Experimental Cuisine #9: IKEA Fish Cookies

This was the first IKEA in the USA, Plymouth Meeting Mall, Plymouth Meeting Pa.

 1985

 

 IKEA Fish Cookies 

 

 

 In the 1980s when my Aunt came over and told us the Swedish furniture manufacturer was coming to the USA, she said they chose The Plymouth Meeting Mall in Pa for their first store. The building had a tiny parking lot and the building originally was either a supermarket or a food manufacturer, I cant recall. But after it got too popular they moved to nearby Conshohocken, Pa

See those cars all lined up. OMG it was a nightmare! If you parked in the tiny IKEA lot you had won the Lottery. No one ever got those spots! So youd have to park in the mall lot, and drag your purchases to the car, and look, women didnt work out as much then as they do now and it was difficult to drag shit to your car. BUT you could drive up and quickly put your purchases in the car, if there was room.

Thank you IKEA for moving to Conshy!

BTW Ikea was still crazy inside back in 85...

Anyway, in the beginning they had Chocolate Oatmeal Lace Cookies, like they still do today, BUT they had an ingredient that caused Mothers to freak out. They had FISH SHORTENING. Shortening made with deodorized fish oils. I loved them. They were super buttery and healthy due to the Omega 3s, but this was 1985 and Omega 3s werent a big thing then. This was the era when other foods of that time were removed from the market because of ingredients, like New Horizons Bread. That was removed cause it was made with wood pulp. A lot of ingredients people eat today, were removed because of fear in the 70s-80s

 

IKEA Fish Cookies

3/4  cup  Velona Fish Oil
1-1/2 c Old Fashioned oats
1 T flour
1/2 t salt
1 cup sugar

1 t Cinnamon

1 t vanilla

1 egg

Preheat Oven to 325F Put Parchment paper in TWO baking sheets

Heat oil in a pot until its just too hot for your finger, then take off burner and add EVERYTHING but the egg. Let cool about 2 mins then add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Use your 1/4 cup measuring cup, but only fill it 3/4ths the way with batter and put 3 mounds on the sheet and flatten into a round\. Bake 13 mins until lightly golden. Remove THAT sheet and put in the second sheet. Let cookies cool on 1st sheet until you can use a pancake turner to remove them in one piece to a platter. Cool completely and finish making all the batter.

 2 bars  Ghirardelli 70% Dark Chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave 30 SECONDS, stir. If there are still a few chunks unmelted, Just keep stirring until all is melted. If its mostly unmelted tho, microwave it again at 10 second intervals until there are a few unmelted chunks and just stir till they are all melted. 

YOU MUST DO THIS SO IT WILL HARDEN ON THE COOKIES AND NOT STAY MELTED!

Anyway, dip all the cookie bottoms in chocolate and let set on wax paper. 

Eat.

How do they taste? Delicious but faintly of fish. Be aware of that.

PS if you want, stir the chocolate with an IKEA Allen Wrench!

PSS The oil has no odor until you cook it. Be aware that your house will smell of fish, but not bad fish.