Cookie Bookie Kick Off-The Element of Surprise

Mwah, ha, ha. Welcome to Cookie Bookie 2010.
I've been bursting with excitement for this, my third annual installment of Cookie Bookie. For my new readers, one week each October, I review spooky stories for perfectly chillingly fall reads, and provide a scrumptious cookie as a suitable literary companion. I've had an entire year to read, shiver, bake, eat, and ponder. So let us begin.

Six months ago the charges and I went on a field trip to see the play, "Mousetrap" at a local high school. I didn't really expect to be frightened by a bunch of teenagers with mock English accents and developing talents, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. The charges and I held hands through the second act, and they never knew that it was my grown-up sweat that made our hands clammy. Thus began my timorous love affair with Agatha Christie. If you haven't read Agatha Christie, get started with some short stories. One of my favorites is Suprise, Suprise! an eclectic collection of some of her famous characters, like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

As the title implies, one of Christie's greatest strengths is her mastery of the suprise ending. (Die-hard fans are even rallying to have her endings removed from plot summaries on Wikipedia.) Her grandson reported that old Agatha would be angry at any critic that gave away any of points of plots in a review. The well-guarded suprises pack a suspenseful punch and keep the reader biting her nails till (and beyond) the last page. One of my favorite stories from the collection is Double Sin, a short and suspenseful story of Hercule Poirot and his Captain Hastings on a train ride to solve a mystery, only to encounter another mystery in the form of a gorgeous victim of petty theft. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I will provide something for you to gorge yourself on besides your own fingernails. It's this Doubly Sinful Suprise Chocolate Cookie. The suprise is a puffy marshmallow hiding between two evil layers of chocolate. Bite down and your mouth senses the tender cookie, the smooth glaze, but then your teeth can't quite take hold of the molten marshmallow, stretchy and sweet. It's perfect for reading with Agatha Christie. You'll want to sink your teeth into the plot, but there's some element of mystery that will slip deftly away from your understanding...until the end. But then it's too late, because Agatha will have you right where she wants you. And you'll have to go back for more, both stories and cookies.

Double Chocolate Suprise Cookies

recipe from Martha Stewart-Suprise Cookies

Estimated Cost: $4.00 for 2 dozen

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
See below for Chocolate Frosting recipe

Halloween sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered. Sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles.

For Frosting
2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.

Be back tomorrow with More Cookie Bookie!

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