We give you... Team Pinko Punko/Geenie Cola!!!

Today's post brings us entry #6, a team comprised of the audacious Pinko Punko and the lovely Geenie Cola. Pinko and I went head to head for awhile in last year's bake-off, but if I recall... I WON!! I was curious if he'd bring anything to the table this year or if he was still licking his wounds. Well, wait no longer... he brought it, he most definitely brought it.

Waiting for me on my doorstep, after a long painting class with my crazy ladies, was a charming little package from another time zone. I scurried inside and opened it after seeing the 3B's on the return address. I wondered... would it be filled with condiments? Would it be filled with grapefruit remnants? Would the items be packed with sparkle pants? Instead I found a large variety of cookies that would charm your socks off.

First off, Pinko and GC made a large number of little chocolate sandwich cookies with different fillings. These cookies were about the size of a quarter and had one (or two) of the following fillings: mint, dark chocolate with a hint of Frangelico, dark chocolate with orange or dark chocolate with butter rum fillings. They were also done in various shapes. They came in cute little flowers, crescents or stars. As Grizzled said, "Those cookies are so cute you can hardly stand it!" and they were. They were adorable. They had a certain charm about them and I could see how they would be the perfect garnish for ice cream or as an aside with your after-dinner coffee. But as we all know, cookies that look great are not great if they don't taste good so we got down to the business of tasting them.

Some of you might recall that in an earlier post I was talking about the fact that sometimes going lighter on the chocolate is preferred as opposed to being walloped with the chocolate hammer. Well, there is a time and place for the hammer and this was it. These cookies were INCREDIBLY CHOCOLATY, but it was not a cloying chocolate. It was a rich, dark, intense wafer cookie. The wafer itself was wonderfully short while the filling was creamy. Pinko had suggested these as a topping for vanilla ice cream. I would think that would be wonderful. The sweet ice cream would play well against the sharpness of the chocolate. We all loved these. Our favorite by far was the mint. We felt the other flavors were good as well, but wished they could have been a little stronger. Still, they were great cookies and looked as if they took a ton of effort. They had eye appeal and they had taste appeal. One thing I forgot to mention earlier, their little size was perfect for the wallop they packed. You wouldn't want them to be much bigger.

Next in TPPGC's entry were Spritz sandwich cookies. They started with a classic Spritz cookie in the shapes of trees and squares, but once again filled them with a variety of flavors. While they were very tasty, the filling made the cookie a little soft and one of the great things about a Spritz cookie is that they are so crispy. Don't get me wrong, these were not bad, we just felt the filling was not needed. It was an interesting experiment though and once again took a lot of effort. The thought that went into elevating an already elevated Spritz cookie was appreciated.

Next in the line-up was a recipe from GC's family. It was her Aunt's cranberry/white chocolate oatmeal cookie. Both Grizzled and I liked these. We liked the sweetness of the white chocolate with the tartness of the cranberry. They were rich, but not too rich. They were a nice break from the intensity of the chocolate hammer sandwiches. I wish I could remember more about them, but as I look at my notes, all I see written is, "Yum".

Last but not least, TPPGC included something with BACON!! It would not be a true Pinko offering if he did not slip in something with bacon... this is the man after all who wrapped bacon around a Take 5 Bar in his Delicious or Disgusting... Bacon came in the form of a Simon and Garfunkel savory herb/bacon infused shortbread. It was really interesting. It was pretty to look at, Pinko having used flat leaf parsley not only as flavor, but as a decoration. it appeared as though the whole parsley leaves had been put into the pan first and then the shortbread dough, pressed down on top of it.(Now that I see the image, it looks as though other herbs were used in this way.) As for the flavor, I have to say, I thought it was quite tasty. The bacon flavoring was in proper balance and you could hear from all of the herbs. Pinko used none other than the famous combo of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Our main critique about this entry was the fact that it was too sweet, but even Pinko said this himself. He wanted to use less sugar, but was not sure how to adjust the recipe. As it stood, it reminded me of a gourmet McGriddle. :) It was actually more like a focaccia, but with the shortness of shortbread. Again, both Grizzled and I thought this was good and just needed further development. As Grizzled said, he thought it was a recipe in search of perfection.

All in all, TPPGC submitted an amazing entry. Those little chocolate cookies were delicious and were also so charming. They were an interesting combo of sophisticated and cute. While we felt the team succumbed to the "gilding the lily" syndrome with the Spritz cookies, we really appreciated the thought and effort that went into taking a classic and trying to make it new. As for the oatmeal, yum... and last, but not least, I am intrigued with the bacon/herb infused shortbread. It was nice to have something savory after so much sweet.

As if the baking was not enough, Team Pinko Punko/Geenie Cola also took the extra effort to make a poignant and moving video that recounts their baking experience. I suggest getting your tissues ready beforehand. Pinko may have gone whimpering away after his loss last year, but he came back roaring this year. Yes, he came back roaring and wielding the chocolate hammer!!!

Comments

[almostinfamous]

tthat dirty chocolate hippe!

he kept all the good herbs for himself. should have been parsley, sage, rosemary(jane) and thyme.

looks like the throwdowns were all worth it.

[mdhatter]

hang on gid you just totally glide past the painting class holiday party?

like sands through the hourglass of a turning world, we need our painting class holiday party story fix.

[Pinko Punko]

The cookies called for smokey bacon, not smokey herb, aif.

[Pinko Punko]

YIKES!!!!!!!! NOT SMOKEY BACON!!!!!!!!!

Smoky bacon. LOVE YOU SMOKEY DOG!!!!

[Jennifer]

How to Serve Smokey Dog

IT'S A COOKBOOK!!!!

mdhatter- I may do a holiday recap. I backed off of the painting class tales due to paranoia. I was convinced one of them had found the site...

[Jennifer]

Pinko- Grizzled is requesting some Smokey bacon with Parsleypants.

[Mandos]

How unoriginal and derivative.

[mdhatter]

I was convinced one of them had found the site...

It's too bad people take their own hillarious foibles so personally when they're called out. I think your painting class stories mostly cast the habits we all get into and odd reactions that we are all subject to in a constructive light.

In my best Joe Friday - 'Only the names have been changed... to protect the innocent.'

[Capt. Trollypants]

Mandos Mandos Mandos

[The Uncanny Canadian]

The chocolate hammer was oh so impressive, and not at all phallic in the way that most other chocolate hammers I've encountered are. On Pinko's advice, I tried eating the lucky charm-shaped cookies with a glass and milk and on ice cream. The dairy counterpoint was essential for getting full enjoyment out of these other-worldly delights. Most importantly, you could tell that these cookies were once very crunchy, while the filling hydrated them in an unfortunate way. By chilling the cookies, either on ice cream, or in the refrigerator, the crunchiness was restored, and these became the over-achievers they were bred to be. I agree with Jennifer about the filling combination. Peppermint always won - I think the chocolate-filled cookies did not contrast the dark black holes of chocolate that surrounded them, and the subtlety of the filling was somewhat lost. The two cookies I received with a combination of chocolate and peppermint filling were excellent.

The spritz cookies were very tasty and beautifully constructed. I also agree with Jennifer, that having them filled took away the essential buttery crispiness that usually makes these cookies unstoppable. However, the filling was easier to assay in these cookies, and they were extremely delicous, even if a little limp.

GC's aunt's oatmeal cookies were a hit at lemony. I need my oatmeal to be diverse and complicated, and these really delivered. I am not usually a white chocolate fan, but in the milieu of cranberry, it is the right flavour to go along with the wholesomeness of the oatmeal. They were classic cookies that needed no updating.

Finally, the bacon-infused shortbread rocked my world and threw my lymphatics out of alignment. The combination of the sweet, salty, herbal, and bacony came together in the most wonderful way. I was amazed how crispy and savory these cookies were. They had the exact flavour I wanted them to have. As if Pinko somehow did a shot-gun sequencing project of my taste and odorant receptors, and matched the individual SNPs and polymorphisms to the ideal chemical matches. Yes, they were kind of sweet, by they are, afterall, shortbread cookies. The bacon flavour was not subtle, but it wasn't a pork hammer either. It was just the evidence that goodness had been used to create these cookies. Like little drops of angel dew.

Overall, this very strong entry was one of the most creative, daring, and technically challenging that have been received to date. Yes, there are inhert risks associated with smudging the boundaries of the cookie realm, but also wonderful savoury rewards. Along with the beautiful packaging, team Pinko Punko/Geenie Cola also made one of the strongest A/V contributions, in their attempt to influence the judges and win the package-off. Only time will tell whether they successfully avenged last year's crushing defeat or not.

[Pinko Punko]

I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE RIGHT NOW. IT IS ONLY NATURES NATURAL CORNEA CLEANER AND MOISTURIZER. NOTHING TO SEE HERE. *sniff* my tear ducts have been overcome by the intrinsic incredible emotion.

[Mandos]

I believe there is bias in the judging of what must obviously be a boring and middle-of-the-pack entry. I demand that this so-called Uncanny Canadian be recused from the bench.

[The Uncanny Canadian]

You and AG both, Mandos.

[Jennifer]

UC- tell us how you really feel!!! :) And just how many phallic chocolate hammers have you been in contact with? Hmmmm? Or, for that matter, how many pork hammers? Dear. God. I don't even want to know....

However... Pinko/GC did have an awesome entry on many levels. I will give them that. My eldest lamblet was saying you could put a piece of meat between those little chocolate wafers and it would taste good. She was suggesting bacon... But speaking of teh awesome, we finally finished off Mandos' brittle. We've been making it last because it would have been gone in 3 seconds otherwise. My youngest lamblet was grooving on that. The egg sweet was right up there as well.

It's going to be interesting judging because so far everyone has had a couple of things that really stood out. I think as with most things, this decision will be found in the details...

As for UC's bias regarding PP... I think it could be balanced by AG's bias regarding PP. Hers seems to come from the other direction and they meet (meat?) in the middle.

[Pinko Punko]

That second UC is AG.

[fish]

As if Pinko somehow did a shot-gun sequencing project of my taste and odorant receptors, and matched the individual SNPs and polymorphisms to the ideal chemical matches.

I don't know how many times I have thought the exact same thing. Oh wait, yeah I do.

None.