Hot Cookie - the Archive

On Sunday, my nephew asked me for my bourbon ball recipe. Not one from the Gourmet Cookie Book -- one of those recipes I haven't gotten around to -- but the one I make for Christmas brunch, and other cold-weather parties to get us all through the winter. My recipe comes from a 1970's yellowed 3 X 5 card. Typed on an actual typewriter. My mom found the "Coconut Rum Balls" recipe somewhere, set me to typing the recipe for her card file, then set me to making them. I kept making them. One year, we were out of rum and I'd tasted a friend's bourbon balls (in the '70's these things were everywhere), so I used bourbon and never looked back. Bourbon Balls 2 cups finely crushed chocolate waters 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, more for rolling 1 cup finely chopped pecans 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup bourbon Combine all ingredients. With hands -- and this is the fun part so no fair using a spoon -- mix until all ingredients are well combined. The mixt...

One hundred years ago today, my mom was born in Oakland, California. I had hoped I'd be celebrating with her this weekend, but she didn't quite make it to her hundredth birthday. She died in April, and I poured myself into a research project ever since, giving me time with the familiar before turning to the business of grief. I haven't completely ignored the grieving process. After a healing memorial gathering surrounded by friends and relatives, my family loaded a U-haul truck to bring home Mom's small but prized collection of antiques. I have found places in my home for Victorian cranberry glass, Dresden porcelain and marble-top tables, but boxes remain in my garage, filled with memories and emotions to work through. I find the grieving process gave me enough energy to meet tight research deadlines, but not enough energy to do what gives me joy. Only when the research project was done have I returned to my mixing bowls and made my first batch of cookies for friend...

Swirls are more decorative than ingredients suggest. These two-toned cookies dress up a plate more than their earthy ingredients have a right to do. The fig and date mixture spreads on a rectangle of dough and the whole mess gets tucked into a long roll and chilled. Cookies can be cut from the roll in batches, and the roll stores for up to a month. I'm not sure the anise gives the fruit enough punch to distinguish these cookies from the flavor of your basic Fig Newtons. The dough needs more flavor, too, but rolls out easily, so forms a sturdy base. I'm thinking lemon zest could come to the dough's rescue. The festive look of the swirls is worth a bit more experimentation with flavorings. I tried substituting brandy for the water in the fruit puree, but that turned out to be a waste of good brandy. The flavor did not come through. Have an idea for a filling flavoring? The recipe is here and here .

Almonds are real work-horses in gluten-free baking. They are the basis for these rolled out cookies. You don't have to be on a gluten-free diet to like them. They are a stunning blend of the nuts, chocolate and spices (cinnamon and cloves). Bonus is that they roll out easily for cutting into shapes. I didn't find the dough sticky as the recipe suggests. These roll out easily between sheets of wax paper. They do want to sit for 3 hours before baking. They are meant to be crisp! These cookies, originally from Switzerland, have a firm consistency that holds up to handling. Add to these features the subtle spices (cinnamon and cloves) that most people don't combine with chocolate, and these are winners. They remind me of Mexican chocolate used for hot cocoa. The one drawback is that the sugar in these cookies gives a gritty consistency. I would try a superfine sugar next time. Ingredients storage note: The dough gets mixed in a food processor, and because you sta...

Remember these books? Waldo, the character in the red and white striped shirt and hat is hidden among dozens of busy characters on each page of these picture books, and you have to find Waldo. He is surrounded by a flurry of activity everywhere you look. The last two months, I've lived in Waldo's world. Each trip to clean out my mom's home I was surrounded by a cast of characters and a list of errands. Even after I hired a property manager (a most empowering thing to do, if it is a good one, and I have a good one), I had decisions to make every time I turned around. On my last trip alone, I chose a new garage door, hired someone to conduct an estate sale, recycled medical equipment, exchanged emails with an electrician, posted furniture for sale online, met with a chimney sweep, and met with a color consultant about house paint, indoors and out. I forget what else. The main work of sorting mom's stuff, of choosing which mementos to keep, which memories to treasure m...

This is the last and much delayed post in a series of articles about one fantastic afternoon of baking cookies with friends. #43 Acorn Cookies (2000) These take the prize for cutest cookie of the day. The dough pieces, formed into egg shapes drop onto the sheets and only get their acorn essence when the wide end of the cookies are dipped into chocolate, then nuts. Dipped in pistachios, the acorn cookies on the left get a festive holiday green tinge; those on the right are dipped in pecans. It took a while to figure out "the size of an acorn," which is about a teaspoon. Once we got our portions down to size, there were plenty to go around; the cookies filled three cookie sheets. The recipe calls for walnuts, inside and out. But you know my preference for pecans. I thought this recipe would be very much like Mexican wedding cakes, but this recipe wants brown sugar, whereas the south of the border delicacies always want powdered sugar. I think the powdered sugar...

New Year's Greetings... to all who have spent a few minutes on the pages of my blog. A year ago I promised to bake a cookie per week and drop ten pounds. I was off to a great start when, as you might expect, life intervened. So, where am I now? I have accomplished about three-fourths of my goals. And it's a three-fourths I can be proud of. I have lost 7-8 pounds, depending on which day you ask me, and the cookie count is up to 46 baked, not all blogged. My 70 blog posts amounted to about one post per week, as planned. Just not every blog was about a cookie. I'll admit at times the blog was a slog, and I've considered ditching the baking, the writing and my goals altogether in favor of some other very important task. Let's see. My garden needs weeding, the deck sweeping, several closets have been ignored for years. I'd really like to get on that quilt project I promised my daughter a while back. And my mom's house needs clearing out. All projects for t...