"Curiosity, Patience, and Strength": WonderStitcher Fairytale 1 (with Lime Gingerbread Amanita Cookies)

Temptingly delicious gingerbread Amanita Musicaria cookies will draw you into the magic, just as their real counterparts enticed the protagonist in the wonderful fairytale that accompanies this recipe.

This is part of the WonderStitcher Fairytale Series, a collaboration between myself and my partner! Each story starts with a magical, delicious recipe that I dream up and present to my partner, who then uses that as inspiration to write an original fairytale. Then, together we dream up a photoshoot to capture the wonder in visual format. Once we are finished with each project I will post it here, but we’d also love to welcome you to follow along every Fairytale Friday on Youtube, where we share behind-the-scenes and in-process videos, from prop-making to baking and more!

The Story: 

Curiosity, Patience, and Strength

Listen! Listen! Do you know? Have you heard? It sometimes happens in worlds such as ours that things go missing. And it sometimes happens that the things that are missing are found by something else, raft-drifted into islands of new terrain, a realm of novelty. Kassandra was something missing. She didn’t mean to become missing, of course. She understood some people would enjoy getting something close to “lost”, it just wasn’t her thing. But the forest nearby had been so inviting and seemed oh-so interesting. What was there to do but march into it? Then, time hustled ever onward, as a good time will do, and it was underneath a gently-smiling moon in a thicket of slate-colored conifers that Kassandra had found herself standing. With a drop of addlement in a puddle of determination, she decided she would simply have to un-lost herself, and so she trudged (unbeknownst to her, for she thought she would soon be outside) directly into the spotlight on the stage of interesting. 

After a while, Kassandra became hungry. It was difficult to determine exactly how long she had been in the forest, but the rumbling of her stomach proved to be a semi-reliable timer: too long, too long, too long. Passing through, she saw a cluster of lovely looking red-capped mushrooms, decadent and plump, with dollops of creamy white spots speckling the top. She plucked them from the earth and held them delicately in her hand, thinking that she would consider the possible dangers and potential benefits while she walked. It was a good plan but not an effective one, and as her gastronomical alarm clock continued to ring out too long, too long, too long, she clutched the mushrooms desperately, held them to her lips, and took a luscious, luxurious bite. She fell, and she slept.

The first time she saw the creature, she was surprised simultaneously by two things: first, by how immediately and soundly the mushroom had caused her to sleep; and second, by how similar the creature in front of her resembled a tall, mushroom-shaped person! It had a long frilly trunk of a torso with delicate feet which terminated into countless fibers in place of toes, fine as cornsilk and plural as leaves on a tree. All over it was a brilliant, sanguinic scarlet color, and upon its face was a mottling of tiny white spots. The hair of the creature shone with wispy mycelium fibers as well, and on the very tippy-top of the head was a brilliant and stately crown of miniature amanitas. Kassandra witnessed the creature with awe as she lifted herself from the ground. It noticed her notice itself, and then met her gaze with familiar, human eyes. The two stared at each other and as Kassandra thought that there could never be anything more magnificent than this moment, the creature proved her wrong and spoke.
“Ah, It seems our guest is awake.”

There were now several iterations of the character, apparating like reflections in a house of mirrors, only moving in time differently, wilder/calmer, faster/slower, to different destinations and with different purpose. Kassandra realized these iterations were indeed other different mushroom-creatures, and they were all moving closer to get a better look at her. Kassandra began to take in her surroundings and noticed a curious arrangement of various items, perhaps nicknacks that the creatures had collected by other way-ward travelers. The tree just behind her was adorned with a large ornate mirror. Had that been there before? By now she was surrounded by the creatures, who formed a loose circle around her. Amid interested and cacophonous chatter, several bleats of excitement, and a general clamor of chaos, Kassandra raised her voice and said, “Please excuse me, but I am lost. Will you tell me how I can get home?”

A chorus of laughter cascaded through the trees, howls and chortles interchanged with guffaws and grunts. As the reverberations decayed, The One Who Spoke said, “Silly one, you cannot go home now, you have already begun to change; look,” and it pointed one slender finger toward Kassandra’s head. The girl looked into the mirror and was mortified to see that right on the crown of her head a plurality of amanita mushrooms had begun to sprout. Bawling with fear, she clutched handfuls of mushrooms and began to pull.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said The One Who Spoke, “It’ll hurt quite a lot.”
“Please!” Kassandra cried, “Help me! I cannot remain here, I cannot become one of you, though it would thrill me! Where I am from I am depended upon, and I must return to those who need me! Whyever this is happening, you must stop it!” 

The One Who Spoke looked expressionless as it replied, “It can be done, but I do not wish to do it. It is quite seldom that we get a visitor, let alone one who eats the fruit of the life that runs through this forest. You have taken of the mushroom, and now the forest takes of you.”

This was unacceptable. Kassandra would continue her protests until finally, The One Who Spoke would interrupt her and say, “Fine. I will restore your body to the way it came, but first you must prove that you are worthy of those who depend upon you; I do it for the sake of those who do. There will be three challenges. The first is this: you must be curious. Tell me, why does the rooster crow in the morning?”

Kassandra thought deeply about what she would say for a short period of time. How could she demonstrate her curiosity by answering this question? Well, she could think of one way.

“I wonder why?” she replied.

The One Who Spoke grinned and bowed. “That is an acceptable answer. The second challenge is this: you must be patient. Hold your breath for fifteen minutes.”

It proved to be a difficult one at first. Kassandra breathed the lush forest air deeply. She stretched her lungs as full and wide as she could. She even practiced several different stretching exercises. She did all these things and more but the longest she could hold her breath was only barely over 3 minutes. Several attempts later, she risked a horrifying glance into the mirror; the transformation was progressing! All over her skin had turned cheery and horrifying scarlet, and her face had become bespeckled with white spots! Oh no, she fretted, this is awful! I only have a little time before my legs turn to roots and I’m stuck here for good! She allowed herself only a moment of panic and afterward, she had an idea. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a handkerchief that she was able to fold through the hollow of her hand into a pocket. Then, holding the entrance of the pocketed cloth upto her lips, she blew out into the cloth and then pinched off the opening of the pocket. Then, she held her pocketful of breath for 15 minutes.

The One Who Spoke was enthralled as joy spread widely across his face. “Excellent! Very excellent, human. Your third challenge is this: you must be strong.” It walked to a stone statue, previously outside of the world entirely, somehow seeming to have been snapped into being. It looked heavy, massive and imposing. The One Who Spoke laid a slender hand on the statue and said “Move this.”

Kassandra had come too far to give up but this challenge seemed insurmountable. She had never been much more than small, and this statue was enormous. But after some thoughtfulness, Kassandra realized there was a different kind of strength. 

She approached the statue and said, “Statue, thank you for your solidness and resolution. I appreciate you and I’m glad that, of all the worlds within which you could have possibly existed, it is this world that has you.” With that, she wrapped her tiny arms around the statue and, rather than pushing, she gave it a hug. The statue was so moved by this sincere display of affection that it began to weep and shuffled aside.

The gallery of mushroom-kin erupted into applause and whoops of excitement. The One Who Spoke looked impressed and beaming, but also had a sober darkness of resolution and acceptance. 

“You have bested my challenge. You are worthy of those who depend upon you, and you have curiosity, patience, and strength. You may return,” it said with a smile.

Much later, just on the outermost delineation of forest, Kassandra awoke to sunbeams warming the lids of her eyes. Her anxious hands and eyeballs reached a relieved accord as they conferred about the rest of her body; there were no mycelium strings, there was no wrinkly red skin, and there were no spots. And as she stepped gently through the field back to her house, although she would not yet notice them, she left behind tiny clusters of amanitas growing in the damp hollows of her footsteps.  

The Recipe: 

Amanita Gingerbread Cookies with Lime and Coconut

These realistic edible mushroom cookies were inspired by Aimee at Twigg Studios! I loved her use of wafer paper frills and coconut gills, which went on to inspire the unusual flavors in this gluten-free version: coconut flour and coconut oil add a nice nuttiness to the dough, which gets a zesty punch from lime zest. An icing made with lime juice adds a sweet-tart contrast to the spiced gingerbread that’s extra fun. The dough smelled so good while I was making it, I decided to incorporate a raw-safe version in the stalks as well, which give a nice salty crunch. It’s truly an adventure to eat one of these beautiful cookie creations.  Keep in mind that the dough needs to be refrigerated at least overnight! This will make it much easier to work with, improve the texture, and allow the flavors to meld. 

The secret ingredient: wafer paper! This starch-based paper is wonderful for decorating baked goods. You can find it at most craft stores with a baking section or any culinary supply shops. I always keep a bunch around for projects like this one. This recipe makes about 16 large mushroom cookies. 

Ingredients: 

Baked Dough: 

5 c. gluten-free flour mix 

½   c. coconut flour

½   tsp. Xantham gum

1 tsp. Baking soda

½   tsp. Salt

4 tsp. Dried ginger

2 tsp. Cinnamon

2/3 c. coconut oil, melted

2 large eggs

1  c. molasses

½ c. honey

2 tsp. Fresh lime zest

Icing: 

1 Tbs. fresh lime juice, strained

2 Tbs. water

4c.  powdered sugar

Edible Gingerbread Dough: 

1 c. coconut flour

1 c. tapioca starch

¼ tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Dried ginger

1 tsp. Dried cinnamon

⅓ c. melted coconut oil

½ c. molasses

¼ c. honey

1 tsp. Lime zest

¼ tsp. Vinegar

To Decorate: 

Gluten-free pretzel rods 

Small bit white fondant 

Small bit of dark chocolate

Edible wafer paper

Flaked coconut (large flakes)

Fine desiccated coconut

24 oz white chocolate melting wafers

Cocoa powder 

Powdered sugar

Gel food coloring in yellow and red

Clean paintbrushes

Directions: 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, xantham gum, baking soda, salt, and spices. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, molasses, honey, and lime zest until smooth. 

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir into a dough. Make sure everything is fully combined, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days.) 

4. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. 

5. To form the mushroom caps, roll the dough into balls about the size of a lime and then flatten them slightly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

6. While the caps are warm, turn them upside-down and use a spoon to scoop a thin layer of cookie away from the bottom, leaving a ¼” ridge around the edge. 

7. Mix the icing ingredients together until smooth. You should have a stiff icing. Add more water as needed until it is still thick but slowly drips off the spoon and holds its shape when dropped back into the bowl. Tint the icing a reddish-orange with the gel food coloring and spoon it over the top of one of the caps. 

8. Add some red and yellow food coloring to the icing in the bowl until you have a nice yellowish-orange color. Spoon it over the top of some of the mushroom caps and set them on something elevated to drip and dry (shot glasses work great.) After you’ve done a couple, add more red food coloring to get a reddish-orange. Repeat the process. Finally, add more red and a tiny touch of blue to get a dark scarlet and do the remaining caps in this. Wait until they are completely dry before proceeding to the next step. Set aside some of the icing in each color you use for later. 

9. While the caps are drying, roll out the white fondant very thin between two layers of parchment paper. Leave to dry. 

10. Next, make the edible gingerbread dough: lightly toast the coconut flour and tapioca starch in a frying pan over low heat, until lightly fragrant. Remove, and mix in the salt and spices. Whisk together the rest of the ingredients, then mix with the flour mixture. 

11. Use a pretzel rod for each mushroom’s stalk. Shape some of the gingerbread cookie dough around the base to form a bulb-like shape, then freeze until solid. Dip the whole thing in melted white chocolate, then insert into some foam or a pan full of rocks or marbles to hold them upside-down while they set. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Shave off any excess white chocolate with a vegetable peeler and smooth with warm hands, then add a few lines of white chocolate around the bulb to create a more realistic look. 

12. Melt a little dark chocolate and use a clean food-safe paintbrush to brush it on the bottoms of the stalks, then dip them into the desiccated coconut. Set aside to harden in the fridge. 

13. Optional: once your mushroom caps have set up, you can paint on a little extra red gel food coloring in the center to give them a faded appearance. If you do this, plan for extra drying time! 

14. Spoon a thin layer of melted white chocolate into the hollowed-out center of the bottom of a set mushroom cap. Pipe a thick line of white chocolate ⅓ of the way around the cap. Working quickly, stick some large flakes of coconut in the chocolate to look like mushroom gills, leaving the center empty. Finish the cap, ⅓ at a time (so the chocolate doesn’t harden before you can add the coconut.)  Different widths work for different sizes of cap. Leave to harden while you repeat the process with the rest of the mushrooms. 

15. Once hardened, you’re ready to add the stalks to the mushrooms. Carefully use a serrated knife to trim the white chocolate-covered pretzel rod to length, turning a few times to get an even break. Pipe a good amount of white chocolate into the center of a mushroom cap, then place the narrow end of the pretzel stalk into the middle. Prop it up against a jar or something while the chocolate sets. Repeat with the remaining stalks and caps. 

16. Pipe a little red icing around the edges of the bottom of the circle. Use a damp finger to blend the edges into the hardened icing on top. Let dry completely. 

17. Cut some edible wafer paper into a frilly circle, then cut a hole out of the middle about the diameter of the stalk. Cut a small wedge out as well so it will form a partial cone shape, then cut a couple short darts into the bottom, spaced randomly. Paint a thin layer of water onto the stalk where the frill will go, then wrap it around and use just a touch of water to attach the ends of the circle together. Using damp fingertips, gently dab the bottom of the frill. This will make it curl slightly. Be very careful not to use too much water with the wafer paper since it melts easily!  Let dry, then pipe a line of white chocolate around the top to secure it and blend it in with your finger. Cut some darts into the edges for a more realistic look. 

18. After you’ve added the frill to each mushroom, tear the dried fondant into small pieces to use as the spots on top. Prop the mushrooms upright and use a little white chocolate to attach them, keeping bigger pieces in the center and smaller ones near the edges. Add some uneven dots of white chocolate on top of the dots as well. 

19. Use matcha powder and cocoa powder to dust the bottoms of each mushroom for a realistic mossy look. 

20. You’re all done! Enjoy!

The Pictures:

These creative photos are the compilation of our collaboration! Huge thanks to the models: Chelsea Santiago, Sierra Bretzer, Alessandra Sanniola, and Brittania Bee Born, who also all helped with costumes!

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