Peace & Cookies

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence."*  

             The louder, the busier and the more frenetic life is, the more I long for silence, or at least stillness.  Moments of stillness - like sleep - rejuvenate me.  Clears the cobwebs in my mind.  For some reason, December started out with lots of cobwebs.  It started with Christmas music and commercials everywhere - sucking the joy out of the season, that is, until I walked into The Alchemist at Stoney Point.  Actually, it was meant to be a short cut on my way to find the See's Candy Store but I lingered and listened to the music.  It was Cadence Spalding - an angelic voice if there ever was one.  She turned Christmas Carols into an etheric experience.   I stopped.  I listened and, suddenly, I was at peace.  I reveled in the moment and, then, I continued on my quest. 

                To my disappointment, the candy shop was not at its usual location.  I turned and began to retrace my steps when a symphony of music and lights burst forth from the Christmas tree in the center of the plaza.  I stood in awe like a child awash in pure joy.  Afterward, I returned to The Alchemist, where I bought Spalding's "Holiday High" CD.  I knew it was time to do a meditation with music. 

                From that night on, the season was magical.  At Bizarre Bazaar, I discovered Lavender Fields, a local farm that produces local raw honey and lavender - two of my favorite things - and their recipe for lavender cookies.  I made batch after batch.  I also discovered a recipe for Blue Cheese & Walnut cookies that intrigued me so much I had to try it even though I do not care for Blue Cheese.  Here are both of these recipes as a belated Christmas gift from me to you with this thought:

                "You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here and whether of no it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding exactly as it should."*

Lavender Cookies

Blend the following together:  1 cup unsalted butter, softened + 1 cup sugar + 1 egg

Add in:  1 cup self-rising flour + 1 tablespoon culinary lavender buds

Drop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Cool cookies on a wire rack.  Makes 48 cookies.

Bleu Cheese and Walnut Cookies

Blend the following together:  1/4 pound unsalted butter + 5 oz. Bleu Cheese, crumbed

Add in:  1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + 2 teaspoons kosher salt + 1 teaspoon black pepper

Also, add:  1 tablespoon of water and combine all ingredients

Drop the dough onto a floured board; press it into a ball and roll into a 12" log

Brush the log with egg wash (1 egg with 1 tablespoon water)

Spread 1/2 cup chopped walnuts in a rectangle on the cutting board

Roll the log in the walnuts, pressing gently, until the log in evenly covered with nuts.

Cut the long in 3/8ths inch pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 22 minutes - rotate the pan once during baking.

Cook and serve at room temperature.  Makes 36 cookies.

*Excerpts from Desiderata