Sesame Lace Cookies

It's that time of year. Cookies, cookies, cookies. We bring them to friends and loved ones, we give them to teachers, we make them for parties. 

I came across the recipe for Lace Cookies in the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion cookbook, made a few modifications and voila: 

Sesame Lace Cookies

I had never made lace cookies before, frankly because I thought they were complicated but I was wrong! Kind of. The dough setup was easy. It was the baking that threw me for a loop. The first batch that went into the oven completely melted together into one giant cookie sheet-sized lace cookie. My husband laughed, at which point I suggested that he take over the dough assembly portion of the job. He rose to the occasion. His lace cookies were crispy and light, perfectly shaped and sized.

Kudos, husband. 

Sesame Lace Cookies

Ingredients
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups of rolled oats
1 3/4 cups of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sesame seeds (toasted or raw)

Method
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients. Add the egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix thoroughly. Finally, mix in the sesame seeds. 
Roll the dough into about one inch balls and place on the cookie sheet, making sure to leave enough space between each dough ball. Bake for 5 -7 minutes. Remove them from the parchment paper after they've cooled slightly. 

Enjoy!
 

Gifts for Teachers

This holiday season, our school gifts included some homemade goodies to let the teachers in our lives know how much they are appreciated. My daughter painted a mug for her teacher and filled it with cookies and my son picked out tins for cookies and ribbons to decorate them for his teachers. We filled them with chocolate chip gingersnaps, double chocolate molasses cookies and fannies (butter cookies with jam). 

This year I've heard some fantastic gift ideas for teachers including homemade granola, this three seed brittle from Weelicious,  and homemade cocoa mix in a jar from Real Mom Nutrition. What do you give your kids' teachers for the holidays? 

Kale Soup for All Kinds of Comfort

It's ridiculously cold here. Twenty something degrees! And the thing is, it's only December. I fear January. And I'm terrified of March. (February has always been one of those easy peasy months in my mind because it's so nice and short.) Besides the hectic pace of the holiday season (interwoven with little reminders like "stop the madness and smell the roses," which is totally easier said than done), we have been struck down by some unkind stomach virus chez moi. I have two things to say on the matter: first, I'm incredibly grateful that it was only the 24 hour variety. And second, I'm so fortunate to have a babysitter who is loving and patient, good spirited and also amazing with sick kids. She didn't blink an eye when my son lost his lunch all over her. Seriously. #Feelingblessed. 

Naturally, after a bout with any kind of stomach thing, bland and basic is always best. So for my son, it was all toast and oatmeal. But the grownups need to eat too. I threw together this soup and it hit the spot. It was hearty and comforting after an exhausting day. It was warm and filling after facing the bitter cold. And it was delicious, thanks to simple ingredients. 

Simple ingredients for Kale Soup

Kale Soup

Ingredients
4 ounces of bacon
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bunch of green leafy kale, chopped
8 cups of water
1 can of navy beans (or white beans)
1 bay leaf
1 rind of parmesan
dash of cayenne pepper or red chili flakes
salt to taste
 

Method
Fry the bacon in a soup pot for several minutes until the edges begin to brown. Turn off the heat, remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Leave the bacon fat in the pot. When the bacon has cooled, chop into smaller pieces and add back to the pot. Turn the heat to medium and add garlic and kale and stir. After about 2 minutes, add water, beans, bay leaf and parmesan leaf. Simmer with lid on for about 40 minutes (or longer). Add cayenne pepper and salt if desired. Enjoy! 
*Note: for a richer soup, use chicken broth instead of water and feel free to add grated parmesan when you serve soup. 
 

My other favorites for cold weather: 

Winter Root Vegetable Soup

Best Cold and Flu Fighter Soup

Rainy Day Carrot Soup

Easiest Black Beans

'Tis the Season to Bake Cookies!

It's a busy time in my kitchen. My kids and I have been knee deep in flour-sugar-butter-molasses combinations. They decided to give their teachers cookies with elaborately decorated containers, and with six teachers to bake for, it's a time-consuming adventure! Unfortunately, the kids lost interest after the first batch was complete. Fortunately, my husband rolled and baked about 4 dozen gingersnaps last night. Which reminds me – do you know about this book? 

Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps

We love gingersnaps and adapted an old favorite family recipe to include chocolate chips. The combination is excellent. The great thing about these cookies is that you can make the dough in advance, let it sit in the refrigerator and bake them when you have time. And they freeze beautifully. Frankly there are few things as delicious as a cold cookie (right from the freezer) dipped in a hot beverage (like coffee or hot cocoa). 

Yum. 

Without further ado, here's our recipe for Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, adapted from this family favorite. 

Ingredients
1 cup of butter, at rom temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I prefer the chips with 60% cocoa or more) 
*optional: 3-4 tablespoons of sugar for rolling the dough before baking
 

Method
Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the butter and sugars until fluffy either with a hand mixer or with a spoon. Add the egg and molasses and mix well. Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and nutmeg making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so that all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add the chips and mix again. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into one inch balls (make sure to leave at least 1 inch of space between the balls). You can give the dough balls an extra roll in sugar at this point or not. I opted for no sugar this time. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the sheets. 

Baking with preschoolers

Check out this fabulous Tuesday morning! 

The kids in my son's preschool class busily baked, frosted and decorated cookies this morning. I volunteered at the frosting/decorating table and I loved seeing the variety of cookies churned out by little hands. Some used heaps of frosting and sprinkles. Some used just a bit. Some enjoyed the feel of frosting between their fingers and others wiped frequently. Some were out for volume and others were deeply invested in slow, careful design. One thing was universal: they all wondered when they could taste the cookies! 

The cookies are a thank you gift. They will soon be delivered to the staff within the building who help the engine behind this preschool run so smoothly. 

Hooray for Giving Tuesday!