Tag Archives: cookies

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

Noelle is four years younger than me (and about five years wiser). She and her husband live in West Virginia, where they’re obtaining advanced degrees in medicine, while also owning a house and raising an adorable 14-week old puppy. But despite the levels of responsibility she seems to exponentially reach, Noelle will always be my little sister. Forever, she’ll remain the doe-eyed girl with evenly cut bangs, who could make me laugh so hard I thought I’d never see straight again.

Noelle would agree that we can mark our childhood development by the different foods we ate and loved.

Ages 0-3: sweet potato purees, goldfish crackers, and mashed bananas, eggo waffles

Ages 3-7: french bread pizzas (always while watching Scooby Doo) flour tortillas

Ages 8-12: big domed bakery muffins (Noelle liked lemon poppyseed and I liked banana walnut)

Many of you are familiar with those jumbo muffins. The ones sold at grocery stores and cafes. The muffins which would never come from your grandmother’s 12-cup pan. Moist and hefty. Significantly sweet. Noelle and I loved them.

After school, we’d grab our respective favorite from the kitchen, wrap it in a paper towel, and carry our “snack” into the basement. There, we’d watch a movie, and our fingers would pinch off chunks of muffin, pulling away cake from its grease-stained wrapper. Occasionally, we’d grow tired of our selection, and we’d reach to grab the other’s.

Because Noelle and I were not ordinary sisters, we wouldn’t slap each other or sprout mean names. We shared the belief that we were connected in ways obvious and mysterious, and that this connection was worth honoring. So we shared our muffins readily.

Now, neither Noelle nor I indulge in jumbo muffins. We do, however, make and consume loaves of banana bread. Eat ice cream at odd hours of the day. And justify an extra slice of pie by promising our dogs we’ll take them on a long walk. I taught Noelle how to make our favorite sweet wheat rolls over the phone, and I felt like a proud parent when she texted me a picture. Our connection is still alive and strong…despite the fact one of us lives in Texas while the other lives in West Virginia.

And I think if we made a list of our current food obsessions, they’d be just as similar as they always have been.

Noelle and I talk about traveling together. Since we live so far apart, we don’t see each other nearly as much as we should, but hopefully this next summer we’ll take a trip abroad and stay in one of these gorgeous hand-picked hotels. Take a moment to visit that site and plot your next trip. I sure have! Noelle and I have our share of hotel memories. Most involve singing at odd hours of the night. But we’d love to visit England, eat cookies, and drink tea. I promise we’d be more responsible now.

These Lemon Poppyseed Cookies are in honor of Noelle (and her once-loved jumbo muffins). The shortbread is sweet and crunchy while the lemon curd toppy adds the perfect amount of tangy smoothness. I served these at a Cake Stand event on Thursday, and they the star of the evening.

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 large lemon
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter pound
2 large eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Cream together powdered sugar and butter together until smooth. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, salt, and poppy seeds to butter mixture. With a large spoon, stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated into the butter mixture. Allow to chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, make lemon curd: remove the zest of one lemon. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar. Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and refrigerate while baking cookies.

3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Form balls of dough (about 2 teaspoons per ball). Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets. Make a thumbprint in each ball. Bake cookies on parchment-lined baking sheet for about 20 minutes, or until edges of cookies just begin to turn golden brown. Transfer baked cookies to wire rack to cool.

Almond Apricot Shortbread

Is it okay to say there are days I feel discouraged? Disillusioned? Because to be honest, I’m not in good place right now.

From wedding cake drama to infertility to memories of my sister’s last week in a hospital bed, these past few weeks have drained my already limited emotional reserve.

Sometimes, I think I make cakes and cookies–ubiquitous tokens of celebration–because they contrast with the harshness and bitterness of my inner thoughts.

Silly, I know.

For many people, God is the answer. And I’ll readily admit I have found some healing in spiritual practice.

But I still feel broken. And for this, I feel judgment. Because the God I seek is supposed to heal, to mend, and to put back together.

Instead, he or she has left me entirely undone.

And so I’m left questioning faith. I end up drinking too much coffee with too much soy milk. I carry around strips of undeveloped film in my purse–frames of my sister when she was only 9 or 10 years old–and I stare at them (those vague representations) instead of real photographs, because it is all I can handle…even 18 months after we lost her.

I am coping–often badly–and I credit any good to the constant support of family and friends. As for the rest? I apologize sincerely for my failed attempts at balance and health.

So about these cookies? They are pretty. And taste exactly like an almond apricot shortbread should: sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy. They also take well to a cookie-cutter, barely rising or spreading in the oven. And if you happen to have friends who deserve cookies (believe me, we all do), then you can package them up in a small mason jar and tie a bow just beneath the rim.

Yes. I realize I emotionally unloaded in this post. Yes, I understand I bake in order to cope. And right now, that’s all okay. Because I have a feeling I’m not the only one.

Almond Apricot Shortbread

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (food processor is best for this task)

1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots (plus more for decorating)*

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg. Mix until incorporated. Stir in almond extract and salt.

3. Fold in almonds and dried apricots. Add in flour and stir until a dough forms. Allow to chill in refrigerator for one hour. Roll out on a slightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough into shapes with a sharp cookie cutter. Place 1 to 2 inches apart on cookie sheet* and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until just a hint of golden brown.

*If you’d like, you can arrange a fingerful of dried apricot on top of your almond apricot shortbread before baking. It looks lovely.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Pineapple Pecan Cookies

Eggplant Parmesan has been rumored to induce labor. An Italian restaurant in Wisconsin lines their walls with pictures of babies born just hours after their pregnant mothers had enjoyed a heavy helping of their infamous eggplant dish.

Pineapple is another go-to food for mommas ready to deliver their babies.

And of course a dose of chili powder doesn’t hurt either.

When I arrived in Colorado last Wednesday for the impending birth of my sister’s fourth child, I was eager to see if any of these “tricks” would actually work. What I liked about eggplant parmesan, pineapple, and chili powder was that it provided a culinary focus for our evenings. As some of you might have guessed, I like to make food. And I love being with my family. So within 24 hours of touching down in Denver, I was in the kitchen, eager to help bring this baby into the world.

We had Eggplant Parmesan.

We had chocolate with chili powder.

And we had pineapple pecan cookies.

I’m not sure how pineapple works to induce labor. I’m sure some of my nutritionist friends could offer me a detailed explanation. But what I do know is that on Saturday morning, I brought my sister a plate of soft and chewy pineapple pecan cookies, and within a few hours, she was in labor.

Susanne chose to have her fourth baby at home, and so I watched, in both wonder (and some terror) as she wrought her child into the world. It was a moment of both fear and beauty, touching each of us deeply after what has seemed like an infinitely long desert of loss. This baby (who has yet to be named) has already won me over. I am completely smitten with the way his bottom lip falls just beneath the top. And also, the soft downy hair on his little shoulders. I don’t know if I am simply more aware because Ryan and I are closer to starting our own family, but birth is nothing less than miraculous. And then to watch my niece and nephews adore the newest member of their family…it melted us all.

See. I’ve already gotten off topic. This post is supposed to be about pineapple cookies. And they’re really good (regardless of whether you want to induce labor or not). Soft and slightly spicy with a crunch of pecan and a burst of sweetness from the pineapple, these cookies are easily one of my summer favorites.

After this little guy, of course.

Pineapple Pecan Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup crushed pineapple
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans
cinnamon + sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until pale and smooth, about 4 minutes on medium-high speed. Add eggs, one at a time and mix until well combined. Stir in the pineapple with a wooden spoon.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the pineapple mixture. Add pecans. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.

4. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2″ apart. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of cookies, if desired.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cookies look just slightly underdone. Remove from oven and allow to sit on baking sheet until firm enough to transfer to write rack.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Coconut Mango Cookies

I had one of those near-perfect weekends. I catered a wedding, danced with my husband, and spent two mornings at my favorite coffee shop, Vintage Heart. Now it’s Sunday night, and the animals are scurrying around our the living room while Ryan chops mushrooms for goat cheese quesadillas. But to say my weekend was peaceful would be a lie. We had our share of drama and excitement.

On Saturday evening Molly and Richard had the loveliest of weddings, and I made them a variety of sweet treats to enjoy with their family and friends. After Ryan and I set up the dessert table, we watched our friends marry, and then we danced until they cut the cake. But while we danced to the sweet songs of Good Field, my parents evacuated from my childhood home in Colorado. My mom had called me just hours before the ceremony. A forest fire was threatening our home.

But isn’t this how life often is? Moments of bliss intersecting with moments of fear?

Thankfully, my parents were able to collect some of our most precious belongings: wedding dresses, baby albums, a newborn cradle Ryan’s father made years ago. As Ryan and I watched Molly and Richard exchange vowels, I realized that it is these moments we treasure more than any of the stuff we collect in our homes.

Weddings.

Births.

Family memories.

So while at first it seemed terribly inappropriate to dance while my parents evacuated, by the end of evening I felt like we were both celebrating the same things. My parents dug through our house to collect tangible reminders of the memories that Molly and Richard were making in the present moment.

And so I found yet another reason why I bake wedding cakes: they are part of those treasured occasions. The moments we never want to forget and chose to protect when our worlds comes crashing down.

So after a day of evacuations and a day of celebrations, I made cookies this afternoon. These coconut and mango cookies are thick and chewy. If you want something slightly sweet and very tropical, these cookies fit the bill. I made 10 dozen for the wedding, and I liked them so much I made Ryan and me another batch. So if a cookie recipe can make a baker pull out her mixing bowls after 16 hours of baking, you know you’ve found a winning treat.

I hope you enjoy these. And I hope everyone in Colorado is safe. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Coconut and Mango Cookies

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

5 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped mango

1 1/2 unsweetened coconut

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add mango and egg. Continue to beat until well-combined.

2. Stir in flour. Fold in coconut. Allow to chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a rounded spoon, scoop batter onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes, or until just lightly golden on top. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing to wire rack.