When Life Hands You Lemonade (Awards) . . .

Thursday, January 22, 2009 46 comments
. . . make some Lemon Arrowroot Wafers!

Buttery drops of sun

First of all, I want to thank two of my favorite bloggers for passing on to me the Lemonade Award: 



5 Star Foodie, who not only has marvelous gourmet recipes (check out the Rack of Lamb with Saffron Cream) but also shares her dining adventures in some of the most outstanding and acclaimed restaurants in the country. Vicarious dining at its best! 

Evil and Demented Little Cooker Girl - don't let the name fool you. This sweet site offers lovely photos, visual samplings of Filipino treats and some great baking-related links.

Thank you, ladies! Now, it's my pleasure to pass it on to another fantastic blog, Fake Food Free, which chronicles the life and healthy eats of Lori, an expat nutritionist living in Brazil. It's loaded with delicious recipes, nutrition tips and links, and fun stories of her travels. Check out her newest post on an eco-friendly and adorable method of weed-control.

One other mention: I want to thank ChefBliss for giving me her Fabulous Recipe award this week. She tried out my banana turon recipe and being a truly original cook, gave it a twist and made it her own [see it here]. Many thanks, ChefBliss!

So then, with the Lemonade Award came visions of lemon drops. I love this refreshing flavor, especially in baked goodies so I though I'd offer up these delicious little bites. I call them wafers because they're too dainty to be called cookies.
 
Lemon Arrowroot Wafers
This is adapted from a recipe courtesy of the Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center in Makati City, PH. It originally called for cornstarch and wheat flour but I opted for arrowroot and rice flours for a truly gluten-free treat. They came out light, crispy, oh-so-buttery and with just a hint of citrus!


Yields 6-8 dozen (1") wafers

Ingredients:

1 - 1/2 cups arrowroot flour
1/2 cup rice flour
zest from 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsps)
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Tools:
Frosting bag with a large star-shaped piping tip.


To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper;
2. In a small bowl, whisk or sift flours together; add zest, stirring well to distribute, and set aside;
3. In a mixer, cream butter and confectioner's sugar; add egg and vanilla and mix well;
4. Add flour mixture by cupfuls, mixing well in between. The flours are very powdery so it may poof up as you mix! Continue adding dry mix by cupfuls until a very soft dough forms.
5. Spoon mixture into frosting bag and pipe quarter-sized rounds, leaving a little space between each one as they will spread during baking;
6. Bake at 374 degrees (F) for approximately 8 minutes or until edges of wafers are a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Serve with tea, ice cream or enjoy them on their own.

Notes: I used plain rice flour from Whole Foods but 'sweet' rice flour such as Mochiko can be found in Asian groceries and would work as well. And for a more pronounced lemon flavor, substitute lemon extract.


46 comments:

  • Anonymous said...

    Thanks, Tangled Noodle! Love those wafers - they look scrumptious. I have never used arrowroot before, going to look for some in the store.

  • Selba said...

    My mom used to make this kind of arrowroot cookies but without lemon. She didn't use frosting bag but did it one by one with her thumb to push the "dough" through the pipe. Quite a hard work :)

  • Chef E said...

    You had me at lemon, and I also like how you have substituted flours...my kinda gal! I also would eat them one by one, and only the bloggers would see them...I just sent my blueberry chutney cup cakes 'frozen' with my friend Gen for them to eat...I ate enough...now I have apple pie :)

  • Anonymous said...

    I love lemon cookies and I think zest is the most delicious way to flavor a lemon-drop-cookie! I'm trying to be more British so am having a little high tea get together - I think these will be the perfect addition!

  • Anonymous said...

    Lemony, buttery and gluten-free? Methinks my gluten-free sis could be in for a treat (that's if there are any left once I've had a go at them myself!)

  • Lori said...

    Wow! Thanks so much! I am honored to receive the award. So glad you like my blog. I enjoy yours so much too. Food and culture are such great topics. I love those cookies.

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Reeni - I have them ready to go: we are in for a cold snap with highs this weekend in MN around 0 degrees (F).

    5 Star - The brand I used was Bob's Red Mill, found at Whole Foods. I had a hard time finding them elsewhere, even the Asian groceries. Being in the DC Metro area, you may have more luck than me.

    Heather - Thanks! I'm still dreaming about that chocolate icing/glaze on your s'mores cupcakes.

    Selba - Wow! You're mother is impressive; I can't imagine pressing out the cookies by hand! I was actually inspired by Filipino arrowroot cookies although this was much lighter than the ones I brought back. I'm working on another recipe which I hope comes close to the original.

    Chef E - Those apple pies are incredible! I'm really getting into using alternative flours - I don't have issues w/gluten myself but I find the texture and flavor are different and appealing. More experimentation is needed (with accompanying taste tests)!

    SoCal - He is indeed my pupster of disaster! Thank you and I hope you do try these out.

    Gastroanthropology - Thank you! I thought that lemon zest gave these a little bit more texture and didn't overwhelm with too much lemon flavor. I grated them very finely - I wonder: if they were a bit bigger, maybe they'd give more of a 'zing' when you bit into a piece. Oh, and please share with us how your high tea goes!

    Daily Spud - I hope you both enjoy them! The baked so quickly and are the perfect bite size that it was easy to gobble them down.

    Lori - You're so welcome! You're blog has such a unique perspective: not only is it about food and nutritious eating but doing it in the midst of a different culture and language!! Kudos to you!

    Pigpigscorner - Thank you! BTW, after reading about your successful steamed egg, I want to try it for myself.

  • Unknown said...

    Congratulations on your awards you deserve them! I love how you took
    the Lemonade award as inspiration!
    Does the rice flour act different than regular flour??? And is it healthier?

  • Joie de vivre said...

    How beautiful! You did great with the pastry bag. (That bag has eluded me for years! Darn you macaroons!) I've checked out Mindless Eating from the library and am really liking it. I think I may feature it on my blog in March. Thanks for recommending it. As for the bean substitution, I'd personally go for cannellini to keep with the Tuscan theme. :)

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Christine - Thanks! I'll leave a message on your site but in answer to your question regarding rice flour: my understanding is that you can use it as a substitute for cake or pastry flour as it results in a lighter consistency. Rice and arrowroot flours are almost pure starch/carbohydrates and contain little or no protein, unlike regular flour so, nutritionally (not withstanding gluten sensitivity), wheat flour may have a technical advantage. However, arrowroot is very digestible which is why its often found in baby biscuits. I've used rice flour in shortbread cookies before but this was my first attempt with arrowroot - it's so fine and powdery, a cloud puffed up when I turned on the mixer!

    Joie - Thanks for confirming the bean substitute! As for the pastry bag, my first few were quite sad but then I got the hang of it. I'm definitely hooked - I'm going to buy bigger tips and practice (perhaps w/mashed potatoes so that I can immediately eat any errors). Keep at it with those macaroons - I'm confident you will prevail! And I'm happy you're enjoying the book - I can't wait to read your thoughts on it on upcoming posts. You'll see me refer to specific studies as it's one of my favorite references.

    Indonesia-Eats - Thank you and you're welcome! You have some amazing recipes on your site - I'm definitely going to visit often!

    Michele - Both texture and flavor are mild and fine; some complaints are that it's too bland but then again, that's where the rest of the ingredients come in. Non-wheat flours usually result in a lighter texture so it's suggested that their best use is for recipe for which you might use cake or pastry flours.

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Mariana - Thank you! Although I have no gluten issues, I'm quite taken with using non-wheat flours, especially if we consider that in many other cuisines, these flours are so much more common and result in such fine and delicate baked goods. I've seen some recipes using tapioca flour which will be my next experiment. 8-)

  • ... said...

    Ok, so here it is... at your request:
    http://socalpastrychef.blogspot.com/2009/01/infamous-royal-icing.html

    I know exactly what you mean about royal icing... it does take some practice. Mine still isn't develeoped right :(

  • Maria Verivaki said...

    hello again from crete - lemonade, especially the homemade variety - is refreshing no matter what season you serve it in. and these mexican inspired biscuits would be the perfect pairing for it. their tangy lemon taste would be the perfect palate cooler after my pad thai singlina a la mediteranean!

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    SoCal - Thank you! Beautifull-iced cookies have always eluded me: here's hope that your recipe will change my luck!

    Manang - I had such a hard time finding arrowroot but now that i know where to go, I'm going to try to keep it and rice flour on hand. What else do you make with these?

    MedKiwi - Mexican Wedding Cakes are some of my favorite cookies (my brother-in-law refers to them as "little pats of sugared butter") and I was reminded of them as I made these.

    BTW, I thought that your pad thai looked wonderful! I admit that I haven't been as creative, falling back instead of packaged pad thai seasoning. I should, as you noted on the post and did yourself, look at what I have around me, consider the flavors I want to achieve and go for it!

  • Susan @ SGCC said...

    I love these little cookies! They look so light and crispy! I've never tried baking with arrowroot flour before, though I've used it as a thickener in sauces. I definitely must try these!

  • Ginger said...

    I have to say that those look almost too good to eat. Did you notice that I said "almost?" I would love to try those!! Coffee and lemon cookies. Sounds soo good!!

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    SGCC - Thank you! Your creations are amazing so I'd love to see what you can do with arrowroot flour.

    Ginger - Thanks! I asked my husband to try one as soon as he got home; before I blinked, he had downed a half dozen from the pan that was cooling!

  • Unknown said...

    Dear Tangled,

    The rice was actually really light..its folded into the whipped cream and then the caramel sauce goes on top.

    About the lettering. No I don't use photoshop. Its actually a free program on www.flickr.com. (Isn't that great??? I love free...Photoshop is so expensive) What happens is you upload your photos then give them a description. Then it will ask you in little print underneath if you want to use a program called picknic to edit it. I would recommend the program because it fixes your photos and you cant get real jazzy with your photos...and you sure can't beat the price! Reeni was the one who told me about...she did my header for me...the one with the coffee cup and my website name on it. Gave you a lot of info sorry lol!

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Christine - Thanks for the info - I appreciate all of it! I agree: free is the best price. 8-) I was hoping you wouldn't say it was photoshop; I just can't justify the cost right now. I'll have to check out Flickr! I didn't mention it before but I love the new header and background (of course, they pale in comparison to the photos of your creations).

  • Unknown said...

    I know what you mean about photoshop eek! The background comes from www.thecutestblogontheblock.com which is free as well. They have many backgrounds and its real easy to do..they give you instructions. It takes a total of 1 minute to install.

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Elra - Thanks! This was also my first time using arrowroot but I've loved them as cookies from the Philippines and those digestive cookies from the UK. I plan to use it more often in baking and see how it works vs wheat flour in other goodies!

  • Anonymous said...

    I love lemon, I can squeeze it on everything, or I can put its blossoms in a vase as they have a heavenly scent. But I haven't used them in such waffles. They seem so tasty. I should try it soon.

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Zerrin - Thank you! Lemon is such a refreshing flavor - I love it in tea, soup, cookies, and so many other things. I hope you will try out this recipe!

    Amanda - Thank you and apologies for this late reply!

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Eugene - I hope you do give it a try! This was my first attempt at using it in place of wheat flour. It is used much more commonly in Asia and South America as a regular flour whereas here in the US it's considered mainly a thickener (which may explain why I had such a hard time finding more than a few ounces). My understanding is that it subs well for wheat-flour in cakes and cookies b/c it makes for a lighter texture.

  • Anonymous said...

    Arrgahhhh, I keep coming back and seeing these. They're driving me mad! (In a good way, though.)

    I will have to investigate for some lighter low carb flours. Something tells me almond meal wouldn't cut it with these.

    *puts tissues into food processor and presses ON*

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Eugene - Resistance is futile! Now that you've mentioned it, I wonder how almond meal would work with this - say, a 50/50 mix with another flour. If you decide to experiment, please let me know what you discover!

  • Tangled Noodle said...

    Phanitha - Thanks! I see that your recipes call for flours that I've never used before such as besan; I know that maida is all-purpose flour but I wonder if it's made differently than 'American' all-purpose flour?

 

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