Monday, June 22, 2009

Edible Hedgehogs


My daughter had a friend whose main attraction was that she had a pet hedgehog. It was adorable. She'd bring it over to play and they'd stroke it and watch it curl up into a ball or waddle its way across the lawn in search of lunch.

I was delighted with this pet. It didn't shed. It ate pests. And it was cute as a button. Who could ask for more in a pet?

The starting point for these cookies was the flavors. I wanted a cookie with almond, cherry, and chocolate sharing the flavor stage. And it had to be in a nice, moist cookie. After a bit of experimenting this is what I came up with. The tang of the dried sour cherries balances out the sweet hits of chocolate and the toasted almonds give wonderful crunch to every bite of delightfully moist cookie. Who could ask for more in a cookie?



I named these Hedgehog Cookies before I baked them, thinking that the almond slivers reminded me of a hedgehog's prickles. After they were mixed and baked, the almond slivers, for the most part, just lay hidden inside the cookie. But I'm keeping the name because they also are small and delightful in unexpected ways.



Hedgehog Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup quick oats
12 oz. (2 cups) mini chocolate chips
1 cup toasted, slivered almonds
3/4 cup dried tart cherries, finely chopped


1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2- In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3- In the large bowl of a mixer combine the butter and sugars. Beat till creamy. Add the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and egg. Beat till well incorporated.

4- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat just till the flour is incorporated.

5- Add the mini chips and the cherries and stir till combined. Then stir in the nuts carefully by hand. You want to keep large chunks of nuts.

6- Drop Tbsp of dough onto the prepared sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven 9 - 11 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are set and are just lightly browned. Don’t overbake.

7- Allow the cookies to sit on the cookie sheets for 2 to 5 minutes (the cookies continue baking on the sheets), then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container. Makes about 5-6 dozen (didn’t really count accurately as my family kept eating them as soon as they came out of the oven).

18 comments:

  1. They look really good! I would curl up in a ball for you if you sent one to me.
    (I have wild hedgehogs in my garden!)

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  2. Can't ask for more in a pet OR in a cookie :-)

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  3. Ooooohhh! Those look really good. I can't wait to try them. :D

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  4. Yum to the flavors and the look of the cookies!

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  5. Have you read the book The Elegance of the Hedgehog?

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  6. I'm sold!
    Next cookie baking session will be these,(and you know that can't be far away).

    Thanks Lynn!

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  7. Melinda - As much as I'd love to see you curl up into a ball, I think the cookies would be tastier and much, much fresher if you made them yourself. And lucky you, to have wild hedgehogs!

    VeggieGirl - Well, you might ask for more, but I don't know that you'd get it.

    Gabriel- Get baking, girl!

    Katrina - They are delicious.

    Mama JJ - No, I haven't read it. But on your word I just requested it from the library. However, I have read Portuguese Irregular Verbs, which has a cute hedgehog on the over.

    Aimee - I hope your boys love them!

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  8. Mmm what perfect bumpy looking cookies! And yes I can't wait to see the peanut butter cheesecake brownies you'll be posting about!

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  9. Fabulous creation and I love the name!

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  10. great name, great combo of add-ins, and great results.
    also, now i want a hedgehog. :)

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  11. As if the cookies didn't look scrumptious enough, that cute little dude is enough to make anyone want to try them!

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  12. Oooh, I've been seriously craving cookies lately! These would be so perfect right now. I definitely need to get some dried cherries and then these babies will be mine!

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  13. they might be small but I'll bet they pack a punch of flavor with all of those ingredients!

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  14. I usually have a weird thing about not liking nuts in cookies, but I love almonds on their own and with the oats and the cherries, I might be persuaded to try these! Maybe I'll get a surprise..... just like the surprisingly fun pet hedgehog!

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  15. The name alone makes me want to bake those cute cookies! The fact that they look delicious and easy, that's a total bonus. :)

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