When Annalena was growning up, and working the many odd jobs that she did work, to pay for school, her books, her clothes, etc, she observed, and learned, a very interesting phenomenon, or cultural "trope" as some would say, that she hasn't seen out of her old neighborhood. Essentially, we would never call anyone by their real name. So, for example, there was a man who ran a lunch truck (the "roach coach" if you will). His name was Joe Natale, but we called him "Joey Lunch." Or, Tony, who ran the butcher, was "Tony meat." Annalena's own boss, who ran a gas station, and who had a perfectly respectable name, was nonetheless "Carmine Swag," because he sold merchandise which "fell off the truck" at the gas station. That kind of merchandise is, of course, "Swag." Annalena had her own name "Baby Teek." That's because her stepfather the Nazi sold a product that had the word "Tech" in it, which everyone pronounced "teek." The Nazi was "Mr Teek," and Annalena was "Baby Teek."
I do hope you are enjoying this story, because it is painful to recall, in many ways. In any event "neecee" is used to refer... to Annalena's niece, rather than give her full name.
Yes, Annalena does have family. What is left is not large, but it is there. She has an aunt, a sister, several cousins, two nieces and a nephew. We do not see each other at all, to be honest. She knows of the cousins through facebook. And one day, someone left a comment on this blog, with a story that sounded very, VERY familar. TOO familiar. A little digging and, yes... it was Annalena's niece, with food stories and interests and, as it turns out a food blog of her own. There's another foodie in the clan!
It would be interesting to sit down and try to figure out how the foodie gene ran in the family. Annalena's training in genetics would probably allow her to map this, and trail the gene, and perhaps even do some close analysis on where it will turn up next. In any event, it is heartening to know it is there. And if any of you want to connect to Neecee's blog, which is of interest to many of you - I KNOW it is- then ask, and I will have her contact you.
So, why do you have all of this? Well, neecee posted a comment, asking for a cookie recipe. It is one of my favorites. One I have been making, every year, since 1996. I always say I am going to make it again during the year, but I never do. Maybe other things take over. It is an easy cookie, one you can make lots of very quickly, and it is SO good. In fact, it may be Annalena's favorite cookie. So here we go.
The cookie is based on a very simple butter cookie base, to which many things can be added. In the article, from the late, lamented "Gourmet," about six variants were given of the basic cookie dough recipe. This was one of them.
You are going to need some dried cranberries. A cup of them. (Did you know that cranberries were one of the few fruits indigenous to North America, when the settlers arrived? They were called crainberries, because crains ate them. And that is a hint to you folks who forage: if you are unsure if something is good to eat, watch. The animals have learned what is good and what is not. And you must be careful and watch, with things that are bright, like cranberries. As a general rule a BRIGHT color, especially red, in wild food, is a warning that the thing is toxic).
OK, enough science. You need a cup of the dried cranberries, and the zest of one large orange. Also, 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats. None of this instant oatmeal stuff here.
That doesn't sound very fancy , does it? And for the cookie dough, you need 2 sticks of unsalted butter, soft , 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, 2 large egg yolks, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a heaping 2 cups of flour.
Now that you have all the ingredients, let's talk about some options. You can soak the dried cranberries to make them softer, if you like. You will drain them, but they will retain some moisture, and this will result in a softer, paler cookie. Similarly, further on in this recipe, I will describe the option of some orange juice. Again, you can leave this out and get a crisper, browner cookie. If you add the orange juice, you get a stronger orange flavor, and a paler, softer cookie.
Start by combineing the sugar, butter, and salt in a mixer, and whip em until they're soft and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Now, lower the speed of your mixer, and add the flour.
When that's done, add the chopped cup of cranberries, whether you soaked them or not, the oats, the orange peel and combine them. IF you like, squeeze the juice of the orange into the dough, but you don't have to. Generally, I do not soften the cranberries, but I do add the orange juice.
You now have your cookie dough, except for one thing. Have some sugar available at your side. Preheat your oven to 350 and then form small balls of dough from the mass before you. 1/2-3/4 inch is about right. Lay them out on the baking sheet. You don't have to worry about spacing, because they will not spread too far. When you have a tray of unbaked balls, roll each one in the sugar, and then, take a glass, butter the bottom of it, dip it into sugar, and gently press the cookies just a bit. You're looking for something that is a little bigger than a quarter. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes, again, going for a longer time, for browner, crispier cookies, and less for softer ones.
If you keep these cookies to the small size, you will get nearly 100 of them. IF they all get out of the kitchen, which is always a problem for Annalena.
The only thing you probably have to go and buy to make these, is the dried cranberries. And if you feel lazy, use raisins, or dried cherries, or whatever fruit you have around. If you went for things like blueberries, I would suggest changing the orange to lemon, or something like that. Raisins? Hmmmm. Maybe leave out the juice and put in a spoon of rum. (Another relative , should she see this, is probably saying "HELL YEAH!" to the rum idea). Frankly, if you were so inclined, you could put Grand Marnier instead of the orange juice, but then to be healthy, eat the orange.
I do hope you will make these cookies. They are really, REALLY good. And I'm glad that they're not everyone's favorite. MORE FOR ME!!!!
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