We decided to get out of town for a little bit last weekend and drove out to the Oregon coast. By absolute luck of the draw, it was sunny out there! And gorgeous. Just what we needed to re-energize and feed the soul.
We started in a town called Florence, where there are sand dunes a mile wide and 40 miles long. It was pretty spectacular. Staying over night there, we had a chance to hang out in the little downtown–basically eating our way through it. We stopped at the Waterfront Depot, once an old train station depot converted into a cozy little bar and ristaurante that sits right on the water. We had two different types of cheese plates and some drinks. We then sauntered down to Kelly’s Cantina, had some tapas that were excellent, and then finished the night off with dessert at a very cute spot called Feast.
When it comes to night time food photography, I find myself in quite the conundrum. Seriously. It can look really bad! Natural lighting is so key for good photos! This is why I don’t have pictures of my eating excursions through Florence. I also rarely take photos of food that I have not made–not because it isn’t good, but because making the food is part of the whole process of blogging for me. Actually, it’s not only the making, but the doing that is important because doing something good for me is just as energizing and wonderful as making or eating something I love. That’s why I’m showing you a feast for your eyes by way of coastal treasures. Sometimes we just have to eat for our souls, and getting to visit gorgeous spots like this is an excellent way to do it.
(Over 400 sea lions in the Sea Lion Cave!)
(Real starfish in a tidal pool)
I did, however, take a photo of a ginger cookie I got at a Cheese Shop and Bakery in Yachats (pronounced YA-HAW-TS). What a perfect combination, at least in my book! Specialty cheese and baked things? In one place? Yes, please! I held that cookie in my hand for a good 30 minutes before we found a nice beach spot to eat our snacks. Why did I do this? To take a photo of it. And it was torture! I had a nibble of one at the shop. The cookie I bought was beckoning me with it’s gingery goodness, to bite into it’s soft little body the whole way. Not to mention the ginger taste still lingering in my mouth, calling out for more. Sometimes photoing your food can just not be worth the trouble. Like when it’s getting cold, stale, or hard (but alas, even under those circumstances it still happens quite a bit. It just comes with the territory of food blogging!) But sometimes, it can be worth it. Like when you know the sugar crystals from a cookie will shimmer like the sand and it’s spicy orangeness will be a perfect compliment to the azure sky background. It tasted like a ginger cookie I make. The ginger heat was heightened the salty air that clings to and covers your hair, skin, and lips. It was like a mirror to the suns energy, sending it directly into my body via this little sweet morsel. It was a great beach snack for a blustery, sunny day.
Cheers!
I have another guilty pleasure: coconut. I love it in all it’s forms including shredded, the milk, the oil, and coconut water. To me, it is like eating the nectar of the gods–especially with the lack of sun up here in the Pacific Northwest. I wonder if eating the coconut is somehow transferring all the sun it took to grow it, to me. Let’s hope!
And I can’t seem to get enough of it. The other day, I found myself making a big pot of brown rice with coconut milk–the full fat kind. And last week, I got a surprise box of goodies from my school, The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, with some amazing coconut macaroons in there. They were made by a graduate who has started his own business called The Laughing Giraffe Organics. And, they pretty much blew my mind. These are vegan?… and raw? I thought to myself. It was right then and there I decided I was going to trust my taste buds instead of listening to the long list of stigmas those two words tend to conjure up in my mind. Because these were incredible!
So I decided to do a little sleuthing to figure out how to make some of these on my own. I found a lot of recipes out there that use a dehydrator, and I have a feeling that is how the Laughing Giraffe does his too. But I stumbled across another recipe that looked like it was going to be the winner. And as far as I’m concerned, it is–my coconut fix will forever be–fixed! What I love about these little no-bake cookies is that they have very few ingredients: shredded coconut, almonds, coconut oil, agave, and a little sea salt. You can keep them in your fridge in an air tight container for a long time (at least a month, maybe more) and in your freezer for even longer. People, I am telling you, if you are looking for an amazing sweet fix that won’t make your teeth fall out or you feel woozy afterward, then this is your treat. They actually give you a nice burst of energy–try eating one or two of these things before working out or as a mid-afternoon pick me up!
No-Bake Coconut Vanilla Almond Macaroons, recipe adapted via Annaveda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or one vanilla bean, pods extracted
Bon Apetit!
I’ve been day dreaming of making candy canes for a little over a month now. After watching this youtube video and researching on the web, only to find very little on the subject, I decided it would be a good idea to try and make them myself. I invited some girlfriends to join in the festivities, but my friend Nicole was the only one who could make it that day. Although the candy canes themselves did not turn out quite how we were expecting–large globs of a crusty, sugary mass–we decided to turn them into cookies. We made sugar cookies with peppermint butter cream frosting and sprinkled the candy cane bits into the batter and then again on top of the butter cream frosting before we sandwiched them. “Barbie cookies” was the first thing that came to mind to us–the frosting was such a vibrant pink it looked like it could burn us! What it did do was give me a sugar high I haven’t experienced since I was about 10– feeling giddy, anxious, started talking a mile a minute, and tired all at the same time. I wonder if by just being in the same room all day with all that sugar flying through the air I somehow inhaled it too…probably. (On a side note, my friend Lauren who is a professional baker just had about 4 root canals after never having a cavity her entire life. The dentist told her it is from the sugar that is in the air of her bakery!)
Nicole asked a friend of hers who is a pastry chef about the candy cane experience. He told her that Portland is actually a really tough place to make candy–the humidity will make the sugar crumbly much faster than normal. While this may be true, I think there were so many variables missing that when I try again next year (or maybe again for Valentines? 
I will be ready–or at least in the know about some things to expect. Sometimes it is necessary to just jump right in–if you don’t try it, how will you know? There is only so much research, reading, and learning one can try to soak in before trying something. But I think (and at least this is true for myself) the real learning comes from just doing it. Woot!
Sugar Cookies via my grandmother
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup non-salted butter
1/2 cup earth balance shortening
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose, non-bleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 – 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Cream sugars, butter and shortening until a light yellow color. Add the egg and extract, beat well. Add and mix the dry ingredients. You can either roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and with a cookie cutter or a small cup, cut out the cookies; or, you can take a teaspoon of dough, roll it into a small ball in your hand and flatten it with the end of a cup dipped in sugar on the cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 F for 8 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. The tops shouldn’t brown, they will be white like little full moons.
Peppermint buttercream frosting via epicurious
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops (or more) red food coloring
1/2 cup crushed red-and-white-striped candy canes or hard peppermint candies (about 4 ounces)
Shortbread is one of those things that somehow, I all too easily overlook when I am rifling through recipes or piles of cookies. Visually, it is not all that exciting. There are no glimmering, contrasting, or contouring characteristics that shortbread really embodies. Unless of course you are using a mold and making cookies–but otherwise, it comes in a fairly simple and straightforward hunk. It is also sort of colorless, like a lot of food can become deep in the winter. It’s those days when you’ve realized everything you’ve eaten has in one form or another been a shade of brown, that you feel most desperately the need for warmer days!
But something about this recipe caught my attention–the use of brown sugar. Brown sugar (although it is brown, the color I try to avoid most in the heart of winter, especially when it comes to my palate,) brings another level of warmth and fullness to baking that I love paired with a sensuous vanilla. This shortbread had lots of both, so I thought, what the heck I’ll give it a go.
I have to admit, while making it, the four sticks of butter it took actually made me wince. But that didn’t deter me from stopping–oh no. These shortbreads came out of the oven like perfect little golden vessels of aromatic goodness. I cut them up, stacked them, arranged them on cutting boards and plates and finally sent them off as gifts to family and friends (Noel Bakerina inspired, of course). The two hunks I saved I have been whittling away at since they appeared, getting smaller in smaller in their Tupperware home. As their baker, I know what went into them–this is the only reason they have lasted as long as they have–because other wise, they’d be ancient history.
This shortbread is soft, chewy almost, but still holds its distinctive shortbread texture. When you bite into one of these, you just feel loved, decadent and loved–like you might have felt when you and your first boyfriend were comfortable enough to hold hands while walking around in public. A little sassy, a little different, but undeniably classic.
Noel Bakerina, the character I’ve created as the knower/goddess/overseer-of-all-things-baked, has been and adventure in and of itself. Noel has made it easier for me to get out of myself. She has inspired me to not only to be more generous with my love, but reminds me that it’s the simple things in my day that are remarkable. The smell of fresh bread, warm buttery vanilla, or spices, the actual warmth from my oven, and the music from my favorite pandora station–that’s been my reality lately. And when I get steamed over the economy, not having a regular job, insert-anxiety-laden-thoughts-here_______, I just think back to what I do have–cliche and all–and I realize that I am happy.
Brown Sugar Walnut Shortbread via Lottie + Doof via Avery Wittkamp
I think this works best in two quarter sheet pans because it allows for more even cooking in home ovens. It also will work in one half sheet pan, just make sure you monitor it carefully so it doesn’t burn on the edges or bottom.
4 sticks (1 pound) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces light brown sugar
5 ounces white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound 3 ounces organic King Arthur bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
Prepare a half sheet tray, or two quarter sheet trays, by buttering and lining with parchment paper. Allow a two-inch overhang on the long sides of the pan to help release the shortbread later after they have been baked.
Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined, then mix in dry ingredients. Combine completely.
Divide dough evenly into prepared sheet trays, spreading smooth and level. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 325° until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.
Let cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into squares. These keep well at room temperature for at least a week!
Cheers!
When I dropped these off, the latest treat by Noel Bakerina, my friend’s eyes widened in anticipation. “These cookies taste like Christmas,” she told me mid bite as she helped herself to seconds. “My mother makes something like these every year. Actually, we are going to be making some next week,” she explained after carefully chewing, making sure not to miss a beat, a flavor, or a memory. I was thrilled to have caught a glimpse of this familial moment through her explanation and facial expressions!
My best friend, who’s grandmother is Finnish, sent me this recipe. All she wrote is “I’m thinking of making these. The jam filled cookie seems to be my thing this year…” What caught my eye wasn’t necessarily the jam filling, but the crumbly, buttery, vanilla-y cookie dough. Browning the butter and then incorporating all the little browned bits from the bottom of the pan (especially important, the recipe stated) sounded phenomenal. And if this was made right, I was imagining the slight crumble of the cookie quickly turning from the soft grain-like texture and melting in my mouth, the flavors enveloping my tongue. And it did. The jam burst through the subtlety of the cookie, complimenting the undertones of vanilla and butter with a zing of raspberry. I’ve heard of people using plumb or cloud berry jam as well. Either way, don’t skimp on cheap jam–this cookie needs to be done right with something hanging around you might have made last summer, or a nice jam from a specialty store.
Lusikkaleivat is a traditional holiday cookie Finnish people make for both Christmas and Easter. But I am warning you, it’s browned butter goodness will haunt you. The delicate flavor and texture will leave you reaching for seconds…thirds…you get the point .
Lusikkaleivat via Kiija via here
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch fine salt
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/3 cup jam, such as a berry, plum or cloudberry
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns lightly and smells slightly nutty, about 15 minutes. Transfer the butter to a medium bowl — be sure to get all the tasty brown bits — and cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl.
Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and vanilla into the cooled browned butter.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture to make a uniform but crumbly dough that looks like wet sand.
Scoop out dough with a small teaspoon (the kind you set the table with, not the ones you measure with). Rock spoon gently back and forth against the side of the bowl, packing the dough into the spoon, then scrape/slide the spoon against the inside of the bowl to make spoon-shaped cookies. Trim excess dough with your fingers and slide out onto the prepared pans, preserving their shape. (Try to make sure you form an even number of cookies, since these sandwich together.)
Bake cookies until just browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool almost completely on the baking sheets, and then transfer cookies to a rack to cool.
When cool, spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on the flat side of a cookie, and then sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat until all cookies have met their match. Lightly dust the cookies with the confectioners’ sugar. Serve.
*The dough can be prepared several hours ahead and stored at room temperature. Freeze baked cookie halves wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature and assemble as desired. Store sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not store with crisp cookies, as moisture from the jam will soften the texture of other crisp cookies.
I love the holidays. There are so many layers to the traditions, rituals, and stories that evolve from the heart of winter. Each one is slightly different depending on its geographic location of origin, yet is inextricably linked to their neighboring country’s traditions with threads of similarity. As I read or hear about different holiday traditions, my brain can’t help but try to find those threads as they pertain to my own family’s holiday traditions and what I grew up with.
In particular, I’ve been fascinated with Nordic culture’s traditions of holiday baking. Baking. Lots and lots of baking! Their houses are filled with the warm scents of ginger, butter, nutmeg, yeast dough, and rich dark coffee–for weeks on end. (This sounds amazingly familiar to one of my most favorite dreams I have every now and then . The winters are dark there–much like Portland–where people retreat into their cozy homes, light candles, mull spiced wine on the stove, and together get into the kitchen to make traditional sweets.
Then, it hit me.
There needs to be a goddess, a saint, a fairy/elf, a knower, watcher, and helper of all things baked. And her name is Noël Bakerina. Here is her story:
Noël has never been seen, but she makes herself known by her wonderful aroma. When she’s called upon, she will help you make the most wonderful baked goods–especially in the month of December. She has been known to drop little treats off on your doorstep, complete with a story and history of the goodies at hand. She loves to do this–but in our modern day and age. she has found her treats to be rejected at times–people were skeptical and wanted to know where they came from and how many calories were in them. This does not hinder her however, and she still makes her rounds to special households around the globe in December.
I knew exactly who Noël would visit first: my four year old cousin, Gemma along with her mom, Laura and her dad, Chauncey. Noël made a traditional gingerbread cookie, which is the first of several baked goodies she will deliver this month. Each cookie was lovingly cut out, sprinkled with sugar, and baked, filling the air with her favorite warm scents, which also happens to be her personal smell. Then, borrowing one of her favorite holiday images, the Swedish horse, she made little note cards and wrote a personal note to the recipients. In it she explained the tradition of using ginger dating back two thousand years, being used to celebrate the winter solstice and how it came to be used in what we know as ginger bread today. She expressed her gratitude and happiness that this spice has not fallen out of favor with humans, as it is also one of her favorites. Then she wraps the cookies in a beautiful box, tucks the note in, and sends it off, appearing–quite magically–on the doorstep of her choice.
What will Noël Bakerina make next? Stay tuned–she has some wonderful recipes she can not wait to make!
Noël Bakerina’s Gingerbread Cookies
*These cookies have a wonderful spiceyness to them–if you like a little spice in your life, add the full amount of ginger, but if you like to keep it simple, the lesser amount is still wonderful. Depending on how thin you roll the dough, you will get a nice soft cookie with crunchy edges. Just wonderful!*
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
3/4 cup dark molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
Combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and clove in a large bowl. Whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
Combine sugar, butter, and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until fluffy and light, about 2 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl, add egg, and mix until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until moist throughout, about 2 minutes. Turn dough onto a dry, clean surface, divide in half and form into flat disks. You can make this ahead and refrigerate up to 3 days.
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Place half of the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge to keep it cool while you work.
Cut dough into 3-inch round cookies and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather remaining dough into a ball and reroll with some more dough.
Bake cookies until edges are brown but centers are still soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly on the baking sheet (about 2 minutes), then remove to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
Cheers!
(The box Noel made for her treats to be delivered in) 
Health. It’s been on my mind lately. I can see how trying to recuperate from my nasty cold would make me more likely to be thinking about getting healthy–but somehow these thoughts are bigger than that. Whenever I get sick, it tends to be from stress–especially stress I put on myself. My body is a great meter for me to know how the scales are tipping too much in one direction and it is time to balance them out again. That is, when I listen to it. Sometimes I’ve found that even though my body is telling me things are a little out of whack I simply don’t know what to do, so I get sick. But getting sick isn’t all that bad because it forces me to sit quietly so I can look at all the symptoms and learn from my mistakes.
Does this ever happen to you?
Maybe it is just me, but getting sick is a time for contemplation and quiet rest. It feels yucky, therefore you treat yourself better, nicer even. These past weeks I’ve let my mind run wild with crazy stress inducing thoughts that made me sad, angry, and even resentful. Now that I have been forced to face these thoughts during my quiet time, I’ve realized that I could have nipped them in the bud–as they were just tiny specks of thought. Learning is key though, and I am pretty sure I’ve learned this lesson!
Something someone said to me years ago that has always stuck with me is: “You wouldn’t treat your best friend that way or say those nasty things to them, why would you say them to yourself?” Good point!
So in the spirit of health, I made these cookies which Kiija brought with her on her and Brent’s recent journey to Portland. There is no white sugar in them but they are sweetened with maple syrup and molasses. They are spicy (I LOVE spicy gingery molasses things…) which I love and have some strange ingredients in them–but man are they good! I’ve been nibbling on these the past few days as I nurse myself back to health. Nothing like some healthy sweetness in the forms cookies and nice thoughts to get a girl moving again!
Molasses Ginger Spice Cookies
via Kiija via Clean Food
2 cups brown teff flour (I used regular white flour, or you can use whole wheat white flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (um, awesome)
1/2 cup almond butter (you can substitute this with sunflower seed butter–both are delish!)
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons tamari
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl and all wet ingredients in another. Pour wet ingredients over dry and blend until just combined—do not overmix.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet. There is no need to roll, flatten or shape mounds. Simply place in oven and bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven and place directly on wire rack to cool.
Cheers!
My brother’s birthday is on Halloween. I always thought he was so lucky–what an amazing holiday to have a birthday on! Everyone is festive, dressing up, eating sweets, and getting free candy, it doesn’t get much better than that. We used to have really fun birthday parties for him too where my mom would create a “haunted-house” in the garage where we’d all stick our hands in various foods blindfolded and told they were “witches eyeballs” or “brains”. It was disgusting but it was fun .
Now that we are older, things are a little bit different. We live on opposite sides of the country and he now likes chocolate, especially dark chocolate (hated it all as a kid). I like dark chocolate, but tend to be more of a milk chocolate gal–only one of our many differences. Yet, as I have been thinking about him a lot recently, I’ve realized that he and are are not as dissimilar as I thought. I tended to think of him as just different because of his illness. This thought was blocking me from seeing him as a whole person–instead I have only been seeing what is wrong–ugh. But I’ve realized that he actually is going through a lot of the same growing up issues that every 20 something does, including issues that I went through. You know those questions, insecurities, doubts, fears, and uncertainties that tend to be especially prevalent during our 20’s. Hearing about other people’s situations and stories can be really helpful for me and is probably true for my brother. So I’ve started encouraging him, letting him know that I am here to talk to or bounce things off of. Sometimes I do slip into the bossy older sister mode and just want him to be OK–I get all wrapped up in just wanting him to be how I want him to be! But in the end, that hasn’t been working. In fact, it just makes things tense and angry between us. So, I’ve decided to use this different approach and already things have been feeling better and more open.
I called him last weekend and was trying to be really covert in asking him about his favorite desserts, flavors, etc (neither of us are good at being super covert!). I found out his favorite desserts are mint chocolate chip ice cream (that would be really interesting to make but hell to ship) and oreo cheesecake pie. As he was telling me about the pie, I had an instant flashback of my brother, my dad, and I on one of our rare trips to the grocery store together. We would buy things that my mother would never have brought home and used to get giddy about it together. One of those “absolute nots” in our house was Oreos–except when dad went shopping . Then my brother and I would savor those cookies, eating them on the sly, until they were all gone. We loved them. That’s when I knew I had to MAKE them and send them to him for his birthday. I knew I had seen the recipe somewhere, did a quick search, and found it on one of my favorite sites Smitten Kitchen. These cookies really do taste like oreos! It is uncanny really. They are good. And addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Homemade Oreos, via Smitten Kitchen
Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
- In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
- Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
- To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
- To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.
Pumpkin is one of those lovely seasonal foods I look forward to using this time of year. I try to find as many excuses as possible to include it in all it’s various forms from puree to chopped to roasted in its skin (this includes all squash varieties, really . A few weeks ago, I made my favorite pumpkin bread recipe, and last week, I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I tried two different recipes, one with two sticks of butter and the other with just one stick. The cookies with two sticks were heavier and more dense but not in a good way, where as the cookies with one stick were lighter, more like a muffin top. One of the recipes called for orange rind which I thought was interesting; the other used brown sugar instead of white, which always I find to add a lot of depth and great flavor undertones to baked goods. So I am bringing you the best of both worlds in a hybrid recipe that I’ve reconstructed for you below. These cookies are less cookie-like and really more cake like, soft, and spongy–that’s due to the pumpkin. They are spicy too, but don’t be afraid to add a little more spice than what is called for–I always do, especially the ginger and cinnamon. I tend to hold back on the nutmeg because it can get super pungent really quickly–just my opinion though .
But pumpkin is so good in so many other dishes too–and not only baked goods! (gasp!). I know, I would just bake all my foods if I could, but there are many forces working against me for that 
. Anyway, it is great in curries, in pasta dishes, sauteed, roasted and lightly drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with some sea salt. Pumpkins are a taste of fall for me.
Also, I am doing an event up in Seattle next weekend (email me by Monday night if you are in the Seattle area and would like to come!) with the design collective called BRITE. They are hosting me and this eating design event at Via Tribunali, a great pizzeria in the Georgetown neighborhood. They were looking for something along the lines of Pietopia, but more interactive for a smaller scale. So here’s what we are doing:
Eat My Story, Seattle, WA
Think of a story–it could be about your life, your goldfish, a favorite place, anything–and write it in 150 words or less.
Think of a list of ingredients that could go on a pizza that relate to this story–via taste, texture, history, place, smell, you name it.
Then send me the story and list by the deadline.
Next weekend, on October 3rd, we will be meeting at Via Tribunali at 1230 for a lunch extravaganza!
I am going to make pizza peels with everyone’s story and ingredients listed/drawn on them.
As guests arrive for lunch, they will get a random pizza peel (not necessarily their own story) and then have to construct it based on what’s on their peel.
Then we eat each other’s stories, understanding them in a much different way than if we had just heard or read about them . It’ll be fun, I am excited.
Have a great week!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp ground ginger
1/ 2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
15 oz can of pure pumpkin
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
orange zest of one medium orange (optional)
1-2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375F.
Sift together (or whisk in small bowl) flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger together and set aside.
Beat butter, brown sugar and sugar together in a large mixer bowl.
Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Add egg and beat well until fully incorporated.
Gradually (I do it in 3 batches) beat in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
The other day, I ran across a new bakery here in town (I know, I didn’t think it was possible here in the land-o-bakeries!). I walked in and it was amazingly cute. Cute to the point of redundancy, actually. Given, it was their first day open and things were in perfect order–but I mean, it was a little eerie. The baked goods were stacked perfectly in their cases, all of which were vintage and refurbished, and the glass was gleaming like a Windex commercial. Mind you, these are all things I thought about AFTER I purchased my goodies. I had my eye on the prize–the sweet prize that is. Whenever I find a new bakery, first I have to order three things. It gives me a good overview in their talents. Second, after I’ve purchased, I take a look around. What’s the ambiance like? How does this place make me feel? Rarely do I eat my purchases in the new bakery, I have to take them home to taste each one without distraction–and share with whoever is around or comes by that day and get their opinion too . I get curious!
That day, I brought home a poppy seed cupcake with lavender frosting, a lemon blueberry scone, and a rosewater sugar cookie. They must have been worried about last minute preparations for the opening because the cupcake was like cardboard (although the frosting was interesting), the scone was under cooked (not fun biting into a large chunk of dough), and the sugar cookie was bland—but it got me thinking. Rosewater sugar cookies? This could be really good. So I set off to find another recipe and try them myself. Oh, and not that this usually matters, but it turns out this was a vegan bakery. I totally have a soft spot for vegan cupcakes, they are generally more moist and all around scrumptious–but bad vegan baked goods make that little voice in my head come out and yell–see! baked goods SHOULD have eggs, butter, and cream in them! Not all the time, I tell it, but this time I agree.
It turns out that Rosewater Sugar Cookies were a holiday tradition in old Germany–like around the early to mid 19th century. The Christmas cookie tradition we have here in the states originates from the German tradition of making a variety of delicate cookies called Plätzchen. They use rosewater not only in these sugar cookies, but also in marzipan. I always think of rosewater as a middle eastern ingredient or something you eat in the late spring (probably because that’s when roses are blooming). But it makes sense that rosewater would be busted out for the holidays–it probably took the previous six months to steep and make it, not to mention how special it probably was. I love learning about this stuff!
I guess you just never know what stumbling onto a new bakery will do and what kind of domino effect it may have . I made these cookies as gifts and I think they tasted excellent. Light but with that perfect, buttery, shortbread crumble and the aroma of rosewater, these will be added to my collection for sure!
Rosewater Sugar Cookies
1 stick butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)
1 1/2 tsp rose water extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups flour
dash salt
Beat in yolk and extracts to blend.
Mix baking soda into sour cream and mix well with other ingredients. and flour
Mix with a spoon by hand to mix well
The dough is beautiful to handle.
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut out your cookies as you would for sugar cookies
Place on baking sheets a few inches apart.
-Make Rosewater Sugar topping-
I put a couple of tablespoons of white sugar into a jar, sprayed a couple of times the rosewater over it, and added just a tiny hint of pink food coloring. Then I shook the hell out of it to mix the sugar with the coloring and the rosewater. I lightly patted the sugar onto each cookie, then placed them on the pan to bake.
Cheers!
