For the Marines...

I don't often talk about being a Marine on this blog. I don't feel that it applies to what I am doing here and it doesn't seem to fit. But, that is all about to change just for this one post. Food has been an integral part of my time in the Marine Corps. It all began at Officer Candidates School when I would live from meal to meal. Things like chili mac and instant mashed potatoes became gourmet to me. Boston cream pie that was still frozen? Pure heaven! Next, at The Basic School, I ate out pretty much every meal. Living so close to Washington, D.C., I tried cuisine that I had never had the opportunity to try before. It was fun and exciting and then I got to move to Japan. Yet another place where food was integral in day to day life. Trying all of the different local foods and yet relishing the familiar tastes of home.

I still try to keep food at the forefront and try to experience different things all of the time. For the past five years, I have lived in the South and have loved "Southern" food...so yummy! Through it all, I have always fed my Marines. Pretty much everything you see on this blog finds its way to work and the Marines are always willing to eat whatever I bring. Either they are too busy to make things for themselves or they live in the barracks and don't have a way to make things for themselves. Either way, it makes me happy to be able to share my homemade goodies with them.

I chose eight years ago to become a Marine. I was graduating from college and enjoying knowing what I wanted to do. My friends were all interviewing for jobs and I was enjoying relaxing, knowing that my interview was going to be 10 weeks long and require a lot of yelling and running! I look at my friends from college and realize that I have made the right choice by coming into the Marine Corps. I have had so many opportunities and have experienced so much. I wouldn't change it for anything. This is the best job out there!

Alright, all of this blabbering brings us to this cookie. It is a Hertzog cookie. Its origins are South African and I received the recipe from one of the Marines in my building. He is my bestest taste tester. He will come to my office to get a treat and tell me it is good. Then he will come back about 30 minutes later and give me an in-depth analysis of the cookie. He is a native South African and since I am always looking for new and different recipes, I asked if he could get a South African recipe for me and this is the one his mom provided for him to give to me.

These cookies were a real surprise to me. I knew they would be good, but I didn't realize how good the coconut would be with the apricot. The cookie part was flaky and buttery. They are supposed to be made in a patty tin, which apparently is like a muffin tin, only not as deep. I used a muffin tin and it worked just fine. These are really tasty and a great change of pace. Thanks to LCpl S for the recipe and hopefully I will get a good review when I take them into work tomorrow!

Hertzog Cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

Crust:
250 g flour
25 g white sugar
10 g baking powder
1 g salt
125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 extra large egg yolks
about 1/4 c cold water

Filling:
Apricot jam
3 extra large egg whites
250 g white sugar
160 g coconut (ground in food processor)

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated and the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time and then add the water. Add extra water if the dough is too dry. Roll out the dough about 1 mm thick. Cut rounds out with a cookie cutter and press into the bottom of a greased muffin tin.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put about a teaspoon of jam in each dough circle.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then slowly add the sugar to make a meringue. Fold in the coconut. Put about a tablespoonful of coconut meringue into each jam-filled dough crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of the oven. Leave to cool in the pan and then store in a cool place.