Absinthe Cookies: yes, they really are a thing.

Wholefoods and generous friends to the rescue! Right?!

Except that they're not. 

Or they weren't until I invented them. Or , more correctly, until I invented 'Absinthe flour-free chocolate cake mushed up with a bit of cream cheese frosting (cake pop style) then pressed and cut into cookie sized shapes before being dolloped with a generous portion of Channel Islands cream flavoured with Cointreau and then smothered with green edible (but not digestible!) glitter'.

And despite getting a 'special mention' by the judging panel, they are unlikely to be a thing ever again.

I had a flourless chocolate cake flavoured with Absinthe. "I know! I'll cut it into stars and serve that as a course," I thought. "Everyone likes chocolate; Absinthe will make me look really glamorous, exotic and adventurous; and cutting dense cake into shapes with cookie cutters is dead simple."

I had a minor panic when I realised that I couldn't get enough servings using the cutter I'd chosen. Then, while I contemplated what to do I nibbled at some crumbs. That was when total and utter disaster struck - turns out, I really don't like Absinthe.

For reasons that seemed sensible at the time, I crumbled up the cake, stirred in a basic cream cheese frosting with a big of cocoa, mushed it all together and then rolled it out until it was about 5mm thick. Then I froze it briefly to make it easier to cut. After a bit I pulled it out if the freezer, cut into stars and layered it into a box with greaseproof paper to separate.

Stolen from little swallow : china doll with many thanks

When serving up I laid the 'cookies' on the plate and tried to smother them with the ridiculously delicious Cointreau cream I'd impulse bought while waiting for a delivery earlier in the evening. Then sous chef B took control and enthusiastically smothered them in green glitter.

I have never felt so uncomfortable as I do when serving people something I've made which I don't like. It's just not right.

They were really difficult to pick up and they were horrid. Well, they were horrid to someone who doesn't like Absinthe. But I totally would have licked the cream and glitter off each and every one of them!