingredients
3 large over ripe mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup macadamia oil
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups crushed peanuts
1 cup choc chips or broken chocolate bits (I used a smashed hollow chocolate bunny)
1 1/2 cups popped corn
Method
Preheat the oven to (180C) 350F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine the bananas, vanilla and macadamia oil. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the oats, hazelnut meal, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and mixed spice. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix to combine. Fold in the chocolate, peanuts and popped corn.
The dough might appear looser than most cookies, but that is alright. Heap 1 tablespoon worth of cookie dough on to your palm and shape small balls. Place about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for approximately 15-18 minutes until golden, swapping the baking sheet back to front once during the baking process. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Will stay just fine in the fridge for a week in an air-tight container.
January 2012 Spotlight – Heidi Swanson
Every month on Cook Republic a food hero will be featured. It could be a celebrity chef, food blogger, cookbook author, a cuisine, an ingredient or a trend. In January 2012 the spotlight is on food blogger and writer Heidi Swanson of the 101 Cookbooks fame. With one of the oldest and most original voices in the ever burgeoning world of food blogs and photography, Heidi is a much celebrated cookbook author. Join me as I explore Heidi’s food philosophy to the fullest and cook from her most recent offering, Super Natural Every Day which is published by Hardie Grant in Australia.
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Oh wow Sneh! They look like a lot fo fun! (and delicious too!) I also like the way you styled it all. Cute!
Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul´s last [type] ..Summer Lovers-Tomatoes and Gazpacho
Thanks Peter. I appreciate it!
Next on my list! Sneh, lately my browser is bookmarked with some of your recipes! Nice
Grishma´s last [type] ..Few resolutions and lots of goals!
What a fun cookie! I love the mix of ingredients.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen´s last [type] ..Mobile Photography/iPhoneography | A New Pair of Eyes
Wow. I love the effort you went to with the food styling for this, and your description of how these taste is so very tempting. Buttered popcorn and chocolate kisses! Argh! Does the popcorn go soft though?
Helen (grabyourfork)´s last [type] ..Macleay St Bistro, Potts Point
Thanks Helen! I made 2 batches, one with plain popped corn and one with buttered popcorn. guess which was even more delicious? unfortunately, the popcorn goes chewy but the taste is what hits you!
Love your styling girl, each time I visit I fall in love with your work all over again!! These cookies look utterly delectable, nice texture too.
Nash at Plateful´s last [type] ..Plateful is One! And I Say Thank You With This Intensely Chocolaty Mini Hazenut Brownie Cake!
These cookies look fabulous! Love how innovative you are with food styling Sneh
Great photos and stlying! Nice looking cookies too
Sara (Belly Rumbles)´s last [type] ..Green Chile Chicken Tamales
Love love love the styling in this post! So inventive and so much fun. The cookies look gorgeous too – really thick and delicious. I’ve got Heidi’s book on my Amazon wishlist so hopefully will be getting my hands on more of her recipes soon
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Dan Lepard’s Sesame Seed Slider Buns
I have just discovered your blog and love these gorgeous pictures of the carnival cookies. They look like nuggets of pure deliciousness.
Anna @ the shady pine´s last [type] ..Simple lunch
I’ve been a silent follower for awhile, but I just had to comment on this post because your food styling amazed me! You definitely captured the fun “carnival” spirit of these cookies – I love the scattered popcorn too! I’ve made these cookies after seeing them in Heidi’s cookbook…like you, I didn’t really know what to expect or how they would turn out, but I loved them (and so did my family)!
Genevieve´s last [type] ..Roasted Squash, Beet & Chestnut Salad with Warm Walnut Dressing
Thanks for your sweet comment Genevieve. These cookies are a definite keeper!
What a fascinating recipe! And your styling is just so fun!
Jen´s last [type] ..BLACK By Ezard at The Star
love the flags with carnival, cookies on it . your creativity is always something i look forward to
have a great weekend
a spoonful of yumm´s last [type] ..{ Sippity Sip Fridays } Chocolate Coconut Iced Coffee
What a delightful and fun cookie, the name alone makes me smile! Love the photos and fun styling
Magic of Spice´s last [type] ..What’s on the side? Roasted Root Vegetables with Red Current and Herb Dip
I love these. They look packed full of flavour and crunch. I love your styling of this post too.
Can’t wait to try these!
How delightful they look and sound! I love that they are dairy and gluten free too!
these look so yummy! what is the mixed spice?