No, you're not dreaming, I dared! I dared to put real worms in a cookie recipe and, worse than all, I dared the terrible pun in my recipe title (special dedication to Uncle Didier!). What bug (or rather, what worm!) got me?
Well, actually two reasons. First, Virginie's idea, from the very inspiring blog "Like a cookie", to choose as the theme for this Battle Food: Funky Halloween.
Battle food is a culinary challenge created originally by Carole from "Sunrise Over Sea" where bloggers and culinary enthusiasts "compete" (gently though) around an imposed theme. Each edition, a blogger is chosen to organize the next edition. For theme #45, it was Cyrielle gourmandise who hosted and so for this edition #46, Virginie from like a cookie decided to twist Halloween.
At first, I wasn't very inspired but ultimately, I saw it as a great opportunity to use the edible insects that the Jimini's brand had sent me. I met the team at a trade show recently and after tasting their products at the booth, I received 2 small boxes at home: a box of soy-flavored worms and a box of paprika crickets. I didn't really know how to use them in a sweet recipe. So when I saw the theme of this battle food, I thought it was a golden opportunity to use my worms. A funky Halloween my way!
I'm aware that few people (or no one!) will want to try this recipe. But I found it interesting to play on the literal side of Halloween by inserting real worms and integrating a salty ingredient into a sweet preparation.
It's not visible in the photo but the cookies have a caramel center that integrates quite well with the sweet side of caramel. And to be honest, if we disregard the fact that they are worms, they mainly taste like hazelnuts (even though these are normally flavored for appetizers).
For the cookies themselves, I again based myself on a recipe from Sally but I find them a bit flat. I'll go back to my usual cookie recipe next time.
Verdict? Almost all my colleagues tried them (some waited until after lunch though) and some even really liked them. The salty side of the worms pairs well with the sweetness of the caramel. No one hated them, it must be said that, aside from the fact that they are insects, the taste is quite neutral. In any case, I had a lot of fun making these cookies and having friends and colleagues taste the worms. Apparently it's the future, so I invite you to try them, at least to see what it tastes like!
Salted Worm Caramel Cookies
Instructions
- 1
Mix the butter and sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract.
- 2
In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
- 3
Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and mix. Let the dough cool for at least one hour in the refrigerator.
- 4
Remove the dough and insert a caramel in the middle of each cookie. To prevent the caramel from leaking, cover each caramel well with cookie dough. Flatten each ball slightly and sprinkle with worms. Press well to make them stick to the dough.
- 5
Bake for 13 minutes at 180°. Let the cookies finish baking on the sheet until they are moveable, then move them to a cooling rack.
- 6
Enjoy (or not!).
