Fifty Shades of Grey ties, huh?
I debated whether or not to do this post, mostly because it feels like a Pinterest fail waiting to happen. But what the hell, if you're even moderately crafty, you can make these grey tie cookies without too much trouble. They certainly won't look like they came from a bakery where someone with real artistic skill is decorating your cookies, but that sort of fits the bill with these 50 Shades of Grey tie cookies, doesn't it? Everyone slags the book and yet millions have read it. This Friday theaters will be at capacity with people who want to see Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele brought to life.
I blew through New York City a couple of weeks ago, rolling in on a Red Eye Tuesday morning, and jetting out on Wednesday evening. Road warriors, I do not envy you. The red eye is a killer. Even with my short legs and an open row --3 seats worth of luxurious space -- the shuteye I got was somewhere just north of dozing. I checked into the hotel, flipped on the TV, and after a shower, I looked down onto the street below at what I can only describe as an oasis. Green letters emblazoned at street-level. In my best Homer Simpson voice, I said (it even may have been out loud), “Mmmmm. Coffeeeeee.”
Toying with chocolate chip cookie recipes has started something dangerous. It’s not the just having cookies around…it’s the dough. The current wisdom calls for aging the dough in the fridge for 24-36 hours. But unless you hide it in the back of the fridge, it’s impossible not to nibble. And this is only the first go – a chocolate chip cookie with red miso buttercream.
"Slightly Gingery. The Ed Sheeran of cookies,” says the sign at Trader Joe’s. Can you guess? Speculoos, aka biscoff cookies. Now, I’m late to the biscoff cookie crazy. I’ve never really flown Delta, which is where a lot of people first encountered a 2-pack of those cinnamony, gingersnappy cookies. Long known in Belgium, those little cookies have been one of the positives airline passengers can point to about flying in the last few years.
Gingersnaps have been a favorite of mine since childhood, thanks to little purple bags of Pogen's cookies. But I never paid much mind to speculoos. I mean, I’ve had a packet of them in my cupboard for the last several months, just languishing. So when I bumped into this blueberry mascarpone tart with a speculoos cookie crust, a light flicked on in my head. Speculoos cookies would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches.
While I’ve been waiting for stone fruit to really come in full force, I’ve been baking cookies. It started with some gluten-free peanut butter oat cookies from this month’s mailer from PCC, our local market. Then, the Spice Cookies from Jerusalem. Now, Cowboy Cookies…oats, pecans, chocolate chips, a little coconut. This time, with olive oil instead of butter. There are worse ways to pass the time.
