Soft Ginger Cookies

 

I’ve gone back and forth over the past few months about whether or not I should share with you that I was in treatment for triple negative breast cancer.  I was diagnosed last September, and it was a bit of a shock.  I weaned my son for it, and we have to put having another baby on hold because of it, and that has been hard.  Cancer, of course, sucks no matter who you are, where you have it, or how old you are.  It is a game changer.  Something that happens to nice people and to mean people and to everyone in between.  You can easily go down the rabbit hole of asking why.  Was it that trip to X or Y?  Too much of Z?  Not enough exercise?  Holding on to things instead of letting go? 
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Chocolate Coconut Pecan Cookies

I’ve been meaning to post these for a few weeks now, but other activities have gotten in the way of me sitting down at the computer.  I made these cookies both as a thank you gift and for Scott to share with a group of people that he was training.  I’m glad that everyone liked them because I was a bit late picking up Scott from the metro the night that I made them.  He was staying in town for dinner and that meant that I could read a book while I ate my dinner.  I don’t remember exactly what I was reading since that was a few books ago, but let’s just say it was Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival since I know that I read that book around the time I made these cookies and it is the kind of book that could get between me and baking since it is so captivating.  Regardless, I started baking later than I intended and still had two trays of cookies to put in the oven when Scott called to say he was going into the station to catch the train.  When it came to leave to get him, I had a difficult decision to make: pick him up on time and have two trays of half-baked cookies, or finish baking the cookies and pick him up late.  This time, the cookies won.  The good news is that I ended up being only 10 minutes late, and Scott was very understanding, especially once he tried one of the cookies.  If you like dense chocolaty cookies, then these are for you!

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Anise Thumbprints with Chocolate Ganache

Hi there!  I know it has been a while since I've posted.  We have been alternating between crazy busy and just busy this summer, and I've fallen out of the habit of writing up what little baking I've accomplished.  I do have a little backup of recipes to share with you and this recipe is one of my favorites.  Just looking at the photos for these made me wish I had tucked a few away in the freezer.  I made these for a surprise birthday party for my parents back in June, and everyone enjoy them.  I’m sure you will too!
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Slightly Salted Soft Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oops!  Where did May go?  I’ve only baked about three to four times since the middle of April and most of it was recipes that I’ve either shared before or didn’t have time to photograph or write up.  These cookies, however, are the exception.  I was incredibly pleased with the way they came out, especially since I made the recipe up in my head while I was lounging in the corner nook of the couch in the basement and pretending to watch tv.  I think they will be my standard soft chocolate cookie from here on out, much in the way the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Rye Flour!) recipe has become my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  What I love about these cookies is that they taste exactly the way their name sounds.  There is a hint of saltiness, an abundance of chocolate, and the texture is perfect.  I made them to bring to a meeting at work, and everyone who tried them liked them.  If you’ve been daydreaming about soft chocolate cookies, look no further than this recipe!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

There is a little bunny that lives between our house and our neighbor’s house.  Well, technically, it lives in the neighbor’s woodpile, but it seems to spend most of its free time in our yard.  Luckily it is only eating weeds and plants I’m not really particular about.  Whenever somethings scares it, it dives into the woodpile through the chain-link fence.  I don’t know what it is going to do once it is too big to fit through the fence.  Maybe it will wait at one of the gates looking up at us until we come out and open both of them so it can pass through and get to the woodpile?  Regardless, it is quite cute.  Sometimes it will just sit contentedly next to the tree and the hole into the woodpile; other times it hops all over the place.  We’re quite fascinated by it, and when we haven’t seen it for a while, I start to worry that the neighborhood fox has gotten it, but then it magically appears again.  Ahh, the wildlife dramas of suburbia.

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Nutmeg Tea Cakes

 

I’m so glad that it is finally warming up here!  I’ve already made iced tea twice and spent a large portion of this weekend outside in the yard taking care of things that should have been done ages ago.  Like finally cutting back the dead mums, (carefully) yanking out the dead iris leaves from last year, and planting a few (albeit small) bushes.  Would you believe that this year’s irises are already a few inches tall?  I should have cleaned those dead leaves up earlier.  I’m really excited about those bushes though.  Now our house/yard doesn’t look as naked.  I also found a little volunteer cilantro plant in the garden so my vegetable garden is already off to a good start!
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Strawberry Sandwich Cookies

How has it been two weeks since I last posted?  I’m slacking off here and I know it.  The past few weeks haven’t resulted in much baking, although I do have a small handful of nice recipes to share with you once I finally get around to writing them up!  These cookies are delicious.  I made them to bring to my cousin’s high school musical, All Shook Up.  Maybe you remember me mentioning seeing him last year when I posted the Chocolate Orange Chunk Cookie recipe?  Anyway, this year he was absolutely phenomenal!  I wish you could have come too because I think you really would have enjoyed it.  I was singing the songs to myself for at least a week afterwards.  I won’t say these cookies are better than the play, because they’re not.  They won’t make you laugh so hard you cry or give you an earworm, but they will make you glad that strawberry season is right around the corner.  Happy baking!
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The Very Best Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

And we’re back!  Sorry for that little break there.  I’ve been doing a hodge-podge of things over the past few weeks like spending an awesome weekend on the outskirts of Shenandoah National Park in an old farmhouse, eating Peking duck, seeing friends from college, and curling up on the couch with a book that was totally not worth it.  In between, I had a few mediocre baking moments.  The baking ideas were good, but the recipes just need some more work before they are worth sharing.  The recipe for these cookies, however, did not require any tweaking.  They are vanilla cookies at their finest. 
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Buttery Orange Shortbread

All week I’ve been thinking about what I was going to share with you in this post.  Of course, now that I am sitting here, I am drawing a complete blank.  We did a bunch of different things in the past 7 days.  We saw the boys (not once, but twice!), took a quick midweek trip to Pennsylvania to see my Dad get an award (congrats Dad!), went bowling (next time the girls will win every game!), and even went for a hike (yes!).  In between all of that, we squeezed in a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica.   Now, before you think I am crazy for falling into the sci-fi drama trap, I should tell you that we are only watching it because of a skit in Season 2 of Portlandia. 
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Raspberry Almond Thumbprints

I will be quick about this because there are still things I’d like to get done this evening before the next episode of Downton Abbey starts.  Yes, I am planning my evening around a TV show.  I’d bet a batch of these cookies that I’m not alone in my evening plans.  Of the cookies that I made for the holidays, these were my favorite.  I’m a real sucker for almond and raspberry combinations, and these cookies definitely hit the mark.  As an added bonus, they are light, fluffy, and beautiful.  You won’t be disappointed if you make them!  So, now that you have the details on these awesome cookies, I am going to return to my exciting task of cleaning out my closet.  Enjoy (the cookies and Downton Abbey)!
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Vanilla Pretzels

Happy 2013!  I hope this year started off well for you!  For the past few years I’ve made something pretzel-related to celebrate the New Year.  According to one of my grandmothers, pretzels bring good luck.  Who wouldn’t want more luck, especially if it is channeled through something tasty? 
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Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Because it’s never too late to put out cookies and milk for Santa...

Merry Christmas!
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Apricot-Ginger Slice and Bakes

How did this happen?  I let December 1st pass without mentioning the fact that it was the 2nd year anniversary of Anush Lini.  Luckily, it is never too late to celebrate, and today has a most auspicious date of 12-12-12.  First things first.  Thank you!  I love sharing with you, and I’m so honored that you spend a few minutes of your day reading my baking ramblings!  The butter count for the past year was a rotund 45.75 sticks.  Ok, ok, I know I shouldn’t be using that many significant figures, but there it is.  I’m going there.  That is just shy of 23 cups.  Good thing all of that butter wasn’t eaten all at once!
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Vanilla Bean Slice and Bakes

Hello!  I hope your week is off to an excellent start!  This weekend I managed to use 11 sticks of butter in just under 5 hours.  It might just be a personal record.  I plan on breaking it this Friday when I continue with my holiday baking on my day off.  This past weekend I didn’t just bake; we also went to a Grace Potter and the Nocturnals concert, saw the boys, and managed to squeeze in a nap.  The nap was very much needed.  When a 4 year old tells you that you need to get more rest because you misidentified a roller truck, napping becomes a priority.  Apparently my concert recovery is not the same as it used to be.  The concert was awesome, even if the woman standing next to me sang every single song off-key at the top of her lungs.  To her credit, it was clear that she was super excited to see the show and the fact that she knew all of the words and could sing and tweet at the same time was pretty impressive.
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Fudge Drops

Hi there!  It has been a busy few weeks.  You can rest assured that I have been baking and tinkering around in the kitchen even if I haven't been posting.  I'm sure my lack of posts was at the forefront of your thoughts.  Truth be told, I'm only posting this now because I wrote part of it on my cell phone on my way home from work.  I hadn't even thought about doing that until Nancy reminded me today that I have finally joined the modern age of smart phones and have a handy little computer at my finger tips.  Thanks, Nancy!  How convenient!  I love multitasking! 
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Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because sometimes you just need to make (and eat!) a classic....
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Cranberry Orange Pistachio Thumbprints

Whoot!  I am super excited to share these cookies with you!  They are amazing!  If you had walked past the front of our house this afternoon and looked in the window when I tried one, you might have thought I was a touch crazy.  That's because with my first bite, I had to let out my inner dance.  [Full disclosure:  I was listening to the Mariachi El Bronx (II) album, and how can you not dance when it is on?]  Even though I took my share of modern and ballroom dance classes in college (admittedly, this was a while ago now...), my inner dance still scares the crap out of Scott.  I'd like to believe that is because my dancing is so amazing that it intimidates him, but honestly, it's because I look like a crazy person.  Generally, I try to keep my inner dance harnessed until the curtains are drawn to minimize his embarrassment (and mine), but with all rules, there are exceptions, like this afternoon when I ate my first cranberry orange pistachio thumbprint.

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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Rye Flour!)

I'm going to be straight with you here:  Scott and I recently "cleansed" for 19 days.  We were supposed to do it for 21 days, but by the time we reached 19 days, we decided to call it quits.  On day 19, reason set in, and we had a little conversation about whether or not those last two days mattered and decided that they didn't.  There are only so many days a person can take of vegetables and shakes.  Do you know how many hours you have to spend eating just to get enough calories if vegetables are pretty much all that you are eating?  We barely had time for anything else!  Despite its difficulties, the cleanse was an enjoyable experience.  I felt amazing while we were on it, slept better than I have slept in years, and got to eat some amazing veggie dishes that Scott created for us.  It's just that I was ready to eat more than vegetables and be back in my apron, playing with flour. 
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Candied Pecan Sandies

Because you can never have enough sandies in your lunchbox!  These are a variation of the lemon coconut sandies I shared a few weeks ago.  You're going to love them!
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Triple Citrus Cookies

Hi there!  I've been meaning to write, but I keep getting sucked into other things, like ripping out the vines that keep threatening to consume our fence and trying to find curtains that don't look like they belong in Arsenic and Old Lace.  Yes, things have been very, very exciting lately! 
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