Ever notice that most recipes only call for a cup of chocolate chips and you somehow end up with about 4 or 5 open bags of various kinds of chocolate chips — or any other “flavoring thing” like nuts or dried fruit for that matter? Well that was the case this week when I was looking for a cookie inspiration and so this is what I came up with. Mini chips (very meltable), crunchy toffee bits (for texture), sweet and tangy dried cranberries. Turned out quite yummy for a cookie on a whim. Now, pass the milk.
cookies
Sweet and Savory Rosemary and Spiced Fig Thumbprint “Cookies”
Ok, this is a bit of a random flavor profile, but run with it, shall we? Last weekend, when I went to Eataly, they had a huge section of Italian jams, mustards and chutneys. I was intrigued, and picked out a savory jam with figs and a little bit of onion and mustard seed. Not, it doesn’t taste mustardy, just savory. Anyway, what to do with said concoction? Well, one thing certainly would have been to eat it along with cheese and crackers, but I thought that I would make my own “crackers” (aka savory cookies) and ended up with rosemary and chili flakes in them. Fantastic! These are definitely an “eat with cheese” (or salami or olives) type of “cookie” but very tasty. Experiment successful? I’d say yes!
Switching gears to something sorts of Valentine’s Day like. I think that I say this every year, but I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. Ok, it’s mostly a hate-hate because of the absurdity, the consumerism and contrived nature of it all. Love? Well the reason that I might like it a little is that it is an excuse in the middle of the winter to make lots of cookies, chocolates, truffles and the like. And what the heck, you might as well have a theme. So I figured I’d start now, in case anyone wants to use these recipes for their own creations.
Still on my Meyer Lemon kick… while they are available, I will eat them! So I thought I would use some of the curd that I made last weekend and make some crumble bars (aka shortbread bars). And what pairs nicely with the tropical flavors of Meyer Lemons — why Macadamia Nuts! While these were a bit annoying to cut (should have chopped the nuts finer) they taste amazing!
Sort of Swedish Cookies. Sort of. I’m guessing that these are not *really* Swedish, because when I was looking for cookie recipes, I didn’t find these on the Internets, but the flavors are distinctly Swedish in my mind, so I went with it anyway. Cardamom always reminds me of a family friend from Sweden, who actually was the one who gave me the spatula that is pictured in the photos. She gave it to me at Christmas past so I thought it apt that I bake something that would match. Besides, I had some Lingonberry jam from IKEA. 🙂




