The Cookie Cubicle

Just for the record, I am that person- you know, the one in your office who's always bringing in the baked goods. Yep, that's me, though in my defense I never force my wares on anyone, I simply place them on the office communal table or in the breakroom, and by the end of the day the tin always seems to be empty. I love that my office environment allows me to bake with abandon, in the past all those cookies would have sat around the house and ended up on my waistline. Now, I have friends who come to visit me regularly in pursuit of baked goods and idle chat.

I am occasionally frustrated by the limited options of the transportable baked offering, after all, flans and complicated cakes aren't suitable for commuting or serving at work. However, I can go wild with cookies, cupcakes, cheese straws, and all things petite and hand-held. Recently, these spice crackles went over particularly well, if the tin of crumbs I came home with are any evidence. It's a recipe I came up with by adapting a back-of-the-box sugar cookie recipe with a few slight adjustments and a roll in warm cinnamon and cardamom spices. Whoever you bake for, I hope they enjoy them just as much.

Spice Crackles
These spiced cookies are a perfect balance of crunchy edges and soft chewy insides. Be careful though, it's easy to overbake them, in which case you'll have a still-tasty but crunchier cookie. Makes about 3 dozen, though recipe is easily halved.

2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup butter-flavored shortening, or butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar and spices; remove 1/2 cup of this mixture to a plate or bowl and set aside. Add shortening/butter to bowl and cream with the 1 1/2 cups sugar mixture until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated, and add vanilla extract.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place on baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for about 12 minutes, until edges are firm to the touch, but not quite browned (err towards 10 minutes for soft chewy cookies and 14 minutes for crunchy cookies). Cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a tin.

Honey Nut Caramels

Oh my friends, all the news out there is bad these days, global warming, rising gas prices, dying bees, bird flu. If your tainted meat doesn’t kill you then your toys from China will. Aren’t you ready for a little bit of good news, a touch of holiday cheer? I certainly am, and you’re in luck because today I’ve got it. Perhaps you remember our dear friend, the poet, and his hives of honey bees? Last year, his hive suffered, the bees dying mysteriously like many other hives across America.

We met for dinner recently, our purpose to rehash recent trips to the Middle East, but walking into Lebanese Taverna, he plunked down a giant, massive jar on the table. Honey! A quart of golden honey! Homemade honey so beguiling that I wanted to display it on the table all through dinner, though I eventually tucked it away so we wouldn’t confuse the waiters. Or get strange stares. And there’s the good news: not only are his bees alive and well, but they produced a record 18 gallons of honey this year. Eighteen gallons, I swoon with glee just imagining it.

Opening the jar at home, with its little swirl of white air bubbles on top, I considered the possibilities. After all, when faced with such a large jar of something, one tends to think big. My first thought was to make helva, that crumbly sweet made from tahini. But really, helva’s hard to make, unless you make the kind using flour, and I really didn’t want to do that. Then it struck me, why not make caramels with the honey, but instead of using cream or butter, as one usually does, I could use tahini. A helva-flavored caramel! A honey-nut caramel!



Making caramels is not exactly a beginners kitchen task as it involves boiling sugar syrup, but it is not a particularly difficult one either. You just need a candy thermometer, watch it closely, and follow the recipe. Personally, I find the whole chemistry aspect of it rather exciting. Whipping the tahini into the hot honey syrup, the whole house smelled like sweet toasted nuts. I poured it into a pan to cool, and pressed some chopped pistachios on top for crunch. Wrapping them was a bit of a messy proposition, but the bits that stuck to my fingers made a delicious snack, and there is something immensely satisfying about seeing that whole line of wrapped candies sitting on your counter.

And looking at them all, with their twisted wax paper ends and with December peeking around the corner, I realized I’m ready. I’m ready for the cooking and the shipping, the shopping and the sighing, the carols and the cold. I’m ready for the holidays, the travel and the hassle, the hustle and the bustle, the wrapping and the packing, and hopefully some snow. I’ll be getting into the holiday baking soon, and I’m sure these caramels will be part of it, I can’t think of a tastier way to share the good news and some holiday cheer. It’s a good thing we’ve got a lot of honey around.


Honey-Nut Caramels
I have a big bowl of these sitting in the fridge and I can’t help rooting around and finding the biggest one each time I open the fridge. You could use almonds in place of the pistachios or simply omit the nuts all together if you prefer.

1 1/2 cups honey
1/4 cup water
1 tbl lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup chopped pistachios

equipment: candy thermometer, parchment paper, wax paper

1. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper and grease the paper with some oil.
2. Place honey, water, lemon juice, and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil over medium heat until it reaches hard ball stage, 260F on a candy thermometer (about 15-20 minutes).
3. Remove from the heat and quickly whip in the tahini. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the pistachios over the surface. Set aside in the refrigerator to cool and harden.
4. Use a greased knife to cut the caramels into pieces. (if they start to get soft or sticky, quick-chill them in the freezer before continuing). Wrap each piece in a square of wax paper and twist the ends to secure. Store in the refrigerator, as they tend to be a little melty at room temp.
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Molasses-Ginger Cookies for Fall

I don't know about you, but I am so invigorated by fall. The slight crispness in the air, still warm but with a hint of chill, and it seems that light falls in the house in a whole different way that I find newly beautiful. There is a school several blocks from my house, but through some strange configuration of sound waves, I am able to hear the sounds from it's playing field in perfect sharpness through my bathroom window. Standing before the mirror at 8 a.m. I hear the children's shouts, the teacher's whistle.

In my mind, fall is a time of return. A return to school, to work, a return to the sweaters you packed away all summer, to meetings and plans, to the warmth of an old boyfriend's sweatshirt. Girls stand at the bus stop in their pressed school uniforms carrying new notebooks and I'm almost (but not quite) nostalgic for my own school days. It's a time when the leaves return to the ground and when we begin to return to our own kitchens, returning to the soups and stews that we avoided for most of the summer.


For me, it's also a return to baking and to my regular care package sending. Summer presents a challenge to anyone who likes to send homemade goodies through the mail, the potential of your package sitting all afternoon in 100 degree heat is not an appealing thought, chocolate is out of the question. Molasses ginger cookies, however, are just right for the early hint of fall.

For years I've struggled over molasses cookies, mine were tasty, but never quite right. Fancy cakes, delicate macarons, those I can master, but finding a recipe that produced the molasses cookie of my dreams eluded me (that dream cookie, by the way, produced by a little bakery in Maine we visit every summer). Finally, I've found a recipe I'm satisfied with, and it's got two important points. One, you have to use shortening. Two, do not over-bake the cookies, you want the insides to stay meltingly soft, so as soon as the outsides are set and crackly, take them out.

On a final note, those boxes are part of a little kit for packaging homemade treats and were a great birthday gift from my mom (thanks!). I plan on putting them to serious use around the holidays, and in some more care packaging coming very soon.


Molasses-Ginger Cookies
Of all cookies, the molasses-type is one of my favorites. Sometimes I like to make them on the smaller side (like in the photo), but often I like them big, jumbo cookie monsters, you'll want to adjust your baking time accordingly. Also, it's important to use shortening to prevent spreading, look for one that's free of trans fats.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar (preferably muscovado)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
demerrara sugar for rolling

1. Combine the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Mix in crystallized ginger. In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat shortening and butter to combine, add brown sugar and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Add egg and molasses and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease/line 2 baking sheets. Spoon sugar in thick layer onto small plate. Using wet hands, form dough into 2-inch balls; roll in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart, flatten slightly.
3. Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch and moist inside, about 10-12 minutes (do not overbake). Cool on sheets 1 minute. Carefully transfer to racks and cool.

Back with Blondies

Sometimes, it’s as if my brain is divided into different departments that don’t want to speak to each other. I mentioned a little while ago the constant care packages I send to a certain loved one, fueling both late nights in the law library and my own desire to bake. And then, after that initial mention, they disappeared, poof, gone, not to be heard from again. My care packages have certainly not stopped, though recently they’ve been targetted to neighbors and family members, but I’ve neglected to share those recipes with you.

I often bake at night after dinner, when there’s no natural light to take photographs, and then I quickly package up what I’ve made to be shipped off in the morning. My own dessert is the few swipes of batter I lick from the bowl and that corner piece that always looks particularly ragged. I like this routine, it’s certainly better than sitting around watching TV and I enjoy puttering about the dark evening warmth of the kitchen. But it also means I neglect to think of those routine baked goods for this blog, something that needs to be remedied.

These blondies have been in my repertoire for a while, and I’ve tweaked them here and there, but in the end I decided they’re pretty darn good as written. They include coffee, alcohol, chocolate, and toffee, so really, what’s not to love? The last time I made these I was in a rush and couldn’t find Heath bars in the grocery, so I used another type of plain toffee candies, and they were not nearly as good as usual. I took them to a friend’s house and we enjoyed them anyways, but they are best with Heath/Skor bars or another chocolate coated toffee (I think the chocolate coating prevents the toffee bits from sinking to the bottom of the pan). That said, these are a snap to make and delicious, so don’t be like me and send them away, unless it’s to someone you really, really love. Or in that case, just double the recipe.



Coffee-Toffee-Chip Blondies
The original recipe called for a double amount baked in a rectangular pan. I’d be in serious danger if I had that many of these blondies sitting around the house, so I usually bake this more modest-sized version. That said, if you have more self control or family members than I do, go ahead and double the recipe and bake in an 11x8 inch pan for 40-50 minutes.

6 tbl butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbl instant espresso
1 tbl hot water
2 eggs
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped chocolate
1/2 cup crushed chocolate-coated toffee bar bits (such as Heath/Skor)
optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tbl Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8” square baking pan (I usually line mine with foil, then grease the foil).
2. Dissolve the espresso in the hot water in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the espresso and the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until any streaks disappear. Stir in the chocolate, toffee bits, and pecans just to combine.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. As soon as you remove them from the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the Kahlua all over the top of the blondies. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

If you don't have Kahlua on hand, rum or bourbon make good substitutes.
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Why I Live At The P.O.

Two people meet, they fall in love, they share a wonderful summer together, and then they are forced to part. It's a typical love story, one echoed over and over in literature and clichéed in summer romances. My own love story is much the same, with one slight variation: we met, we fell in love, were forced to return to our separate cities, and then the packages began.


My mother instilled in me a love of the postal system: she is one of the few people I know who still sends handwritten letters; traveling in southern France one summer, we stopped at the local post office of each tiny town, sometimes to send a postcard or buy stamps, often with no particular purpose in mind. Now, my mother and I exchange postcards constantly, often with nothing written on the back other than the address, a visual way of saying hello.

My boyfriend and I have lived a short plane hop apart and with as little as a few tangled inches of sheets and as much as 5,663 miles between us. When you love someone that much, you count the miles, the minutes, the inches. We have amassed cell phone minutes and Skype bills and frequent flier miles, and peppered the post with letters and packages.



As a girl that loves to bake, I found my perfect excuse, wrapping up boxes of my mom's stellar chocolate chip cookie recipe, baking macaroons late at night. I nibble at edges, sneak a cookie or two, and then quickly wrap them for mailing lest I pilfer the whole batch. Concerned I might be damaging his glycemic level, I have even made crackers and baked breads, if I could have made and mailed a curry, I would have. I won't pretend every confection was perfect, he has been victim to my baking experiments, low-fat baked goods that probably didn't travel well, but each has been stirred with love.

There were lessons along the way, explaining to my London-born companion what a praline was, about eating them every summer in the market in Charleston, about the low-country cuisine of my youth. Those sugary pecan confections were a hit, even the little crumbly bits at the bottom of the tin, and the parts I scraped out of the pan and crunched from the spoon. There have been lessons of other kinds as well, that distance can be surmounted by dedication, but also that distance can be difficult, and that a box of cookies can't solve everything.



Pecan Pralines
These wonderful confections may take a little practice to get right, but even the not-so-perfect ones will still taste great. Some people prefer to add all the pecans at the end but I like to add half of them at the beginning, so they get a nice toasty flavor without over-crowding the pan.

3 cups brown sugar
2 cups pecan halves
1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
4 tbl butter
1 tsp salt
1 tbl vanilla
special equipment: candy thermometer

1. Line 2 baking sheets or a work surface with parchment or wax paper. Get two large metal spoons and rub them with butter or oil to grease.
2. Place the sugar, buttermilk, butter, salt, and half of the pecans in a medium-sized heavy duty sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir so that the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture just reaches 236 F, about 15 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, add the vanilla and remaining pecans, and stir the mixture rapidly until it just begins to lose its shine, only about one minute. Working very quickly, use the two greased spoons to dollop out pralines onto the parchment. Don't worry if it seems runny at first, the mixture will begin to set very quickly. It's better to start sooner and have a runny one at first then risk having them harden in the pan.
4. Let sit until firm, store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Note: Inevitably, your last few pralines might be less then pretty, but they'll still taste good. There will probably be some stray sugary pecan bits stuck to the pan, these are excellent crumbled over vanilla ice cream. In the unfortunate event your mixture hardens very quickly, you can pass off the nuts simply as sugared pecans.
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Dates: Squared

This recipe tastes like home. I don’t care if you grew up on a desert island eating coconuts and spearing lizards, or if you've never had a date before, this is simple comfort food in the way that only warm spices can be. I didn’t grow up with date bars, but I love them with the fervor of any good born-again convert.

First of all, you get to crumble together butter and flour with your fingers, and there’s nothing quite as calming as rubbing butter. Then, there’s the smell of cinnamon and oats coming from your oven, wafting through your house with the potency of a Martha Stewart nerve gas. The bars themselves, the dates melting into the oats, soft thick middles with a little bit of crispness on top, are the kind of thing a housewife would pack into a tin and take to her new neighbors, back in the days when neighbors still talked to each other.

These are simple to make, and that’s exactly what you should do. And then go make friends with your neighbors. Or, if you live in a very tiny New York apartment, your neighbors may come knocking on your door, drawn by the smell, and looking for home.

Date Bars
You may want to double this if you have a lot of neighbors or friends.

1 cup water
1 1/2 cups dates, pitted and chopped*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oats (not instant)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) butter, room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, grease an 8x8 baking tin.
2. In a small saucepan combine the dates and water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the dates are very soft and thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into bits and add to the flour mixture, rub the butter in with your fingertips. Press half the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the date mixture over the oats, then top with the remaining oat mixture, pressing down gently. Bake for about 40 minutes, until set in the middle and the top is golden brown. Let cool, then cut into bars.

*Please buy whole dates and chop them yourself with a greased kitchen knife.