It all started with my Easy Bake Oven when I was nine or ten. Those little packets of cake mix! The tiny round baking pans! The miniature mixing bowl and spoon! The lightbulb!? (Yep, that’s how the cakes got baked.) I was sold.

The past six months have been challenging. Eddie got cancer, then he got chemo, then he got a stem cell transplant.  And me? I realized I’ve been baking my tail off. The following seems to happen about twice a week these days:

Before I go to bed, I get two sticks of butter from the freezer and set them out on the kitchen counter.

As I fall asleep, I think of a recipe I’d like to make.

First thing the next morning I put the butter and some sugar in the Mixmaster bowl and preheat the oven.

Then I am instantly transported to Cookieland!

(For me, it’s a place not unlike Photoland and Drawingland.)

Being there requires focus, creativity, mindfulness and the desire to combine several different ingredients to make something lovely. It’s meditative, it can sometimes be challenging, but it’s always delicious. The results are definitely best when shared.

Giving homemade cookies to people makes me happy. It’s a great way to say I love you, and it’s one of my favorite ways to express gratitude. Around the winter holidays, I bake a few different cookies from the NYT Cookie Week recipes, put them in a box with a see-through window and give them out as gifts. Over the past six months I’ve been passing out cookies to nurses and doctors, people who’ve been helping us since Eddie got sick, our visitors, our friends and our neighbors. I especially like giving cookies to the staff at our condominium building.

Here are a couple of recent favorites. I hope you enjoy making, eating and giving them away as much as I do!

CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH ORANGE GLAZE

shortbread

1 c. softened salted butter

½ c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. ground cardamom (best if from pods)

1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour

glaze

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. orange juice

1 tbsp. milk

orange zest

1. If using fresh cardamom, grind pods into fine powder.
2. Beat butter and sugar on low speed until sugar is incorporated, then increase to medium speed and continue to beat until creamed.
3. Add flour and cardamom and mix on low speed until dough comes together in medium-sized chunks. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Press dough together with your hands, then turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help shape the dough into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 325 and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Unwrap dough and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll until ½” thick and then cut out with 2” round cookie cutter. Put the cookies onto a parchment lined plate and put in freezer for 15 minutes.
7. Transfer cookies to baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until very lightly golden.
8. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then cool completely on wire rack.
9. To make glaze, mix 1 c. powdered sugar with the milk and orange juice until smooth.
10. Dip the cooled cookies, top side down, into the glaze. Sprinkle with orange zest and wait for glaze to set.

GINGERBREAD BLONDIES

1 c. unsalted butter

1 ½ c. packed dark brown sugar

2 tbsp. molasses

1 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger

2 large eggs at room temp

2 tbsp. vanilla

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¾ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9” x 9” pan or line with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the butter or medium until melted and flecked with darker brown bits, 5-7 minutes. Pour brown butter into a large bowl and add brown sugar, molasses and grated ginger. Whisk until combined and let cool for a few minutes.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and glossy.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and cloves. Whisk well to combine.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until the edges are firm, but the center is still slightly damp, 18 – 25 minutes (add 5-10 minutes if using a glass or ceramic pan). Do not overbake. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely in the pan.
6. For added fun, melt two ounces of white or dark chocolate. Roll a small piece of parchment paper into a cone shape and spoon in the chocolate. Drizzle the tops of the blondies.