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Big Bad Monster Cookies

One of my 2018 resolutions is to make more cookies. Not healthy cookies or breakfast cookies–but really good cookies. Cookies have never been my specialty because I just don’t like eating them that much. Which means I’ve never been interested in perfecting any cookie…

But when I met Colin almost six years ago, I started to understand the importance of cookies in some people’s lives. My husband LOVES cookies. He says almost once a week, “I’m craving chocolate chip cookies.” And when we were first dating, he was obsessed with a cookie they sold at a local coffee shop. It was a big cookie, with everything in it, including multi-colored M&Ms. So when he brought a bag of random M&Ms home the other night, I was immediately reminded of the coffee shop cookie and decided to create my very own version.

But before I got to making the perfect monster cookie, I knew I needed to do more research. I’ve made a few kinds of cookies over the past few weeks, and Colin has been very happy. I’ve made Magnolia Bakery’s classic peanut butter cookies, Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging chocolate chip cookies and Martha Stewart’s classic oatmeal lace cookies.

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White Bean, Red Chard and Sausage Soup

During the bomb cyclone of early January this White Bean, Red Chard and Sausage Soup soup got us through the snowy cold. It’s a warming, stick to your ribs, keep-you-full-for-hours kind of winter soup. And if you know me, you know I like soup.

And if you don’t know me–I’ll tell you about my love for soup. It’s my favorite food. There’s something about broth that is SO satisfying. The flavors that can be coaxed from bones, vegetable scraps or even a few onions never cease to amaze me. And when I was a kid, matzoh ball soup from The Mill Basin Deli and Sancocho (a Dominican stew of root vegetables and a variety of meats) were two of my favorite (and very different) meals.

Fast forward to college, a time in my life that is blurry and confusing–the nights I most clearly and fondly remember were nights my roommates and I ordered Asian fusion and watched tv. While others ordered California rolls and sesame chicken, my order always always consisted of two or three soups (wonton! hot and sour! miso! eggdrop!). They still make fun of me ten years later.

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Grapefruit Brown Butter Cake

Nobody writes songs about New York in January. It’s cold, grey, sleety and unpleasant. And this January I’ve felt the blues at times, particularly while watching the sun set at 4:45pm and while waiting for the car to warm up (while breathing into my hands to keep my fingers from falling off).

But there is an upside to this time of year–it’s citrus season! Grapefruits, easy to peel navel oranges, big organic lemons from Californian backyards (shout out to my Aunt Jill’s lemon tree), blood oranges, clementines, pomelos, and the list goes on. There’s also something about the cold that makes me crave citrus so much that my usual dessert (a scoop of vanilla ice cream) has turned into a cold navel orange, straight from the fridge.

I think it’s something biological that tells my body, “no scurvy this winter!” I’ve even gotten Colin on the “orange for dessert train” and he hasn’t even been complaining…

And in honor of the beautiful citrus season we are having thus far, I want to share this seriously delicious Grapefruit Brown Butter Cake. It’s one of those recipes that came together beautifully on the first try which never happens (it’s mashup of a Smitten Kitchen’s grapefruit yogurt cake and Ina Garten’s lemon yogurt cake).

This recipes swaps brown butter for the oil and uses buttermilk instead of yogurt. It also doesn’t call for as much sugar, which makes it a great afternoon snack cake (right at around 4pm when I need an emotional and sugar pick me up). I’ve tested this one a few more times since and I can assure you, it’s awe-some.

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