For July 29

Last week was sesshin, so no cookies, just sitting. This week, back to the normal schedule.

Two items, both from Dorie Greenspan, one new, one a repeat:

World Peace Cookies
Almond-Currant Teacakes

both by Dorie Greenspan

As any reader knows, I am in love with this woman. Her recipes are just consistently great. I have made the world peace cookie a couple of times before. Andrew Bodhi-Heart says it is one of his favorites. I didn't remember it until I, uh, sampled one last night. One of the distinctive things about it is that it is quite salty - a mix of chocolate and salty. Dorie credits Pierre Herme as the creator of this cookie, and she is apparently herself a rabid fan of it, since she says that it should rank up there with the invention of the Toll House cookie in the annals of baking. Apparently it got its current name because a neighbor of hers told her that if everyone could have a regular supply of these cookies, they would be so happy that world peace would break out. So let's get cookin'!

The second recipe was a very last minute item. I had originally thought that, in honor of the opening of a Magnolia Bakery here in LA, I would do something out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. But, to be honest, their first cookbook is not very tempting. (I hear the second one is better, but I don't have it.) Everything in it is too over the top. Everything seems a little bit frenetic, and crazy sweet. So I closed that book and moved on.

While getting something out of my laptop case, I opened a side pocket and found two recipes in there that I had printed from the web a long time ago and forgotten. One of them was for these teacakes, which I must have found through Dorie's web site. (The recipe itself is published on the AARP web site which, by the way, seems to have a really amazing recipe section - who knew!) Anything that involves almond is a winner in my book, and this looked really good - little mini-cupcake sized cakes filled with almond and currant flavors. Making them was quite straightforward, and they are really yummy, and a nice contrast to the chocolate and salt of the world peace cookies. And I think that the mini size is just right - having a regular sized version would be too much, but this is juuuuust right.

I was very lucky last night, because when I got home I found Bodhi-Heart already had done the slicing and started the baking on the cookies (I had made the dough the night before), so I handled the tea cakes. That gave me a little time at the end of the night to work on my sewing. My ordination is now less than 3 weeks away, and I am still busy sewing! Yikes! It will all be done, but the push is on.

OK, back to work now. Enjoy!

For July 15

Lemon Cookies, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
Chewy Fudge Brownies, from the New York Times

For July 8

Nibby cocoa sables
Self-icing nutella mini cupcakes.

For July 1

Last week, Andrew and I left for Tassajara on Thursday morning, but I made cookies to leave behind before heading out. Both cookies were from one of my favorite cooks, Alice Medrich:

Nibby Pecan Sables
Real Chocolate Wafers

both from Alice Medrich, Bittersweet

The chocolate wafer cookie was a new recipe for me. The cookie is exactly what it says it is - a chocolate wafer. Probably quite good with milk, and as Alice says in her notes, crushed up they would make an excellent pie crust. Not my favorite cookie on its own, but it has very good flavor. (Mini ice-cream sandwiches would be amazing with this.)

The sables are an old favorite. I'll write more later.

For June 24...

For June 24, I was just back in town from a week away. We had a guest baker this week, Bob Gido Fisher. He made two ridiculously good items:

Chocolate Crinkles, from Martha Stewart Cookies
Oatmeal Lace Cookies

The oatmeal lace cookies were amazing. Lucky for me, Gido even gave me the recipe, so I will get to try it after a suitable break.

Thanks, Gido!

For June 17

What did we bake way back then? Hmmm.....