Baking fail (sorta)

Last night was not my best baking night. I think I was trying to multitask just a bit too much, so things didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped.

I used the last of my artisan bread dough to make olive bread. I didn't form the loaf that well after adding the olives, I didn't add the cornstarch wash they recommended, and I forgot to slash the top of the dough before it went into the oven. So I got a weird lumpy ball with a concentration of olives in the center. That being said, the bread still baked up yummy (no undercooked center or anything), so I guess I can't complain.

I also decided to make reverse faux-reos from the King Arthur Flour site. They have been e-mailing me recipes ever since I bought a few breadmaking things from them, and I couldn't pass this one up. The dough was divine. I could have eaten the whole bowl full. And no eggs, so no worries about salmonella!

A few things went wrong: the cookie part turned out flatter than I expected, and I don't know if it's because a) I used this wonky low-process sugar (all 2 cups) instead of granulated (maybe I should have hit it with the blender), b) I screwed up the part where I added the baking powder (but i'm pretty sure I added the right amount), or c) I pressed down my dough balls too flat to begin with (which might be the problem). From the picture it looks like they're supposed to be "fluffy" cookies, and maybe soft, but it also says they're ultra-crispy, which mine definitely were.

Then there was the chocolate filling, which included 1 1/4 cups of sifted powdered sugar. I didn't sift the first 1/2 cup, and it made the filling a bit lumpy or grainy, depending on how you look at it. Still delicious and chocolatey, with enough heavy cream to make anyone happy. It also didn't set as well as I'd hoped.

Still, I ended up with a couple dozen cookies which, even though they don't look that pretty, still taste pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. I may revisit this recipe with organic granulated sugar and see if that makes a difference. I'm determined to make pretty cookies!