Weekend Cooking: Wookiee Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes (The Star Wars Cookbook) by Robin Davis

Over the holiday period I was back in Adelaide spending time with family and friends and generally trying to take a little time to relax and recharge.

I went to see The Hobbit in the gold class cinema (felt very decadent having scones with jam and cream and a pot of tea while watching a movie in comfy reclining chairs), I went to the beach a few times and I went to see Les Miserables with a friend of mine. I will try to make some time to put up a few photos as we managed to make the long drive pass by more quickly by having some fun along the way!

When I was out for dinner with the friend I went to see Les Mis with, she mentioned that she had some spare copies of The Star Wars Cookbook and asked whether we would like one.

Now, I have a confession to make. I have never, ever, no-not-ever, I am not joking here....NEVER seen a full Star Wars movie from beginning to end. I have seen bits of them, and I can quote the big lines (you know..."Luke, I am your father" for example) but there was no way known we were going to be allowed to watch "that rubbish" (my mother's words) when it came out and it just hasn't happened since.  My sister hasn't seen one either, despite the fact that her five year old son is quite obsessed with the franchise! So, while I was interested in having a look at the book, I knew my nephew would love it, so I bought one home with me!

Even for someone who isn't emotionally connected to the whole Star Wars world, this was a lot of fun!

The creators of this book have taken everyday recipes and given them a Star Wars twist. Some are better than others but some of my favourite recipe titles were Wookiee Cookies, Han-burgers (simple but genius), Yoda Soda, Hoth Chocolate, Jabba Jiggles (which is green jelly with fruit in it) and more. For most of the recipes there are full page photos that feature Star Wars figurines along with the food. One of my favourite photos was for Princess Leia Danish Dos where Princess Leia is pictured among a pile of cinnamon scrolls, which are obviously reminiscent of her hairstyle The book is spiral bound, and printed on full gloss thick paper which will hopefully be easy to keep mostly clean.

The reality is that this is a kid's cookbook dressed up with Star Wars paraphernalia. The recipes are pretty easy - Wookiee Cookies are pretty much chocolate chip cookies (recipe below) - and where it is likely that a child would need assistance it is clearly marked in the recipe. At the beginning of the book there are general instructions under the headings of Be Careful - Respect the Mysteries of the Force (talking about kitchen safety),  Be Aware - Cultivate the Awareness of a Jedi. Even though it is designed for kids, I am pretty sure that there will be a ton of grown up Star Wars fans who would have a lot of fun with this.

I have seen that there is a second Star Wars cookbook out too. I just might need to take a look at it at some point.

Rating 4/5 (most of which is for the fun factor alone)

Wookiee Cookies 

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


1. Preheat the oven to 375º

2. Put the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon until well mixed. Set aside.

3. Put the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in another mixing bowl. Using the electric mixer set on high speed, beat together until well blended and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with the wooden spoon until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of the dough and drop onto a baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all the dough. Be sure to leave about 1 inch between the cookies because they spread as they bake.

5. Using pot holders, put the baking sheets in the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

6. Again, using pot holders, remove the baking sheets from the oven. Lift the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula, and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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