cookie of the month: secret breakfast cookies

Never trust a skinny pastry chef.

When I was researching pastry schools a few years ago this is what one of the admissions people told me at one of the local schools.  Since then I've heard this tenant repeated many times.  Ever the doubter, I've always scoffed at this saying.  Tasting the things that you create is a key component of recipe testing and is integral to learning and growing for me in my baking.  Bu I'm a big believer in another common saying, everything in moderation.

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new year's cookies

Some of my favorite days of the year are those right before January 1st. The Christmas celebrations have come and gone, people have had enough time to play with their gifts to just get bored with them, the decorations have gathered enough dust that they finally beg to be taken down. One celebration is ending and the next one is about to begin. It's one of the few times a year that I can feel loved ones around me start to look in anticipation towards the next thing, the new year.

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merry christmas

checkerboard cookies

A simple cookie to make that visually makes an impact.  With only three ingredients (four if you count the cocoa powder for the chocolate version), checkerboard cookies are classic sable cookies.  Sable, French for ‘sandy’, refers to the texture of the dough.  It is often the base for tarts, but can also make a perfect cocktail cookie.

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cucidati (italian fig cookies)

Recently I've found myself being drawn to old world recipes.  Ones that used to be made "back in the day" or from vintage cookbooks.  The types of recipes that make people exclaim, "My mom used to make something just like this!".  The history and tradition that are associated with these types of recipes touches me to the core.  Cucidati are this type of recipe.

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