I had a bunch of cooking plans on Xmas Eve, two pages in my little notebook. Continuing using up cookie leftovers and CSA box produce, sourdough bread plans (my sourdough has gotten way too big, BTW, even though I’ve only been feeding it half cups of flour & water. I might have to actually discard … [Read more…]
OK so, I started writing this on Saturday, when I finished grading at about 3:00PM. Yay! And am now finishing it up on Monday afternoon, after spending the day cleaning up email, finally writing that recommendation letter for the student who asked for it 2 months ago, delivering cookies, one last minute online Xmas gift … [Read more…]
And, I realize it’s incredibly privileged to be calling this pandemic year “weird”. Everyone in my family is working remotely, still getting paid, relatively safe. But in terms of cookie season in the pandemic year, it’s weird. I am vacillating between borderline depression, feeling like nothing’s coming out right, and moments of feeling happy and … [Read more…]
Because we had such a small Thanksgiving, pandemic-diminished, held on Black Friday as is our tradition, I got to use even more of Thanksgiving Day for cookies. I started by making the lebkuchen, since that’s one of cookie kinds that’s supposed to age a bit before eating. I’ve been making these forever, and tried lots … [Read more…]
We needed water softener salt, so I decided to make the week’s shopping expedition a Costco run. And I figured I might as well go ahead and get the cookie ingredients that I get at Costco, like the 36 pounds of butter that even at Woodman’s gets me a lot of WTF looks, but at … [Read more…]
… cookie fairy escapades, grading, working remotely constantly, and all the way up to Christmas Eve. Sunday morning after the party I washed the last serving platter at 9:37. I made this cranberry ginger cake from Milk Street Kitchen that I had had a vision of serving warm with mascarpone whipped cream at the party, … [Read more…]
So, I think it was a slightly smaller party than last year. On the one hand, I got a lot of regrets from friends who almost always come. On the other hand, a few people who I’ve invited for years, who’ve never been able to make it, showed up for the first time. I was … [Read more…]
I must be done because I’m out of containers to put cookies in. It’s Wednesday and the party is Saturday. I made two last cookie kinds today, although they’re not actually all the way done – the almond rainbow bars will need to glazed and cut in the morning, and the teeny hazelnut baci – … [Read more…]
Pics now, explanations later. No time; pics will just have to stand on their own! And that’s not counting Sunday, ruggelach and bar cookies. And somewhere’s in there, Saturday afternoon, I think, I made the Rose’s Crescents, and what I am now calling pecan snowballs, trying to be culturally sensitive, avoiding other names with a … [Read more…]
When cookie season is terribly compressed. Not enough weekends, and the ones I do have, I keep giving up for trips to Chicago. I’ve made one cookie kind so far, the lebkuchen. This year I tried a new recipe, from King Arthur Flour, and I kinda like it. I made my normal batch using the … [Read more…]