Posts Tagged cookie

Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Oh, you fancy!)

As I was baking these cookies, I had Drake’s song, “Fancy, ” stuck in my head. The words kept running through my mind, over and over: “Oh, you fancy, huh?”

Why yes, Drake, I am fancy.

(Truth be told, I’m not all that fancy. But these cookies? They’re pretty darn fancy.)

I took a relatively simple recipe for Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and I fancied them up a bit. I am not going to post a full recipe here, rather, I’ll just share my edits and changes to this classic chocolate chunk cookie:

*I used a combination of Mast Brothers Crown Maple Chocolate and Woodblock Venezuelan Dark Chocolate. (The whole reason I decided to make these cookies is because I had odd ends and bits of a few different specialty chocolate bars, so I decided to chop them up and make the best cookies ever.)

*I used a coarse and flaky sea salt from a local Oregon salt producer, Jacobsen’s Salt Co.

*I used duck eggs instead of chicken eggs!

*I skipped the powdered sugar and upped the brown sugar, plus I added a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses.

*Lastly, I added in 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves into the batter.

And that, my friends, is how I made fancy cookies. I was really pleased with the end result — they were chewy and chocolaty with just a touch of salt. (Next time, I might add a bit more thyme as the flavor got a bit lost next to the dark chocolate and sea salt).

I encourage you to play with the recipe and come up with your own fancy alterations. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, it’s hard to go wrong. Stick with the basic sugar, flour, egg, and butter proportions — but the rest is up to you, my friends. Be fancy.

Chai Snickerdoodles

We made it through the holidays! High fives all around.

Granted, my house is in shambles and my pants feel like they are two sizes too small. But that’s what the holidays are all about, right? In all seriousness, I had a wonderful Christmas. I spent a lot of quality time with my family (and adorable nieces), I ate a lot good food, and played a lot of Just Dance 3. (In case you were wondering, I’m absolutely horrible at Just Dance 3.)

However, the holidays aren’t technically over yet. We still have to ring in the new year! I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions – namely, I don’t like making promises I can’t keep – but I do plan on making a few dietary changes on January 1st. No, I am not going on a diet. I’m just going back to the way I normally eat. I like eating fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I feel better when I eat healthy and exercise (call me crazy, but I actually like feeling good). So, I’m going to listen to my body and I’m going to cut back on sugar, carbs, alcohol, etc.

But, that starts on January 1st. Meaning: I’ve got a few more days to eat cookies. And so do you!

So make these cookies now and gobble them up before your New Year’s resolutions begin. ;)

P.S. I’m aware that these cookies may appear to be sprinkled with black pepper, but I can assure you that they are sprinkled with Chai tea leaves (and cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc). And I can assure you that they are really, really delicious.

CHAI SNICKERDOODLES
Adapted from The Novice Chef

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar**
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

**If you do not have cream of tartar, you can substitute a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice.

For the Chai sugar:
5 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons Masala chai tea leaves (Use loose leaf, or empty the contents of a couple of tea bags)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Method:
Using a food processor or mortar & pestle, grind the Chai tea until it is fine. Combine chai with the sugar and other spices in a small bowl. Set aside.

In another (medium) bowl, combine dry ingredients.

Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer), cream together butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add in vanilla (and lemon juice, if substituting for cream of tartar).

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix until combined. Place dough in refrigerator to chill for a half hour.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or a Silpat).

Once the dough has chilled, remove from fridge. Using your hands, form dough into large balls (about 1″). Roll each ball in the chai sugar mix, and place on a baking sheet (leave space, as the cookies will expand during baking). Bake for 12-14 minutes, until edges are just barely beginning to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to rest for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Hazelnut and Dried Cherry Biscotti with Orange and Cardamom

It feels good to sit down.

I’m taking a minute for myself. Elf is playing on the television, my (turquoise-themed) Christmas tree is twinkling in the background, and my cat is snuggled up next to me. It’s been a busy month, and I’ve not had many moments to myself recently. I blinked, and before I knew it my December schedule was filled with meetings, holiday parties, food swaps, catering gigs, meetings, baking, cooking, crafting, and so much more.

To be honest, I sort of love the hustle and bustle of it all. I’m the queen of overcommitment and I’m always busy, busy, busy. But, that gets old quickly. In fact, it’s downright exhausting. I have to remind myself to slow down, and to take things one day at a time. I desperately want to enjoy this holiday season, and the only obstacle standing in the way of a peaceful and restful holiday is me.

But, I’m working on it. Baby steps. Tonight, I snuggled with my cat and watched Elf and all felt right.

And the cherry hazelnut biscotti? They were part of my holiday stress-reducing plan. I needed something to bring to the PDX Winter Food Swap and I needed a treat to bring to a holiday party. So I made a double batch of biscotti and I killed two birds with one stone. The biscotti were an absolute hit at each event (i.e. they disappeared quickly), they were easy to make, and they crossed two things off my to-do list. Huzzah!

I’d like to say thank you (yet again) to my sister, Danielle, for baking with me. We baked the biscotti together while her baby and my bunny played together on the kitchen floor (and made a giant – but adorable – mess). Baking is so much better with company (if I do say so myself)…

DRIED CHERRY & HAZELNUT BISCOTTI (WITH ORANGE AND CARDAMOM)
Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Note: This recipe could easily be adapted to include various dried fruits and nuts (cranberries, blueberries, dates, pistachios, almonds, pecans, etc), I just used what I had on hand. And, of course, I decided to dip each biscotti in dark chocolate…because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Ingredients:
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup dried bing cherries, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
12 oz. (1 bag) dark chocolate chips (I used extra dark, 60% cacao from Ghiradelli)

Method:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat butter on high speedy, until fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add in the sugar, and continue beating until well combined. Reduce the speed to low, and add in the eggs one at a time. Mix until blended, and then mix in the vanilla.

In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until incorporated. Gently stir in the hazelnuts, cherries and orange zest until evenly distributed. The dough should be very soft.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and divide in half. With well-floured hands, transfer one-half onto one side of the lined baking sheet and shape into a log about 12″ long and 1.5 inches wide. Repeat with the remaining dough on the other side of the sheet, leaving at least 4 inches between the logs.

Bake the biscotti until the edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Gently (and carefully) transfer the biscotti “logs” to a flat surface. Using a serrated knife, cut off slices of biscotti (1/2 inch wide). Place biscotti pieces on the baking sheet (on their side) and bake for 10 minutes more, or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.

Optional: Once the cookies have cooled, melt the chocolate chips, using a double boiler. (You could always try the microwave to melt the chocolate, but you can easily overcook the chocolate and then it becomes gritty and gross. I prefer the double boiler method.) Dip each biscotti in the chocolate, coating 1/4 to 1/2 of the cookie (I just like to coat the tip of the biscotti, so I dip it 1/4 of the way in the chocolate). Carefully place each biscotti on a piece of parchment or wax paper, and allow to cool.

Store biscotti in an airtight container. Makes about 2 dozen biscotti.

A photo of my biscotti at the PDX Winter Handmade Food Swap

Recipe Swap: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

For thirteenth installment of the Burwell General Store Recipe Swap, we’re switching things up!

For the past year, we’ve been remaking recipes from a funny old cookbook (and hymnal!) called All Day Singin’ and Dinner on the Ground. I don’t personally own the book, but I feel a connection to it as I’ve been making (or re-making) recipes from it for a year now. I love how old timey the book is and how utterly simple the recipes are. For most of the recipes, the instructions are a few mere sentences.

As you may recall, last month was the year anniversary of the Recipe Swap. To celebrate, all the recipe swappers were asked to make our own versions of a Maple Syrup Cake. I went with a Butternut Squash Layer Cake with Maple Cream Cheese frosting (and yes, it tasted every bit as good as it sounds). The cake was the perfect way to celebrate the year anniversary of a group I’ve grown so fond of.

However, going forward, we’re going to be making recipes from a new book: The Second Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes From Famous Eating Places.

I’m not what you would call an inflexible person, but some might describe me as stubborn. When I heard that we were going to be using a new cookbook, I was dubious. I’d grown rather fond of our funny little cookbook! I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to All Day Singin and Dinner on the Ground. But, then I realized that introducing a new book to the group only further encourages creativity in the kitchen and will bring a whole new set of interesting recipes to recreate. I’m all for creativity in the kitchen, and so I set aside my hesitations and decided to embrace the new book.

It probably didn’t hurt that the first recipe that Christianna selected from the new book was a recipe for the classic Tollhouse Cookie. I mean, seriously, what’s not to like about the Tollhouse cookie? It is the epitome of classic recipes; it is the ultimate chocolate chip cookie.

I was slightly flustered by the idea of remaking such a classic, so I decided to give the Tollhouse cookie a slight twist. I didn’t want to do anything TOO crazy, as I’m a big fan of the original Tollhouse cookie. I wanted to make something that paid proper homage to the original recipe, and yet updated it at the same time. So, I made one giant whole wheat chocolate chip cookie in a cast iron skillet and sprinkled it with sea salt.

The cookie was rich, chewy, dense, and was the perfect marriage of sweet and salty. The whole wheat flour added density and flavor (and I’d like to pretend that it means this cookie is healthy). At the end of the day, I loved this recipe because it tasted like everything I want out of a chocolate chip cookie. The dark chocolate, whole wheat, and seat salt work so well together. This is the perfect (giant) cookie.

I didn’t attempt to improve on the original Tollhouse cookie as I believe that is an impossible feat. But, I took the spirit of that recipe and I made it my own. I baked it in a cast iron skillet. I sliced off a big old wedge of cookie and ate it warm with vanilla bean ice cream. And I was happy (!).

All that to say: happy recipe swap, y’all. I hope you found as much happiness in your Tollhouse recreations as I did. I certainly had a good time.

“Cast Iron Skillet Cookie”: Whole Wheat Chocolate Skillet Cookie
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus more for buttering the pan
1 cup dark brown (or muscovado) sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate, roughly chopped into small pieces (I used lightly salted dark chocolate from Lindt)
High quality sea salt, for finishing

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10 (or 11″) cast iron skillet, that is at least 2″ deep (this is important! if the skillet isn’t deep enough, it will overflow).

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

In another large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) add the chilled butter and the white and brown. Mix just until the butter and sugars are blended (low speed), about 2 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl along the way. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add most of the chocolate to the batter and mix until the chocolate is just incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the batter out into the skillet, pressing it into an even layer. Sprinkle any remaining chocolate across the top and sprinkle a bit of high quality sea salt over the top.

Bake the cookie for 35-45 minutes, or until until the dough is a deep golden brown along the edge, and the center has set. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing. Cut into wedges (or squares). Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Please see below for all the other fantastic contributions to this recipe swap!

Recipe Swap: Ice Cream Sandwiches!

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since my last recipe swap post! They say time flies when you’re having fun and I’ve certainly been having a lot of fun this summer.

For those of you who may not know, I’m part of an ever-growing group of foodies from all over the world that participate in a monthly recipe swap. Christianna from (Burwell General Store) is the creator of the swap and every month she emails us with a vintage recipe (from a darling old cookbook called All Day Singing and Dinner on the Ground) that she then asks us to reinterpret. We get a few weeks to dream and think up what we’ll make, and then everyone posts their creations on the first Sunday of every month.

This month, Christianna chose an old time recipe for Sorghum Molasses Cookies.

I was glad to see the original recipe was so classic and simple, but at the same time it offered a lot of possibilities for reinterpretation. I thought about making a ginger & molasses BBQ sauce. I thought about making a dark oatmeal and molasses bread. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all I wanted was to eat a really delicious molasses cookie. And then I realized I wanted to eat two delicious molasses cookies with ice cream stuffed in the middle.

Yep, that’s right. I made ice cream sandwiches. It’s August and I was asked to reinterpret a cookie recipe so I went with what my heart told me. In my humble opinion, there is no better summer dessert than the ice cream sandwich.

I will make a quick confession before I get to the recipe. I used store bought ice cream (gasp!). I don’t currently own an ice cream maker, so making homemade ice cream isn’t really a possibility. So, I bought ice cream from the store and dressed it up a bit. This past week, I inherited a bunch of amazing produce from my friends at Working Hands Farm, which included quite a few pints of blueberries. These blueberries were some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and it seemed like a no-brainer to include them in my recipe swap. So thank you, Working Hands Farm, for growing really delicious things and inspiring me to make particularly delicious ice cream sandwiches.

Happy August to all of you, and please do check out what the other lovely swappers have created this month!

Ice Cream Sandwiches: Ginger Molasses Cookies with Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream

Ginger Molasses Cookies
(Idea & recipe from Minimally Invasive, who adapted it from The Pioneer Woman)

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose white flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup candied ginger, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Coarse grain sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw) for rolling the dough in

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix sugar, butter, molasses, vanilla, and egg together until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. All dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix together until a dough forms.

Roll cookie dough into walnut-sized balls (the dough should be very moist & sticky). Roll each ball in sugar to coat.

Place balls on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.

Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool. Before you assemble your ice cream sandwiches, you’ll want to chill the cookies a bit. Put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before assembling to ensure that they are chilled.

Blueberry Compote (for the Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream)
1 cup blueberries, washed
1/2 cup sugar
The zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or more, if you love ginger as I do)

Method:
Cook all ingredients together over medium heat, until blueberries begin to break down and form a sauce. Using a potato masher (or other such tool), mash blueberry mixture. Continue to heat, allowing the sauce to bubble and thicken until it reaches your desired consistency (15-20 minutes). Set aside and allow to cool before using. Can be refrigerated for at least a week (and tastes great on toast, pancakes, ice cream, etc, etc, etc).

Ice cream sandwiches:
To assemble the ice cream sandwiches, be sure to let your ice cream thaw on the counter for a bit. Once the ice cream is soft enough to stir, stir in blueberry compote until a swirl look is achieved. For a 1/4 gallon of ice cream, I used about 4 tablespoons of compote. Remove the chilled cookies from the freezer, place a heaping dollop of blueberry swirl ice cream on top, and place another cookie on top of the ice cream. Eat and be happy. Additionally, you can wrap each ice cream sandwich tightly in aluminum foil and place in the freezer for later eating.

Recipe Swap: Strawberry Champagne Jam and Thumbprints

It’s recipe swap time again!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, this recipe swap is the brain child of Christianna at Burwell General Store. Every month, she selects one recipe from a vintage cookbook and sends it out to a group of food bloggers from all over the world. We’re each asked to reinterpret the recipe however we see fit, and then we all post our recreations on the same day.

For this swap, CM picked the old time recipe of Jelly Cake.

As I’ve said before a million (billion) times, I’m not a big sweets person. But, for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a savory application for Jelly Cake. My thoughts drifted to summer berries, jams, preserves, and syrups. CM specifically told us she picked this recipe in hopes that we’d be inspired by summer preserves, and she was spot on. I was THRILLED to have an excuse to make jam!

So when I saw that strawberries were still very much in season here in Oregon, I promptly bought a flat of strawberries from my farmer’s market and invited myself over to my mom’s house for a day of canning. I grew up making jam with my Grandma, and I must admit that my Grandma’s strawberry freezer jam is one of the best things I have ever, ever tasted.

But, for whatever reason, this time I didn’t set out to make my Grandmother’s jam. I think I was too afraid of messing up her recipe. I was scared it wouldn’t taste like the jam I remember so fondly from my childhood! So, then, I decided put my own spin on my childhood favorite: I made Strawberry Champagne Jam with Thyme.

I wasn’t sure how the alcohol would work with the jam, but I decided to give it a shot. I’d seen a few recipes online (so I knew it was possible), and it just sounded like such a wonderful combination. I worried and fretted as I made the jam, hoping that the champagne wouldn’t keep the jam from setting up properly. I stared at the jars of jam as they cooled, willing them to set up properly. When I opened up a jar the next day, I was pleased to see the jam had set up nicely. I was even more pleased to discover that the jam tasted fantastic. However, I was totally and completely taken aback by the fact that his jam somehow tasted exactly like my Grandma’s strawberry jam. Let it be known that my Grandma does not put champagne or thyme in her jam. I have no idea how my jam ended up tasting so much like hers! There isn’t a lot of thyme or champagne in the jam, so I think these flavors paled in comparison to the natural fruity flavors of the strawberries. Try as I might to make my own version, I still ended up with a jam that was a lot like my Grandmas. I couldn’t be happier!

So, then, what do you do when you have 11 jars of delicious strawberry jam? First, you spread some on a piece of toast and happily devour it. Then, you make another piece of toast and devour that piece as well. Then, you give away a couple of jars to your friends and family.

Then…you make jam thumbprints!

I love thumbprint cookies, and this seemed like the perfect way to feature the jam. In addition, this cookie is such a classic old recipe, and it really seemed to fit well within the realm of jelly cake. The cookies were bright, fun, flavorful, and captured so many of my favorite flavors of summer.

As always, I had a great time participating in the recipe swap. I am thankful to Christianna for giving me the excuse to make my first jam of the summer (there will be many more to come, I hope!). Make sure you stop by the Recipe Swap page at Burwell General store, and be sure to visit all the other fantastic blogs to see what they came up with for the swap!

Strawberry Champagne Jam with Thyme
(Adapted from Recipe Circus)

(Note: The champagne and thyme flavors are very subtle in this jam. Feel free to experiment with the measurements to reach your desired flavor profile. Also, this jam is a bit runny. If you want a firm jam that sets up completely, I would suggest omitting the champagne.)

Ingredients
4-1/2 to 5 cups strawberries
1 pkg. (3 Tablespoons) pectin
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup dry champagne
6 cups sugar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

Method
In a large pot or stock pot, combine berries, pectin, lemon juice, thyme and champagne. Cook on medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. (Note: the mixture will bubble and foam and will triple in size. If you’re afraid it will boil over, feel free to scrape off some of the foam).

Once boiling, add sugar and stir constantly until mixture comes to a rolling boil again. Boil, while stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately ladle into clean, hot jars.

Invert jars after applying lids and let set for a few hours before processing for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. (The original instructions call for this step, but I was in a hurry so I skipped the inverting part and went straight to the hot water bath).

Strawberry Jam Thumbprints
(Makes 2 dozen cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground (toasted) almonds
8 ounces butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
The zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
pinch of salt
2/3 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy (5 mins). In a food processor or blender, grind almonds, thyme and lemon zest together until the almonds mixture is finely ground.

In a separate small bowl, Whisk together flour, ground almonds, and salt. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Refrigerate dough for 20-30 minutes before shaping.

Using a teaspoon (or your hands), form small balls and place on cookies sheets, evenly spaced apart. Using your thumb, make indentations in the cookies, creating a well for the jam. Fill each cookie well with strawberry jam.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely browned around the edges. Allow to cool on a wire rack. The cookies should be crumbly, buttery (and fabulous)!

Online Bakesale for Japan.

(Image courtesy of Bakesaleforjapan.com)

There are no words that can begin to describe the devastation that Japan has experienced in recent weeks. My heart is heavy. A country now lies in ruin, and I can’t help but feel so small and powerless.

Yet, in the midst of this tragedy, there have been moments of beauty. People are coming together from all over the world to help those affected by this disaster. And while my contribution may be small, I take comfort in knowing that I am part of something much larger. I am but one small part of a worldwide effort. We want to help Japan, in any way that we are able.

So when Sabrina @ The Tomato Tart asked me to participate in an online bakesale to help Japan, I was floored! Here was a way that I could help Japan, while putting my love of baking to good use. It felt like the perfect way for me to get involved.

Now, here’s how you can get involved: On March 30th, go to TheTomatoTart.com and buy some baked goods! Really, its as simple as that. Let me explain further…

Online Bakesale for Japan: “Let’s Raise Some Dough!”

The online bakesale will take place on March 30th on The Tomato Tart site. There will be baked goods from 60+ bakers from all over the world. Bid on any item(s) you like, and the goods will be shipped to the winning bidders by April 11th.

All proceeds will go to the Second Harvest Japan food bank, a fantastic organization who are providing food and rations for countless people in Japan. Our goal is to raise $2,500.

Here is a preview of my bakesale items:

For the sale, I will be making/selling one dozen of my Salted Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies. This is a rich and buttery shortbread cookie with hints of lavender, wildflower honey, and sea salt. The cookies are simple and elegant, and are completely unique in their flavor. Made with organic butter from Portland, OR, culinary lavender (grown by my mother-in-law!), and organic raw wildflower honey from Sandy, OR. (Note: the shape, size, and packaging of the cookies may vary due to shipping considerations. I will do all that is within my power to ensure the delivery of whole and beautiful cookies!)

I chose to make a salted honey lavender shortbread for the bakesale for many reasons. For one, I’ve made these cookies before and absolutely loved them. They are subtle, simple, and delicious. In addition, I think these cookies are quite unique and should stand out amongst the crowd (and attract bids!). Finally, I’m making these as I feel the shortbread should be relatively easy to package up and ship across the country, while remaining in one piece!

If you’d like to make your own lavender shortbread cookies, click here to go to the recipe. (But why would you want to make them yourself when you can have me make them and have the proceeds go to Japan?!)

So, again, be sure to stop by The Tomato Tart on March 30th as there will be a gorgeous selection of baked goods to purchase! This is a fantastic cause, and I do hope you’re able to participate. Thank you!

**Note: there is an actual physical bakesale happening in Portland on April 2. Baked goods from a host of amazing people (including my fave, Kim Boyce) will be for sale at Barista (Pearl district) and Ristretto roasters (on Williams). Sadly, I’ll be out of town on April 2, so I can’t participate. But, all of you Portlanders should go and support!