I like songs about this sort of moment, and I was listening to one the other day, but I can’t remember what it is! I’ve started a short playlist of the ones I can think of, and I’d appreciate your help in adding to it! Songs about feeling good, in your neighborhood. I’ve stretched the rubric a little for some of these, but the nice thing is, listening to these songs makes you feel good!
I had a meeting with a client who asked me to make a dessert for a dinner party. (Okay, so the client was my mother and the meeting was a glass of wine in the afternoon! Before pick-up at the school! Shocking!) The party was a wine-tasting featuring Argentine wines, and the maternal client requested a dessert with coconut, raspberry and dark chocolate. So I decided to make a version of Argentine-style alfajores. These little cakes are made with a subtly-flavored coconut shortbread, sandwiched together with raspberry jam, and coated in bittersweet chocolate. They also reminded me of the empire biscuits that my scottish mother-in-law makes. I think they would make a nice sweet for a holiday party, because they’re portable – you can stuff a few in your pockets and wander from conversation-to-conversation, fully stocked!!
2 cups flour
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 egg
small pot of raspberry jam
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chip
1 T butter
In a food processor or blender, process the coconut until it’s less flaky, more crumbly.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well-blended. You’ll have a stiff dough, so it might be hard to mix, but keep at it until everything is smooth and well incorporated. Wrap in foil and chill for about half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350. Roll out the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick on a well-floured surface. Using a small juice or sherry glass, cut circles out of the dough, and move them over to a lightly buttered baking sheet. Repeat until all of the dough is gone.
Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until they’re just starting to turn golden on the bottom, and they’re firm to the touch. Move to cooling racks.
When they’re quite cool, spread a spoonful of raspberry jam on half of them, and top with the other half, to make little sandwiches.
Melt the chocolate in a small pan over a larger pan of boiling water, and stir in the butter. When it’s very soft and liquidy, dunk each cookie into the chocolate, using two spoons or a spoon and a knife. When they’re mostly coated, set them out on tin foil, and then chill them in the fridge until set. Once they’re set they should peel nicely off the foil.
I think you mean a cup of chocolate chips not chocolate chip cookies ?
Otherwise it sounds like a good recipe I’d like to try it.
ha ha!! Thanks! I’ll fix it now.
Lovely article as always Claire and tempting recipe, I hope the client is / was satisified ! Though the link to the playlist seems to go to the Wikipedia page for Alfajores.
I’m thinking of Simon and Garfunkel’s Feelin’ Groovy, or if there’s a cover version of it that’s a little bit more downbeat and bluesy, not quite so unsustainably elated.
59th st bridge song!! Of course!! Perfect!
And thanks for telling me about my (other) silly mistake. Where is my brain today? I blame the puppy! It’s the puppy, I tell you!
Your brain cell has probably gone the way of my one that used to know the right title of that song. No name-that-tune quiz points for me…
The playlist link goes to Spotify now, but a Spotify page saying it can’t find anything. It might be just me….
Hiya Claire, what about Tom Waits’ In The Neighbourhood?
Hey Claire! Jackson Browne’s Walking Slow might fit the bill – & it has added kazoo for effect.
Lots of versions of this: Sesame Street neighbourhood song
Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves!
Hi Steenbeck
This is in Finnish but it’s bang on topic and I think you’ll like this chill rap about having a good day even though there’s precious little money in the pocket.
Ceebrolistics – Hyviä Juttuja (Good things)
Hello, Fuel! I love it! It’s perfect. What a language! I love hearing non-English raps – the rhythm is so unexpected. Thank you!