For February 17

OK, well, I am sick. And not in the "mental' way, just the physical way. Which I hate. I get sick so rarely, I think I am out of practice or something, so it just makes me more grumpy. Today, I had to cancel a training at Zen Center, a workout with my personal trainer, and a dinner with some of the partners from my law firm. Just so I could sit at home and drink liquids, then more liquids, then more liquids.....well, you get the picture.

Nevertheless, the cookies must go on.

More from the new cookbooks, including one that just arrived two days ago.

Lemon Goldies, from Alice Medrich, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies
The Baked Brownie, from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Baked: New Frontiers In Baking

Well, I am still working my way, almost a page at a time, through Alice Medrich's new cookbook of just cookie recipes. I am still in the first chapter - "Crispy" - which is what these little cookies are. The basic recipe is for "Goldies", but it has a variation for Lemon Goldies, which is what I made this week (basically the Goldies recipe with the zest of two Meyer lemons added). The picture of these cookies was so inviting - a full page photo of a stack of golden sugar cookies - it was a complete marketing success! The cookies are a nice, simple crispy lemon cookie, with a pale center and a deep golden edge. There is nothing fancy or sublime about them, just good simplicity.

And then there's The Baked Brownie. It is called that in the cookbook, because the authors own and run a bakery in Brooklyn called "Baked." And now they have two cookbooks (this was their first). Besides being totally adorable, they have made a huge name for themselves and if this brownie recipe - my first experience with them - is any guide, it is very well deserved! Apparently this brownie was named best brownie on America's Test Kitchen, and it is really good. Very simple - not too many ingredients, no nuts, just intense flavor and a dedication to a non-cakey brownie - and very good. It is giving some of my Alice Medrich brownies a run for their money. While the lemon goldies are like the angel on your left shoulder, these brownies are the itsy-bitsy devil whispering in your right ear that you should forgo those "healthy" pale things and just pig out on this chocolate intensity. Of course, if you don't like chocolate...more for the rest of us.

Happy eating!