Let me just say I’ve never made wine syrup before today. It’s kinda exciting. If you’ve never made it before either, let me tell ya…it generates the most amazing aroma ever. The fragrance is hard to describe-it’s like waking up at your favorite bread and breakfast and brunch is already waiting for you. The bouquet promises buttered brioche, freshly made strawberry preserves and warm, dark amber syrup. I wanted to keep on simmering so I could smell it forever.
Well…I mixed 1 1/8 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup wine and heated them to a boil. Reduced the flame , then simmered the concoction. Fifteen minutes in the wine took on a syrupy consistency. After 20 minutes, I shut off the heat and checked it. Everything looked fine-then disaster struck. Upon cooling, the syrup took on a rock candy-like consistency…not good. Of course, it would. The sugar to wine ratio was way too high. “I know. I’ll add butter.” After adding a whole stick of butter, it was still thicker than molasses. Ugh.
No matter. I added the egg, vanilla, and spices and combined it with the flour mixture. “Man, this is the wettest cookie dough I have ever made!” I yelled to my best friend, who couldn’t have cared less. Post chilling, I took a peak in the mixing bowl: it looked like I just melted some chocolate, threw it in a bowl, and called it dough. Good Lord!
But to my surprise, the crackles baked up beautifully with that perfect snowy surface. The anticipation was killing me, but I still waited until the next day to try one. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter how the cookie tasted. I’ve been suffering from broken mouth for 5 days now. You see, I injured my knee recently and have been taking Advil to keep the swelling down. Current side effects include the destruction of my taste buds. “Oh, Advil…why hath you forsaken me?!”
