Cookie Party 2020: A Visual Guide

art by Dan Funderburgh

Oh, hello. I'm returning to this long-inactive snack blog in the midst of a global pandemic in order to share what I'm baking for the annual Cookie Party I can't have this year... or, at least, I can't have it indoors in my apartment. 

Instead, I've decided to bake a smaller amount of goodies and offer them in a takeaway package to friends in the area who feel comfortable receiving them. I know there are those who may be wary of homemade cookies or anything from a non-commercial kitchen, temporarily or permanently, but for those whose comfort levels allow it, I am happy to wash my hands 1,000 times, make treats, and share what I've made. 

For the record and for the edification (yes, this information will improve you educationally) of our takeaway "guests," I will share here this year's menu and photos of the cookies. That way, if you are sitting home with one of our Cookie Party bags, not sure what to eat first, you will know what you have without having to guess.

Note: for best results, we recommend you unpack your cookies from the bag once you are home and store them somewhere airtight if you aren’t going to eat them right away. They should also freeze well, and the flavors will mingle less if frozen.

The first bag is packed!

Dan improves our bags with a sticker!

24th Annual Cookie Party (2020) - for Takeaway, Jan. 2-11, 2021

Cookies

1. Polvorones de Pistache - contain nuts, new recipe!

2. Snickerdoodles

3. Citrus Sizzlers

4. Chocolate Salt and Vinegar Cookies - new recipe!

5. Milk Bar Compost Cookies - contain nuts

6. Coconut Rice Cookies - gluten-free, contain coconut, new recipe!

7. Cranberry Cheddar Pecan Crisps - no sugar added, contain nuts

8. Chocolate Espresso Meringues - gluten-free, contain nuts

9. Peanut Butter Crunch Blossoms - gluten-free, vegan, contain peanuts

10. Triple Ginger Spice Cookies - vegan

11. By Chloe Chocolate Chip Vegan Cookies - contain coconut oil

12. Salted Oatmeal Cookies

Final Cookie Count: 1751

Non-Cookie Items

* Midnight Rum Balls - vegan, contain rum

* Dan’s Signature Party Mix - contains peanuts and nuts

Allergen/Vegan/G-F Note: As you probably know, chocolate chips and other ingredients may be processed in factories that also process peanuts/nuts and wheat. All items prepared were definitely prepared in a house that contained peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, coconut, flour, animal products, etc. Cross-contamination is possible. For vegans, I cannot confirm how the sugars or other ingredients were initially processed. Everyone: eat at your own risk!

Polvorones de Pistache - contain pistachio, new recipe!

Snickerdoodles

Citrus Sizzlers - contain cayenne

Dark Chocolate Salt and Vinegar Cookies - new recipe!

Milk Bar “Compost” Cookies - contain almond toffee

Coconut Rice Cookies - gluten-free, contain coconut, new recipe!

Cranberry Cheddar Pecan Crisps - no sugar added, contain pecans

Chocolate Espresso Meringues - gluten-free, contain almond flavor

Peanut Butter Crunch Blossoms — I forgot to score the final batch,
so yours may look like the ones on the left OR right
- contain peanuts, vegan, gluten-free

Triple Ginger Spice Cookies - vegan

By Chloe Chocolate Chip Cookies - contain coconut oil, vegan

Salted Oatmeal Cookies

Midnight Rum Balls - vegan, contain rum

Dan’s Signature Party Mix - contains nuts, peanuts

Another Ladies' Night

In general, I'm not in favor of events that are designed to be "women only" or "just the boys," but I do love to hang out with my female friends -- and I don't mind if we just happen to do so without the husbands/fiances/boyfriends/guy friends every so often.

Several weeks ago, Rachel and Steph and I checked out a relatively new wine bar in the neighborhood.  Called The Counting Room, their small plates menu is pretty inspiring.  Rachel and I enjoyed deviled eggs with mustard and lemon, and all three of us shared a lavishly appointed 5-cheese plate.



We also drank a couple of half-carafes of wine (2 varieties), but I didn't bother to note which ones we ordered.  My apologies, etc., but you should know me by now (unless you're just joining the blog).  I'm not as into the alcohol as the savory snacks. My mind strayed to, then stayed on the food.  

I can't wait to go back to try the "warm bag of croutons" that I ordered (but which they forgot to bring me).

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Cupcakes After Dark

Mike's snazzy birthday cocktail party was catered by a friend of his named Emily Anderson. I enjoyed everything of hers I tried -- "devils on horseback" (dates wrapped in bacon), ceviche on tortilla crisps, vegetarian pizza squares. I heard great things about her mini meatballs, too.

But the shining moment of the evening was when the cupcakes came out. Apparently, Emily has won cupcake contests with her creations. I believe it. The pineapple milkshake variety was divine, which is what Dan chose. I had Boston Cream -- also amazing, if not equally outstanding. Both were rich, tender, and flavorful -- yet not too sweet -- sexy, sexy little cakes with frosting to shove someone out of the way for.

Seriously, I think these were the best cupcakes I've ever had (homemade or commercial). I've certainly never made better myself. I would pay money for her recipe(s). Someone get Emily on the horn!

Menu Curation: First Birthday

(photo by Dan)

My best baby friend is one! I met up with her and some other admirers in the park Wednesday night to celebrate. I thought I could tempt her with some snacks, so I toted blueberries, healthy crispy rice cupcakes, gelled-juice jigglers, and homemade soft pretzels.

Hero seemed happy I was there. My menu wasn't such a hit, though.

• Blueberries (which at other times she has adored) got smushed between thumb and forefinger, then rejected. A plus: she loved smushing them.
  
• We'll speak more of the disastrous crisped rice cakes when I post this week's CSA wrapup. Though Hero actually did eat some, they were a mess.
  
• The jello didn't interest her at all, texturally speaking. She just shook her head at me. [Aside: I went home and absent-mindedly stuck the jello in the freezer, creating something amazing.]

It's not like the girl didn't have anything to eat. Her mom and grandma made a delicious carrot cake, which Hero really enjoyed. She also tried and seemed to like bites of my soft pretzels. We adults loved them even more, and they didn't last the evening. You might want to make some yourself.





Soft Pretzels
Recipe from The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler by Lisa Barnes
Makes 48 2-3 inch pretzels

This recipe is milk free, nut free, and vegetarian. 2 pretzels have 80 calories, if you're interested. It's a good to make with older kids who can roll and shape dough, paint on egg, or sprinkle salt!

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
coarse salt, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 F. I used a baking sheet with a silicone mat, but you could also use parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Put the yeast in a large bowl with the warm water. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Add the sugar, salt, flours, and one of the eggs. Stir with a fork to combine into a dough. Turn out onto a floury surface and knead until it is elastic (maybe 2-3 minutes), adding a little more flour if it's very sticky.

Tear off small pieces of the dough and roll into any shape you want (classic pretzels, circles, hearts, twists). You know what would be cute? Xs and Os -- they stand for "hugs and kisses" AND you can play edible tic-tac-toe!

Place an inch or two apart on your baking sheet. Brush with the second egg (beaten) and sprinkle with whatever you want to sprinkle them with.

Bake 8-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with your favorite mustard.

A mildly extreme, quietly screamin' dill pickle pre-breakfast snack:

Here's what you call an impulse buy. We were in a bodega getting cash from an ATM when my well-trained eye spotted these Pringles EXTREME Screamin' Dill Pickle Potato Crips. I didn't just want them. I needed them.

I thought it would make for a good weblog entry to eat these with ice cream, as a tribute to all the pregnant ladies out there (even though I don't know anyone who actually ate pickles and ice cream together while pregnant - or who will admit to it, I suppose).

But I ate too much on Friday, so I'm staying away from the ice cream for at least a few more hours.

Twist my arm, why don't you, and ask me what I ate, already! I think "food diaries" are indulgences too often used for obsessive dieting, but I am proud of the champion eating day I had yesterday.

Brunch at 10:30 am (this meal must be begun before noon. Friends, contrary to what people in New York City seem to think, if you are eating a meal between noon and 9 am it cannot be called "brunch." It's all about the timing. A mimosa and home fries does not a brunch make) marked my first meal at Five Leaves. I devoured all but one piece of toast (it came with four!) in the Big Brekkie -- 2 eggs any style (I chose "over easy"), a whopping portion of home fries (perfect crunch and creaminess, as well as nice rosemary flavor, but could have used more "crunchy bits," or fond), rough-hewn toasted bread, and two sides of my choice (avocado and sautéed mushrooms for me). I also had a bite of Dan's Blat sandwich (Bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) and a fry. Wowie zowie.

I couldn't eat again for hours (except for a few pickle Pringles I just had to try), but managed to stuff myself with a "small" (not that small) popcorn-and-Milk-Duds at the movie theater around 5:30pm (By the way, people, please throw away your trash at the end of the movie. There's no reason to leave bags and cups and napkins and trash all over the seats and floor. It's just rude). I also ate some peanut M&Ms there.

My movie-going compatriots then insisted on BBQ at Georgia's, where I had tasty and inexpensive BBQ wings and a superlative lemonade, a few bites of perfect, tangy potato salad, and several modest spoonfuls of 'Nilla Wafer and banana pudding (which is a dessert I adore).

Then I went home and felt sick. And now I am eating more pickle-y Pringles before breakfast on a rainy Saturday. I have a potluck to look forward to this evening, where I plan to overeat. I have learned nothing.

Oh! You want to know how the Pringles taste? They are sour, yes, and a bit salty, but there is something missing (coincidentally, that's also how I feel about the photo heading this post). The scent does make my mouth water a bit (I think that's the citric acid), and the flavor leaves my tongue tingling. They're not extremely "extreme," but that smell and afterburn do scream dill pickle. The last few crunches of each chip are almost bland, though. What's that about?

UPDATE: it turns out yesterday was National Pickle Day. Talk about serendipitous snacking!

Gentlemen at snack.

From the blog of Matt Cassity:
Wednesday — Poker night. August won. I made a menu of snacks curated by Jenny.

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True. My new occupation: Snack Curator.

Here are the items we discussed as possible poker night snacks.

Matt's restrictions:
Savory
Vegetarian
No stove top or microwave
(He does have a toaster oven and a crock pot. I didn't even utilize the crock pot. Next time.)

Idea one: Cheese toasts. You can put garlic or different spices on them. Or just cheese. I don't think he made these, but thinking about them made me want some.

Idea two: Globe grapes scooped out and filled with goat cheese then the goat cheese part can be dipped in chopped, salted pistachios. Matt couldn't find globe grapes so did this with cherry tomatoes.

Idea three: Provencal Olives (recipe below)
If you have 24 hours, you can refrigerate this mixture (anywhere from 24 hours to 1 week) and then strain the liquid off before serving:
3 c. black or green whole olives (not canned)
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 T. sherry vinegar
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (coarsely ground)
salt
1 T. chopped fresh (or 1/2 T dry) rosemary
1 1/2 T chopped fresh (or 3/4 tsp dry) thyme

Idea four: Union Square Care Bar Nuts (recipe below)
preheat (toaster) oven to 350 F
On baking sheet (or toaster oven equivalent), spread 1 1/4 lbs assorted unsalted nuts (Matt featured the Brazil nut, which is a crowd-pleaser of a nut if there is such a thing.)
Toast in oven until golden, about 10 min.
While toasting, in large bowl mix:
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
Toss nuts with mixture. Serve warm.

There was also some discussion of figs.

The Kid's Menu

The past two weeks, every single thing at the Farmer's Market in Union Square has been bee-you-tee-full. I want to buy and take home and consume everything in sight. I hauled all of this home today (except for the garlic, which was already at home) so I could make an induction dinner for Ms. R, who should be having a baby soon. Soon! I mean, when you're ready, kid, but - for real - soon!

I read that some people think pineapple and eggplant (not necessarily in combination) can jumpstart labor. Ditto spicy foods. And red raspberry leaf is one of the teas that women in their third trimesters are encouraged to drink (it ripens the cervix), though it does not induce labor. No matter how much of this is true, it adds up to one good excuse for a dinner party. And she has to give birth to that li'l baby sooner or later.

So we had:

• Bacon-wrapped jalapeño thingies* (spicy)
• Eggplant curry on brown rice with fresh yogurt (spicy + eggplant)
  
• Butter-braised radishes (just because the radishes looked amazing at the market)
  
• Pineapple slices (see paragraph above)
  
• Red raspberry leaf iced tea (see paragraph above)
  
• Blueberry, sour cherry, and strawberry crumble (um...because I had fruit I needed to use)
  

If this menu brings on a baby, I'm going into business cooking dinner for overdue pregnant ladies.


* You must make these

Edible me

[A version of this post was first published on Bakespace.]

On Serious Eats, someone posed this question:
"If you had to introduce yourself to someone by cooking them a three course meal that best described you, what would it be?"

I tried to make my choices accurately (if incompletely) reflect my personality, rather than simply choosing foods I'd like (though they are all foods I like to eat). What would this say about me?

1st course: Cornichons and assorted cheeses
2nd course: chicken roasted using Nigel Slater's method (as described in The Kitchen Diaries), mashed potatoes with lots of garlic and bacon, a little bit of garlic chicken gravy, asparagus and homemade bread.
3rd course: Sweet, fried plantains AND a small peanut butter brownie.

Beverage: Milk!

I realize that I do not make a very gourmet first impression.