Cookies : The Cookie Commitment

When my friend Helen stopped drinking and joined AA, a number of marvelous things happened. Her eyes cleared. Her words unslurred. She started to bake.

She had taken on the responsibility of bringing refreshments to her Thursday night meeting; in the idiom of Alcoholics Anonymous, this was called “taking the food commitment.” Other members had other commitments: set up, coffee, clean up. Helen was to bring snacks for 30 to 50 people. Her budget was $15. The person who had the commitment prior to Helen put out sliced apples and plates of generic-brand supermarket cookies.

Helen, always a snob about what she put into her mouth--she’d bottomed out on Armagnac and single-malt Scotches--sliced up the apples but could not bring herself to serve store-bought cookies, whatever the budget. “People don’t give up drinking to eat dry supermarket cookies,” she said. “At least not if I have anything to do with it.”

Thursday afternoon around 5, I soon learned, was the time to visit Helen. She’d make a pot of first-flush Darjeeling or estate-grown Costa Rican coffee and put me to work chopping nuts, spooning dough onto sheets, taste-testing. She always made two types of cookies and brownies cockaigne from “The Joy of Cooking.”

“I sure hope they appreciate you,” I said.

“Oh, yes,” she assured me. When the chapter secretary read the names of those who helped put the meeting together, all the people with commitments, everyone but Helen received applause. She received whistles and cheers.

*

Week after week, Helen baked merrily--and held a pre-meeting coffee-klatch for friends and neighbors who stopped in to sample the week’s baked goods. There were lemon bars, cashew cookies, oatmeal-raisin, the ubiquitous Toll House chocolate chip: The sweeter the better with this crowd, Helen found. One week, she made a batch of her favorite cookies--nutty, rusk-hard biscotti--and they were not a hit. Not sweet enough. Also, since some in her group objected to nuts, she was now making two kinds of brownies--those with nuts, those without.

One Thursday, Helen was subdued, pensive.

“My AA sponsor says commitments are good for revealing our character defects,” she said. She was hammering away at a large bar of bittersweet chocolate, making her own out-sized, extra-chunky chocolate chips. “Do you think there’s anything wrong with what I’m doing here?”

“I’m not the right person to ask,” I said. “I love your cookies.”

“Everybody loves my cookies,” she said, without conviction.

She perfected shortbread cookies, sugar cookies, Pfeffernusse . Her gingersnaps were chewy, crinkly, rolled in sugar before baking. She searched out new recipes. She sent home a whole batch of lemony, seriously gritty polenta cookies she’d decided were too weird for her group.

She stopped enjoying baking long before she actually stopped baking. She grew uninspired, harried, and finally resentful even as she churned out macadamia nut sandies and dense, soft persimmon cookies with cream-cheese icing. “I started it,” she said. “Now, they’ve come to expect it from me.”

“So?” I asked.

She slammed the oven door.

*

She began to cut corners: brownie mix and bakery cookies. One Thursday, the oven was cool. Helen led me to her back porch and pointed: She’d bought a case of chocolate chip cookies at the Price Club, and not very good chocolate chip cookies, either. Inexpensive, however.

“These should last me through the end of my commitment,” she said. “One day at a time, I intend never to bake cookies again.”

“Your fans will be very disappointed,” I said. “Speaking for myself.”

“Let them love me for my great soul,” she said. “And not for my cookies. And by the way, if you want a cup of coffee, feel free to make one for yourself.”

So far as I can tell, except for a few slips around the holidays when Helen whips up gift batches of biscotti, she stays away from her cookie sheets. She hasn’t had a drink in more than five years, either.

I, in fact, recently made a batch of cookies for Helen. She and her husband were driving to the Grand Canyon, and I sent along a tin of Grandma’s “traveling cookies.” This recipe comes from a friend of mine in Springville, Calif., named Coral Switzer, whose grandmother actually made them whenever the family took a road trip. Like round, soft biscotti, Grandma’s Traveling Cookies are just Helen’s speed: not too sweet, not too buttery, and utterly addictive.

GRANDMA’S TRAVELING COOKIES

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter or shortening

3 eggs

3/4 cups milk

Flour

3 slightly rounded teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 rounded teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 rounded teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 rounded teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 rounded teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans

1 cup raisins

Cream sugar and butter in bowl. Add eggs. Whip until light, then add milk and beat until smooth. In separate bowl, combine 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, then add to wet mixture. Add nuts and raisins. Keep adding flour to make dough stiff enough to handle. Roll out about 1/2 inch thick and cut with floured biscuit or cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees on greased baking sheet until light-brown, about 18 minutes. Makes 3 dozen big cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

214 calories; 162 mg sodium; 32 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.28 gram fiber.

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The following cookies aren’t from Helen’s collections, but if you’re similarly cookie-obsessed, or even if you’re just searching for an alternative to your run-of-the-mill Christmas cookie, these are good choices.

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Amigdalota are common cookies in Greece--but there are several varieties. Some don’t even require baking. But they all use almonds. This version comes from Evriklia Kapantzos, who learned to make the cookies from her son’s godmother. She can remember taking the dough to her village baker along with a jar of rose water so she could brush them with the scented water as soon as they came out of the communal oven. The cookies taste best when they are allowed to stand overnight to mellow.

--DONNA DEANE

ALMOND COOKIES (Amigdalota)

1 pound blanched almonds (about 4 cups), finely ground

3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fine semolina flour

1 egg yolk, beaten

3/4 cup rose water or orange blossom water

Combine ground almonds, 2 cups powdered sugar, semolina, egg yolk and 1/4 cup of rose water. Mix to form doughy consistency. Shape into round balls.

Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees about 15 minutes. While cookies are still hot, brush tops with remaining rose water. Remove from baking sheet while still warm, to prevent sticking.

Roll each cookie in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar to coat. Place on plate and sprinkle with any remaining powdered sugar. Let cool and store at room temperature. Makes 12 cookies.

Note: Semolina flour may be purchased at health food stores and upscale markets.

Each serving contains about:

347 calories; 5 mg sodium; 23 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.87 gram fiber.

*

When visitors come to a Greek house, it is customary to serve a piece of chocolate candy, preserves and a liqueur. Instead of chocolates, Evriklia Kapantzos’ mother would make Karidota during the holidays as a special treat because they were homemade and tastier.

--DONNA DEANE

WALNUT BALLS (Karidota)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup Metaxa brandy

1 pound walnuts (about 4 1/2 cups), finely ground

1 egg yolk

1 cup ground zwieback toast

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pound chocolate, grated

Mix together butter, sugar, brandy, walnuts, egg yolk, toast, cloves and cinnamon. Form into walnut-sized balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Roll balls in grated chocolate to coat. Chill until serving time. Makes 25 to 30.

Each cookie contains about:

246 calories; 59 mg sodium; 24 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.85 gram fiber.

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This light, refreshing cookie comes from “Colette’s Christmas,” by Colette Peters.

MINT MERINGUES

2 egg whites, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Green food coloring

Colored sprinkles

Beat egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at time while beating. Continue beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in peppermint extract and 2 to 3 drops of food coloring until mixture is pale green.

Place meringue in grease-free pastry bag with No. 19 tip attached and pipe trees on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, using widening zigzag motion. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Bake at 275 degrees about 20 minutes or until dry but not brown. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

31 calories; 6 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.

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Sweden’s favorite Christmas cookies are pepparkakor, crisp spice cookies cut in traditional Yule shapes such as stars and reindeer. Although most are eagerly consumed, they also make appealing decorations for the Christmas tree, especially when piped with icing.

A dozen versions appear in “Swedish Recipes Old and New,” published by the American Daughters of Sweden in Chicago in 1955. All contain molasses or dark corn syrup and ginger, but other flavorings vary. Cloves appear frequently, and one recipe adds cardamom. Quite a few call for orange zest or juice, and this one deepens the color with coffee. Pepparkakor taste best if allowed to mellow for a day or so. Stored in an airtight container, they will keep well through the holidays.

--BARBARA HANSEN

MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES (Pepparkakor)

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup dark molasses

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup hot coffee

3 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whole almonds, optional

Cream shortening. Add sugar and continue to cream until well blended. Beat in egg. Add molasses. Dissolve baking soda in coffee and add to mixture. Sift together flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt and fold into shortening mixture. Mix well. Chill several hours or overnight.

Work with small portion of dough at time and keep remainder refrigerated. Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Top each with whole almond. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Makes about 7 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Each cookie contains about:

40 calories; 9 mg sodium; 2 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.01 gram fiber.

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This Lebanese specialty looks like the Greek karidota, but instead of being candy-like it’s a sort of nut-filled butter cookie about two inches thick. The traditional method is to shape it in a carved wooden mold that looks like a big, clunky spoon, but lacking the mold, you can shape and decorate it with the tines of a fork. The recipe, which should be started a day ahead, is from “Food From the Arab World” by Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge.

--CHARLES PERRY

MAAMOUL

2 cups semolina flour

1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups melted butter

1 teaspoon orange blossom water

1 teaspoon rose water

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups crushed walnuts

Powdered sugar

Mix semolina, boiling water and butter. Knead together. Form into ball. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Next day, mix orange blossom water, rose water, sugar and walnuts. Knead dough again and form into 12 balls. Hollow centers with thumb, press nut mixture into cavity and seal. Press each stuffed cookie onto buttered baking sheet and shape into hemispherical mound with tines of fork. Or shape in well-oiled maamoul mold and place on buttered baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Makes 12 cookies.

Each serving contains about:

432 calories; 236 mg sodium; 62 mg cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.66 gram fiber.