ChristMMOs: World of Warcraft – Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies
Merry ChristMMOs! This festive season, Gourmet Gaming will be celebrating with a selection of treats from your favourite MMOs to bring a little bit of gaming to your table this holiday season.
I love gingerbread. I start to buy it around Halloween and then never stop – once, I managed to get a pretty big gingerbread cookie for a mere nine English pennies. It was a good day. I didn’t care that it had a ghost on it and it was November 3rd that is beside the point! The Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookie has featured in World of Warcraft’s festive Winter Veil event for a few years now. This year there’s even a quest titled “The Winter Veil Gourmet” featuring the Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies, Egg Nog and Hot Apple Cider…
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
Read More
Yoshi’s Cookie – Yoshi Cookies
I first encountered Yoshi’s Cookies on Game and Watch Gallery 3 which I had for my Gameboy Color. The updated, ‘modern’, version of “Egg” on the cartridge involved Yoshi eating some Yoshi Cookies as prepared by Chef Mario. I never did get along very well with the Game and Watch Gallery, it was all about personal bests and high scores, and, as a renowned confident loser of the world, I was always uninterested in competing with myself. One thing I did want to do was eat those cookies though. I had dreams about those cookies against a haunting rendition of that ever panic-inducing music.
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
Read More
Request: Pokémon – Lava Cookies
Lavaridge Town’s speciality, and now a Gourmet Gaming speciality too! Originally, the Lava Cookie is referred to as a “rice cracker” which frankly doesn’t sound too exciting, so I turned to the awesome poké visual appeal of this trusty status heal for inspiration. Combining the idea of an Asian “rice cracker” and a “cookie”, I was pleasantly surprised by my rash decision to create the Lava Cookie as an “East meets West” fusion of strong, bitter chocolate chips and aromatic, salty nori in a sweet and chewy all-American cookie. Perfectly restoring and unusually delicious, for pokémon and trainer alike.
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
Read More
Request: EarthBound – Peanut Cheese Bar
I was pretty much oblivious to EarthBound until I was introduced to the curious character Ness in Super Smash Bros; having never owned a classic Nintendo console growing up I was subject to the gaming tastes of whoever owned the console I was playing (I was not beyond using a fellow classmate and neighbour to sate my need to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). When I decided I was going to make this recipe I tried to source EarthBound from a friend who has an extensive retro games collection, but the fact he didn’t have it just instilled it’s cult status even more for me. However, I’m not without my EarthBound knowledge; I’ve read about it enough times in articles titled ‘gaming urban myths’ and ‘ultimate screwed up games’. Everyone kept asking for these Peanut Cheese Bars - I’d see the requests in my inbox and all I could imagine was some peanuts with cheddar cheese on top - melting and a little greasy… Then I remembered that cheese can be sweet and delicious too, I think the Mr. Saturns are definitely onto something!
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
Read More
![ChristMMOs: World of Warcraft – Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies
Merry ChristMMOs! This festive season, Gourmet Gaming will be celebrating with a selection of treats from your favourite MMOs to bring a little bit of gaming to your table this holiday season.
I love gingerbread. I start to buy it around Halloween and then never stop – once, I managed to get a pretty big gingerbread cookie for a mere nine English pennies. It was a good day. I didn’t care that it had a ghost on it and it was November 3rd that is beside the point! The Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookie has featured in World of Warcraft’s festive Winter Veil event for a few years now. This year there’s even a quest titled “The Winter Veil Gourmet” featuring the Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies, Egg Nog and Hot Apple Cider…
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
[[MORE]]
This recipe makes 24 cookies.
What you will need: A baking tray, greaseproof paper/baking parchment, 2 large mixing bowls, a sieve, 1 tree-shaped cookie cutter, a wooden spoon, a small bowl, and a pastry brush.
Ingredients:
200g / 1½ Cups Plain Flour
Pinch of Salt
¼ Teaspoon Baking/Bicarbonate Soda
2-3 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
55g / ¼ Cup Butter (Room Temperature)
50g / ¼ Cup Caster/Superfine Sugar
1 Egg (Room Temperature)
70g / ⅓ Cup Molasses Sugar
To Garnish:
200g / 7 oz. Green Royal Icing
White Icing Decorating Tubes
2 Tablespoons Icing/Confectioners Sugar
Water
Making the Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies:
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and spices into a large bowl then set aside. Line a baking tray with baking paper/greaseproof parchment.
In another bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar together for about a minute. Add the egg and molasses sugar, and continue to mix until well combined. Slowly add the flour and spice mixture, continually beating gently until a dough is formed.
Bring the dough together, then wrap it in cling film/saran wrap and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175C/350F.
Once chilled, kneed the cookie dough gently on a floured surface before rolling out to about ¼ Inch thick.
Use the cookie cutters to make your shapes, and set them on the baking tray; evenly spaced and not too crowded. Chill the prepared cookie shapes for 5-10 minutes in the freezer before baking in the oven.
Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes, depending on their size, then remove from the oven to cool. Repeat this process as needed until all the dough is used.
Garnishing the Winter Veil Gingerbread Cookies:
While the cookies cool, mix the two tablespoons icing/confectioners sugar with a little water to create an icing paste in a small bowl – this will act as a glue between the cookie and the green royal icing.
Roll out the green royal icing on a surface dusted with icing/confectioners sugar to about 1cm thick. Use the cookie cutter again to create the same shapes from the green royal icing. You may need to trim the stumps of the trees off with a knife.
Paint a little of the icing paste on to the surface of the tree shaped cookie, then carefully stick the royal icing tree on top. Use a small rolling pin to evenly distribute the royal icing, to avoid finger prints.
Repeat the process until all the cookies are covered with a green royal icing top. Finally, use the white icing tubes to trace a delicate line around the inner edge to finish the Winter Veil Cookies.
I brought these cookies into work and, frankly, I’ve never been so popular. They were lucky there were any left as I had previously made another batch of 36 that never even made it from the kitchen. You can of course use the recipe above to make any shape cookie, or even add a small hole prior to baking if you’d like to hang them from your tree this Winter Veil.
Like this? You might also enjoy the World of Warcraft – Graccu’s Mince Meat Fruitcake.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/4f1cb42e43138c4c5dbe57b38c0e2baa/tumblr_mfautdJCuo1qjhjgyo1_500.jpg)
![Yoshi’s Cookie – Yoshi Cookies
I first encountered Yoshi’s Cookies on Game and Watch Gallery 3 which I had for my Gameboy Color. The updated, ‘modern’, version of “Egg” on the cartridge involved Yoshi eating some Yoshi Cookies as prepared by Chef Mario. I never did get along very well with the Game and Watch Gallery, it was all about personal bests and high scores, and, as a renowned confident loser of the world, I was always uninterested in competing with myself. One thing I did want to do was eat those cookies though. I had dreams about those cookies against a haunting rendition of that ever panic-inducing music.
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
[[MORE]]
This recipe makes 20 cookies.
What you will need: A large bowl, a wooden spoon, a rolling pin, cookie cutters: a flower, a diamond, a heart, a large and a small circle, and a square, a baking tray, and greaseproof/baking paper.
Ingredients:
250g / 1¼ Cup Butter (Room Temperature)
140g / ⅔ Cup Caster/Super Fine Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1½ Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
300g / 1¼ Cup Plain Flour
½ Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
¼ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
To Garnish:
Jams/Jellys
Purple
Red
Green
Icing/Confectioners Sugar
Water
Ground Cinnamon
Sugar
Making the Cookie Dough:
Preheat the oven to 180C/355F, and prepare a flat baking tray by lining it with greaseproof/baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix together to butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until well combined. Next add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix again. Sieve in the flour, and gently stir until a dough begins to form.
The dough may seem quite sticky and loose, if it’s too soft – place it in the fridge for around 30 minutes to firm it.
On a well floured surface and with floured hands, form the dough into a neat ball. Divide the dough evenly into six portions. Put four aside, as these will remain vanilla.
Take the left over two balls of dough; add cinnamon powder to one and kneed gently until combined. Add cocoa powder to the other and again, kneed until combined. You will now have four vanilla, one cinnamon and one chocolate dough.
Making the Yoshi Cookies:
Tips: Prepare one type of cookie at a time. With a well floured surface and rolling pin, roll out each portion to about ¼ inch thick, then cut out the desired shapes with the cookie cutters. Place the cookies on the prepared baking tray.
Start with three of the vanilla portions – these will be cut into the flower, the diamond and the heart shapes.
Next, take the cinnamon portion – cut out a large circle, and then a smaller circle from the middle.
You should have one chocolate and one vanilla portion left – these will become the checker-board cookie.
You can make the checker-board cookie a few ways. One way is by making a patterned block with 4 rectangular cuboids ‘glued’ together on the joins with egg white. Then slice the block to form the cookies.
If that sounds too tricky, try cutting out thin, small squares of dough and laying them on top of a square cookie to make the pattern – whatever you find easier.
With your cookies prepared and placed on the baking try, bake them in the oven for around 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Garnishing the Yoshi Cookies:
Take your jams/jellys and melt 2 tablespoons of each for about 10-20 seconds to make them a smoother, looser texture.
The diamond gets a green garnish, the flowers get a purple and the hearts get a red.
Taking a ¼ teaspoon of the appropriate colour, drop it in the middle of the cookie and carefully create an even shape for the centre.
For the cinnamon cookie, mix some icing sugar and a little water to make a paste. Brush it over the top of the cookie, then sprinkle with granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
In Game and Watch Gallery 3 “Egg”, Yoshi saves the cookies from burning by eating them. This is the kind of tactic I like to employ while baking, I can respect Yoshi for this - he’s my kind of person. Delightfully buttery, these cookies are paired perfectly with their tart jammy centres, so it’s totally understandable why the Yoshis are such big fans. As for the Yoshi cookie, I think it might deserve a post of its own…
Like this? You might also enjoy the Pokémon – Lava Cookies.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7qkjnd2xc1qjhjgyo1_500.jpg)
![Request: Pokémon – Lava Cookies
Lavaridge Town’s speciality, and now a Gourmet Gaming speciality too! Originally, the Lava Cookie is referred to as a “rice cracker” which frankly doesn’t sound too exciting, so I turned to the awesome poké visual appeal of this trusty status heal for inspiration. Combining the idea of an Asian “rice cracker” and a “cookie”, I was pleasantly surprised by my rash decision to create the Lava Cookie as an “East meets West” fusion of strong, bitter chocolate chips and aromatic, salty nori in a sweet and chewy all-American cookie. Perfectly restoring and unusually delicious, for pokémon and trainer alike.
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
[[MORE]]
This recipe makes 12 Lava Cookies.
What you will need: A large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a pair of scissors, a small bowl, and a baking tray.
For the Lava Cookies:
85g / ⅓ Cup Butter (Melted)
125g / ⅔ Cup Dark Brown Soft Sugar
50g / ¼ Cup White Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg (Room Temperature)
½ Teaspoon High Quality Vanilla Extract
125-150g / ¾ - 1 Cup Plain Flour
¼ Teaspoon Baking/Bicarbonate Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
75g / ¾ Cup Dark Chocolate (Chips or Chunks)
1 Sheet of Nori (Cut into small pieces)
To Garnish:
25g / ¼ Cup Dark Chocolate (Chips or Chunks)
1 Sheet of Nori (Cut into strips)
Making the Lava Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and have a baking tray ready.
Cream the melted butter, soft brown sugar and granulated sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Sieve in the flour, baking/bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir gently with a wooden spoon, then add the chocolate chips and nori, and mix gently once again.
The dough should come together, and still be very moist/sticky, but able to be handled. If too loose, add more flour a tablespoon at a time. Add more melted butter a teaspoon at a time if it’s too solid.
Once at the right consistency, take a tablespoon of the dough, roll it in your hands into a ball, then place it on the prepared baking tray. Make sure the cookies have enough room to spread; I only baked 4 at a time.
Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes, then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before removing them from the tray, and setting aside to cool completely.
Garnishing the Lava Cookies:
Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate in a clean bowl. Add a small blob of the warm chocolate near the bottom of each cookie, to act as a glue, then attach the strip of nori.
Once the chocolate has cooled, and the nori is stuck, turn the cookies over and repeat the process. Tuck the remainder of the nori strip up around the back of the cookie, and neatly press it against the chocolate to help the nori stick.
Once the chocolate has set, enjoy your Lava Cookies and feel your status refresh!
I really was impressed with how these cookies turned out! They’re ultra sweet, but the nori adds a fresh, sharp contrast. Feel free to try these with white or milk chocolate too. In the winter, or if in need of a little extra ‘fire’, a dash of ginger would be great for a warming touch. Certainly, the Lava Cookie recipe will act as my base from here on in when baking cookies, they’re so delicious, I’ve gotta nom ‘em all!
Like this? You might also enjoy the Pokémon – Poffins.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5xq508kET1qjhjgyo1_500.jpg)
![Request: EarthBound – Peanut Cheese Bar
I was pretty much oblivious to EarthBound until I was introduced to the curious character Ness in Super Smash Bros; having never owned a classic Nintendo console growing up I was subject to the gaming tastes of whoever owned the console I was playing (I was not beyond using a fellow classmate and neighbour to sate my need to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). When I decided I was going to make this recipe I tried to source EarthBound from a friend who has an extensive retro games collection, but the fact he didn’t have it just instilled it’s cult status even more for me. However, I’m not without my EarthBound knowledge; I’ve read about it enough times in articles titled ‘gaming urban myths’ and ‘ultimate screwed up games’. Everyone kept asking for these Peanut Cheese Bars - I’d see the requests in my inbox and all I could imagine was some peanuts with cheddar cheese on top - melting and a little greasy… Then I remembered that cheese can be sweet and delicious too, I think the Mr. Saturns are definitely onto something!
Click ‘Read More’ for the full recipe!
[[MORE]]
This recipe makes 8 - 10 Peanut Cheese Bars.
What you will need: An 8x8 inch square spring-form or lose-base cake tin, a whisk, two mixing bowls, greaseproof/baking paper, cling film/saran wrap and a rolling pin.
For the Cookie Base:
175g / 1 ¾ Cups Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
110g / ½ Cup Butter (Softened)
85g / ¾ Cup Caster Sugar/Superfine Sugar
85g / ¾ Cup Soft Brown Sugar
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
For the Chocolate:
150g / 1 Cup Chocolate
55g / ¼ Cup Butter
40g / ¼ Cup Crushed Salted Peanuts
For the Peanut Cheese Topping:
225g / 1 Cup Cream Cheese
170g / 2/3 Cup Smooth Peanut Butter (Skippy)
100g / ¾ Cup Icing/Confectioners Sugar
120ml / ½ Cup Whipping Cream
Making the Cookie Base:
Prepare the tin by greasing it with a little butter and lining the base and sides with greaseproof paper/baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 190C/370F.
In a large bowl beat the butter, caster sugar and brown sugar together until creamy. Slowly add the egg and continue to mix.
Gradually sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix well until a dough forms. If it’s very soft pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Place the dough between two large sheets of cling film/saran wrap and roll the dough out to roughly fit the base of your prepared tray. Transfer it to the tray and lightly press it in until the entire base is covered and even.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Leave to cool while you prepare the chocolate layer.
Making the Chocolate Layer:
Over a bain-marie melt the chocolate with the butter until smooth and shiny. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
Once cooled pour the chocolate over the cookie base and spread it out until even. Sprinkle over the crushed peanuts and with the back of a spoon, gently press them into the chocolate.
Place in the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes while you prepare the peanut cheese topping.
Making the Peanut Cheese Topping:
In a large bowl gently mix together the cream cheese, smooth peanut butter, sugar and cream. Once combined whisk it until pale and fluffy.
Spoon the peanut cheese mixture over the now chilled chocolate layer and smooth it out.
Sprinkle on top a few more crushed salted peanuts if you like, then place in the fridge for several hours until firm and chilled.
Once chilled remove the combination from the tin carefully and cut it into bars.
Update: Many thanks to Stephen Georg (StephenPlays) for finding me this image of the Peanut Cheese Bars from Starmen.net. I think the resemblance is great considering I had no image to work from initially!
When I say this recipe makes 8 - 10 Peanut Cheese Bars, what I really mean is it makes one awesome bar for one lucky person. Like me. Can I even describe how this tastes? Probably not. It’s the most incredibly crunchy, gooey, chocolately, salty and creamy combination. I played around with so many ideas in my head, swapping between a cheesecake, a more traditional sponge cake and even a pie. But I really wanted it to look and taste like something you might be able to buy in a wrapper in a shop. While my quest to find a copy of EarthBound to play continues, I certainly know what I’ll be gobbling when the time comes.
Like this? You might also enjoy the Deus Ex - Chunko-honey Candy Bar.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyqkz4re5P1qjhjgyo1_500.jpg)
