The Magic Tree House series, written by Mary Pope Osborne, has captivated young readers for years with its exciting adventures through time and space. Now, children can experience these stories in a whole new way with the audio version of Magic Tree House. The audio version of Magic Tree House allows children to listen to their favorite stories being read aloud by professional narrators. This brings the characters and settings to life in a way that reading alone cannot achieve. The narrators use their voices to create different accents and tones for each character, enhancing the listening experience and making it even more engaging. One of the main advantages of the audio version of Magic Tree House is that it encourages children to develop their listening skills.
Whatever Happened To Keebler Magic Middles?
Unfortunately, a lot of our favorite snacks have long since left grocery store shelves. Yogos. 3D Doritos. Oreo Cakesters. And countless others (via Buzzfeed). With many of these seeming to disappear overnight despite widespread popularity, it begs the question, "What happened?"
In the very specific case of the mysterious disappearance of 3D Doritos, they were supposedly discontinued in order to make room on grocery store shelves for new Doritos products. As it turns out, 3D Doritos are still in production — but are only sold in Mexico (A new, 3D "crunch" version of Doritos appears to be sold more widely, as of this writing, but only in Chili Cheese Nacho and Spicy Ranch flavors).
What is this madness? Why take away a snack loved by so many? What happened to the exciting Eggo WAF-FULLS? What happened to Lion King-inspired Bug Pops? For that matter, what happened to our beloved Keebler Magic Middles, the staple cookie for every kid's lunch box?
One of the main advantages of the audio version of Magic Tree House is that it encourages children to develop their listening skills. Listening is an important skill that helps with comprehension, attention, and focus. By listening to the stories being read aloud, children can improve their ability to understand spoken language and follow along with the plot.
The disappearing act of Magic Middles
For fans of Keebler Magic Middles cookies, it really felt like you blinked, and they had vanished. Except this disappearing act was final (and didn't include a dramatic puff of smoke). But why did they vanish from store shelves? Shortbread cookies with fudge or peanut butter filling — what's not to love?
The short answer is we just don't know. The Foods We Loved claims that Magic Middles were discontinued so Keebler "could use the equipment that manufactured them for another line," but the brand itself doesn't seem to have given a specific explanation. Social media users have tried to get to the bottom of this, including the diehard Facebook group called BRING BACK Keebler MAGIC MIDDLE COOKIES. That page, created in July 2010, claimed that Keebler told them it considered a 2012 revival for Walmart, but it failed to launch for unspecified reasons.
Twitter, however, is another story. According to Keebler's replies to the many, many desperate requests from fans who want them to bring the cookies back, there were no plans to do so as of April 2019. However, the famed baker's official account offered a glimmer of hope in July 2021, promising, "We will pass your comments along," to another cookie stan hoping for a Magic Middles return.
Anush Lini
These cookies are inspired by the Keebler Magic Middles I sometimes ate as a kid when I was in elementary school. I'm not exactly sure why I remembered these particular cookies (they were discontinued before I made it to double digits), but when it happened, I was walking home from work and thinking about a brown sugar cookie recipe in my great-grandmother's 1933 datebook and how to modify it. I'm lucky to have a copy of the datebook; it is filled with tons of recipes that I'm excited to try and some that should be left alone (like home remedies for illnesses that you probably don't want to read about in a baking blog. ).
The brown sugar cookie dough recipe is from a newspaper clipping that responded to a request from a Mrs. M. F. who had asked for a recipe for nut-filled cookies that stayed soft after baking. The original recipe called for lots of baking powder, milk, and rolling out the dough; I was feeling a bit pressed for time and knew that a rolled cookie that was likely to get puffy was out of the question.
As I was walking, Magic Middles popped into my head, and then it occurred to me how to change the dough recipe to make it amenable to a chocolate center. Not exactly your standard eureka moment, but the end result is a delicious cookie with a surprising chocolate middle, so it can't be a bad thing.
Notes:
The shaping and filling process can take a little bit of time, so wait to preheat your oven until you are almost ready to bake the cookies. I know this might sound like a "duh" statement, but do keep track of which cookies you have filled and which ones you haven't. They aren't magic middles if there is no middle! Also, try your hardest to make sure the chocolate is completely sealed inside the dough, otherwise the chocolate may leak during baking. For you cookie purists out there, I know that Magic Middles are supposed to have a soft and fudgy center, as opposed to a solid chocolate center. I was going to continue experimenting and make ones with a fudgy center, but I liked these so much the way they were that I decided to post them with a solid chocolate center and stop there.
Dough recipe adapted from an undated newspaper clipping in my great-grandmother's 1933 datebook
Ingredients:
3½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
~½ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
White sugar for rolling
Yields 5-6 dozen cookies, depending on their size
Mix:
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then add the flour mixture all at once, and beat just until the dough begins to come together.
Shape, Fill, and Bake:
Break off a heaping ½-¾ tablespoon-sized (~17 grams) piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat until all of dough has been shaped into balls. Use your thumb to indent each ball. Once each cookie has been indented, preheat the oven to 375°F and line 2 cookie sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper. Place a ½ teaspoon or so of the chocolate in each indent and fold the dough up around the chocolate until the chocolate is completely enclosed in dough. Gently roll the filled dough ball between your palms until it is round again. Roll the filled dough balls in white sugar and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake the cookies at 375°F, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container.
8 comments:
Liz said.Beautiful! and clever, too!
Aunt Lizzy
Thanks . you saved me my son is autistic and saw an old commercial about these and we found out they are no longer available. He was ready to have a meltdown. but your recipe saved us..
Thanks Angel and Beetle Bryce
Great! I'm so glad that you can make them and enjoy them! :)
These look great!
Thank you so much for posting your recipe.
I'd really like to make them, and wanted to ask if you think regular white sugar may work as well, and also, since you were kind enough to specify how much each dough ball should weigh (17 grams!), could you perhaps say how much the amounts of flour (3 1/2 cups) and sugar (1 1/2 cups) called for should weigh as well?
Hope you don't mind my asking, and thanks again!
I just weighed out 3½ cups of flour and the total was 466 grams (~16.4 ounces). I also weighed out 1½ cups of brown sugar and it was 324 grams (~11.4 ounces). That being said, I didn't recreate the recipe, but I think these weights should work because I used my regular measuring methods (spooning the flour into the cup and then leveling it off with a knife and firmly packing the brown sugar).
The cookies won't turn out exactly the same if you use white sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture to the cookies. In the past, I've stirred some molasses into white sugar (brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added back in) to moisten it, or used honey if molasses wasn't available. The honey won't give you the exact flavor, but it will help the cookies stay moist. I don't have any exact measurements, so just add a little bit of the molasses or honey at a time until you're able to pack the sugar into a cup.
That's very helpful and extremely kind of you!
I really appreciate it.
Thank you very much!
Oh, by the way, have you tried making them with a fudgy center as well?
Thanks, again!
You're welcome! I did try making them with a ganache center a few months ago. They tasted good, but the liquid in the ganache evaporated a bit and left a bit of hole behind. In other words, more testing is required for a true fudgy center!
Well, judging by the last photo, not necessarily!
It looks pretty good as it already is. :)
Thank you, Julie!
Ipso Fatto
I've never eaten a Keebler Magic Middle cookie and never will, because the cookie has been discontinued. So it wasn't nostalgia that made me try Stella Parks' recipe for Homemade Magic Middles from Bravetart. It was the simple fact that I needed some cookies for an event at the office the following day and I didn't have a lot of time. This recipe is relatively quick and easy, requiring only basic ingredients that I always have on hand.
Stella's Magic Middles are essentially vanilla sugar cookies wrapped around a pure chocolate core. The filling is just finely chopped dark chocolate, so I weighed out the specified amount of Cacao Barry Extra-Bitter 64% Guayaquil and ran it through the food processor. I don't like chopping chocolate by hand -- unless it's only a small amount or a coarse chop is all that's required -- because it can be a very messy task. I put the round balls of chocolate-filled dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and they flattened out nicely during baking.
Even though I had fully enclosed all of the chocolate before putting the cookies in the oven, several cookies developed cracks during baking that allowed bits of chocolate to show through, as you can see in the photo above. As the headnote promised, the cookies were amazing fresh from the oven: they were "the best kind of gooey mess, warm and wonderful and soft." But the cookies were fantastic even at room temperature, with a fudgy, decadent center. Since I've never had a Keebler Magic Middle, I can't compare these to the real thing -- but they weren't what I was expecting. For some reason, I had assumed that the vanilla cookie would have a shortbread-like texture. Instead, it was wonderfully chewy. Overall, the flavor profile reminded me of a Pepperidge Farm Milano, or the sugar cookies with M&Ms that I love. They were delightful.
The cookbook says that you can keep the cookies for two days after baking and I found that to be spot on. By day three, they had declined sharply in quality. Fortunately, these homemade Magic Middles are so good that having leftovers shouldn't be a problem!
Recipe: "Homemade Magic Middles" from Bravetart by Stella Parks (the recipe in the cookbook is not the same as the version Stella published on Serious Eats in 2012).
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In addition to improving listening skills, the audio version of Magic Tree House can also enhance a child's imagination. By hearing the descriptions of the magical worlds and the thrilling adventures, children can create vivid mental images that bring the stories to life in their minds. This helps to develop their creativity and allows them to fully immerse themselves in the story. The audio version of Magic Tree House is also a great option for children who may struggle with reading or have learning disabilities. It provides an alternative way for them to access the stories and enjoy the magic of the series. By listening to the audio version, they can still experience the joy of the stories and be a part of the Magic Tree House world. In conclusion, the audio version of Magic Tree House offers a wonderful way for children to experience the beloved series. It enhances listening skills, sparks imagination, and provides an alternative option for children with reading difficulties. With the audio version, children can continue their magical adventures with Jack and Annie in a whole new way..
Reviews for "Discovering History with Audio: The Magic Tree House Audiobooks"
1. Sarah - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with the audio version of the Magic Tree House series. The narrator's voice was monotonous and lacked any expression or enthusiasm, which made it difficult to stay engaged in the story. Additionally, the sound quality was poor, with some parts of the narration being muffled or distorted. Overall, I found the audio version to be a letdown and would recommend sticking to the printed books instead.
2. John - 1 star - I have been a fan of the Magic Tree House books for years, so I decided to give the audio version a try. Unfortunately, it was a huge letdown. The narrator's voice was grating and irritating, making it almost unbearable to listen to. Furthermore, the pacing was off, with long pauses between sentences, which disrupted the flow of the story. I was really disappointed with the audio version and would not recommend it to any fans of the series.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I purchased the audio version of the Magic Tree House series for my children to listen to on car rides. However, we were all disappointed with the quality of the narration. The voice of the narrator was dull and lacked the excitement and emotion that is present in the written books. Additionally, the audio occasionally skipped and had some technical glitches, which made it difficult for my kids to follow along. Overall, I would not recommend the audio version of the Magic Tree House series to others.