Hello from the Magic Tavern | Chunt’s Jammy Monarchs

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.
Hello, from The Gluttonous Geek. Welcome back to the blog for another recipe inspired by the comedy-improv podcast, Hello from the Magic Tavern! For those who have not yet heard of this show, the story follows a human – Arnie Niekamp – after he falls through an enchanted portal behind a Chicago Burger King into a fantastical sword-and-sorcery-style world named Foon. Unable to find his way home, he hosts a weekly podcast in the tavern, The Vermillion Minotaur, interviewing the various creatures he meets there. Today I’m taking a little bit of a detour from dishes directly described on the show to whip up some cookies inspired by Chunt, the shape-shifting King of the Badger (played by Adal Rifai).

Click here to skip to the recipe for Chunt’s Jammy Monarchs!

Chunt, King of the Badger

Chunt, or @chuntttttt on Twitter, is the first creature Arnie Niekamp meets in the land of Foon. We soon discover the biggest thing about this two-butthole-bearing-badger-shapeshifter is his heart. Despite knowing nothing about this salmon-shirt-clad human, he shelters him in his hovel until he can find a more permanent residence in The Vermillion Minotaur.

From then on we start to see a multitude of kindhearted acts from Chunt. Every year he hosts a blood drive called the “Chunt for Red October” for vampires, so they don’t have to attack other creatures to survive. He even learns black magic in an attempt to save Usidore from a terrible curse.

Chunt also opens a restaurant called Chu Chu’s Chow — which is severely in debt. Making money isn’t his goal, though. What I find especially telling about his character is that Chunt wants to share something he made with the people/wizards/mananas he cares about. He concerns himself more with finding a way of magically delivering his food than actually getting paid for it. He understands that between ordering spiced potatoes and rainbow bowls for the table, that food is more about friends than finances.

Chu Chu’s Chow

So today’s recipe, like I said, is more inspired by the show rather than directly from it. You see awhile back my friends tweeted a #FollowFriday at Adal Rifai, Chunt’s Earth Alter-Ego and this happened:


If you’ve been following my blog at all, you would know that I hunger for a challenge. I promised Mr. Rifai cookies, and I was going to deliver, dangit! Also, Katharina from Pretty Cake Machine painted me this lovely apron for my birthday.

But the question was what kind of cookies to make? Adal told me he was partial to everything but raisins, and Tiffany from North by NorthQuest suggested crown-shaped cookies referencing Chunt’s royal status. I decided to take this and Chunt’s love for King’s Juice (Mead with Raspberry) into account and make a unique take on the Jammie Dodger.

First starting with a shortbread cookie recipe, I added all the spices from my Spiced Potatoes recipe except the mustard powder: cinnamon, coriander, clove, smoked paprika, and cumin. I then discovered I did not have enough powdered sugar to complete the recipe.
Spiced Potato spices inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

Digging through the cellar past fifty-two sacks of flour (how did they get there?), I found a box of pistachio pudding mix leftover from my Ready Player One recipe. I was almost ready to call my husband to pick up more sugar until I realized was the perfect addition to pay reverence to Gettin’ Nuts, Chunt and Usidore’s nut-enthusiast spin-off podcast.

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

For a King’s Juice-flavored filling, I then blended raspberry jam and honey. I specifically chose the following honey brand for its name. I feel it fits.

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

You can always pick out the Jammie Dodger by its iconic crenelated shape and signature heart. Since Chunt is the King of the Badger (whose crown tends to go wandering, as I discovered during the live show), I went with a crown cookie cutter. I then used a star fondant-cutter to give these biscuits their signature dual-buttholes.

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

So what is like to eat a Jammy Monarch? I imagine it’s very much like taking a bite into Chunt’s personality — soft, spicy, a little nutty, but sweet all around. After meeting our three favorite tavern boys, I can confirm, Chunt is just as kind in the fur as he is over the cast of pod. If you have a chance to attend a live show of Hello from the Magic Tavern, by all means, do. You’ll see that not is only Chunt the King of the Badger. He’ll be the Foonish King of your Heart.

recipe

Yeah, Baybee!

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs inspired by everyone's favorite badger king/shapeshifter from fantasy/comedy podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern! Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

Chunt's Jammy Monarchs

Makes 30-34 cookies
Equipment: Mixing bowl, small dish, flour sifter, cheese grater, refrigerator, rolling pin, crown-shaped cookie cutter, 1.5 cm star-shaped fondant cutter, parchment paper, baking sheets, oven.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup pistachio pudding mix
  • 2 and 1/2 cups of cold, unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3/8 cup raspberry jam
  • 3/8 cup honey

Instructions:

  1. Sift the flour, sugar, pudding mix, salt, and spices into a mixing bowl. Stir the powder with a fork until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
  2. Shred the butter with a cheese grater into the bowl and stir to coat with the dry mix. Pour in the almond extract, then press and mix the contents of the bowl until you have a thick batter. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator at least an hour before baking.
  3. In a separate dish, mix the jam and honey until its a uniform consistency. Set in the refrigerator to chill.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare your work surface and rolling pin with a light dusting of flour. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
  5. Divide the dough into eighths. Place a portion on your work surface and put the rest back in the fridge. Roll dough until about 1/4 inch thick.
  6. Cut crowns with the cookie cutter and place each one on a lined baking sheet, about an inch apart. Cut out two stars with the plunger cutter on half of the crowns– these will be your top cookies. The star-less cookies will be on the bottom. Put all excess dough back in the container in the fridge. Set the tray in the oven for 8-10 minutes and repeat with the remaining batter.
  7. Allow the cookies to cool until they harden enough to handle.
  8. Scoop a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the jam-honey mix onto the middle of the underside of each bottom cookie, and top with a star-studded cookie.
  9. Place all cookie sandwiches back onto a baking tray. Bake another 3-5 minutes to set them.
  10. Let cookies cool completely before serving with rainbow bowls or king’s juice.

The Gluttonous Geek