December 3, 2020

Dear friends,

What we couldn’t imagine even a few weeks ago now seems certain. Christmas will be celebrated without the full complement of family and friends. Or it should be, as the Coronavirus rages. Last week five of my friends were infected. Tony, Oscar and I are stocked up and locked in.

I hope you are fortunate enough to be able to isolate, too. If not, please be careful. Shop for a month instead of a week.  Order parking-lot pickup. Call in dinner orders to go. Buy gifts from local stores but pay remotely and pick up at the curb.

Without a host of friends to treat, many cookie platters will be sparse this year. The cookies can still be special, though. A food-writer friend gave me a versatile recipe that can be turned into a half-dozen different cookies — all made from the same batch.  And I cut her recipe in half so you and your pod mates won’t balloon up like Santa. The recipe makes roughly two plates of cookies, which should be enough for a pared-down Christmas.

My friend, Jan Norris, former food editor of the Palm Beach Post, says the dough may be divided after it’s made and portions flavored with grated citrus peel or almond extract. Finely chopped nuts may be kneaded in. The cookies may be turned into thumbprints or the edges dipped in chocolate and rolled in chopped nuts or coconut.

The basic recipe is for a brown sugar shortbread that melts on the tongue. It has just three ingredients in Jan’s version, although I added a fourth, vanilla extract. The ingredients are common pantry items that won’t require a trip to the store.

From the one dough I made thumbprints with plum jam, rolled-out bars dusted with powdered sugar, and cut-outs topped with chocolate jimmies and red sprinkles.

Tony and I ate them all in one day, I’m embarrassed to say. So maybe you WILL want to make the full recipe. If so, just double the ingredients.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES THREE WAYS

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour

Confectioner’s sugar, jam, colored sprinkles, and a lightly beaten egg white (if using sprinkles)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack in the lower middle position. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. If the butter is cold and solid, drop the wrapped sticks into a bowl of tepid water for 15 minutes or so.

Beat softened butter and sugar in a stand mixer or with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then gradually add flour while beating on medium-low speed until combined. If necessary, add more flour by the tablespoon to make a soft dough. Do not use more flour than absolutely necessary. Gather dough into a ball and flatten to a disk. Wrap and chill for 15 minutes.

Cookie No. 1: Break off about 8 walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Place 1 inch apart on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. With a wet index finger, make a deep indentation in the center of each ball of dough. Reshape edges if the dough splits or crumbles. Fill the centers with jam.

Cookie No. 2: Roll out remaining dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. With a floured cookie cutter, punch out about 8 cookies, or as many as desired. Arrange them on the parchment-lined sheet 1 inch apart. Brush tops with beaten egg white and immediately top with sprinkles.

Cookie No. 3: Cut remaining rolled-out dough into bars about 1 inch wide and 2 1/2 inches long. Place on parchment-lined sheet 1 inch apart. Pierce each cookie three times with the tines of a fork.

Refrigerate one sheet of cookies and bake other sheet at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cookies are set but not brown. When done, slide the sheet of parchment with the cookies onto a counter to cool. Repeat with the refrigerated sheet. Dust the shortbread bars with confectioners’ sugar (or you could dip the ends in melted chocolate). Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen.

GUT CHECK
What we cooked last week:
Pork miso soup (Tony); apple tart; oatmeal with blueberries; spaghetti squash baked with ricotta, tomato sauce, sausage and peppers; cornbread; pumpkin pie; mojo-brined and grill-smoked 19-pound turkey; cranberry sauce with port wine and dried apricots; dried cranberry, walnut and mushroom cornbread dressing, lima beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and mashed sweet potatoes with rum; Thanksgiving in a bowl (leftovers); shortbread cookies three ways; tuna sashimi over vinegared rice with wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger (Tony).

TIDBITS
This month I will send gifts to my brother’s family, my sister’s family and to my grown-up nephew and niece and her family. Usually we gather to feast and give gifts in person, but not this year. So I’m looking for ideas. Food-gift ideas.

I bet a lot of other people are sending food gifts this year, too. But instead of clicking on Harry & David or Omaha Steaks, I’d like to support small, independent food purveyors.They need our business in a big way.

So here’s the challenge: Find a small store or producer that can put together a lush box of goodies and mail it without breaking the bank in postage fees. I’m looking at $50 to $150 total. If that describes you or a purveyor you know, please drop me a line so I can share. Maybe together we can help independent food folks while we whittle down our gift lists.

My first find is the Best of the Season box from The Chef’s Garden in Huron. During the pandemic, when ritzy restaurants nationwide have cut their orders for farmer Lee Jones’ gorgeous produce, Jones has been selling to regular cooks instead. With NO delivery charge.

The Best of the Season box, one of several available, is $89. It is filled with whatever looks good when your order is shipped. And at Jones’ farm, everything looks and tastes good, from micro greens to delicious varieties of baby potatoes. Check out the offerings at chefs-garden.com.

THE MAILBAG
From Judy R.:
I made the Amish Potato Rolls recipe and could not believe how fluffy and delicious they were. Three other guests loved them and I forwarded the recipe. I used leftover mashed potatoes. I know from my food tech class that the eggs ensure the rolls will keep longer but I froze them anyway. I will make them again tomorrow as they were devoured fast and I miss them already.

Dear Judy:
You’re not the only one who made the rolls for Thanksgiving and another batch after. The photos and comments have been rolling in. The rolls are so pillowy and delicious and comforting that I’d like to eat them all year. My waistline disagrees.

Another recipe that got a lot of Thanksgiving use was for the Turkey Wellington from my Nov. 11 newsletter. My Facebook feed was dotted with photos of gorgeous, pastry-wrapped turkey breasts. Some of them looked better than mine. I’m glad you enjoyed.

From Jean H.:
Your memories of the Beacon Journal reminded me of a quick story: My brother, Tom Wood, delivered the Beacon to John Knight’s home on North Portage Path when he was a student at St. Vincent. This was in the 1940s and 50s. Now, you have an idea how much Mr. Knight needed to have a paper delivered to his home! But he did it for the paperboy’s sake. And there was a hefty bonus at the holidays, of course.  Also, my uncle was a lithographer at the Beacon for many years. And I remember my pride and joy when I was old enough to read the funny pages. I’m 81 now. So I was probably 7 or 8 when I started the funnies.

Dear Jean:
Thank you for those memories. Those of us who worked on the book about the newspaper (“The Daily Miracle: Reporting the News in the Rubber City,” out Dec. 8 from  University of Akron Press) felt it was important to preserve the history of such an Akron institution. Over the years it touched many lives and made our world here in Northeast Ohio a better place.