So, Christmas is in a few days, 2009 is almost over and frankly, I have a hard time believing it. I mean, where did this year go? There were so many things I wanted to do that will just have to wait for next year, and a few will probably have to wait even longer. Maybe it's just the Holiday Season, which always makes me a little weepy, well, OK, weepier than usual, but I just seem to notice that everything is changing around me at the speed of light. The kids are growing up way too fast, and I mean WAY too fast. One minute it was Fall and the next minute there was like 2 feet of snow on the ground. on November 17th, I was stoked when Susan of Food Blogga announced the 3rd season of her Eat Christmas Cookies event and I had a whole month to choose which cookie recipe I could send in. And now, it's December 20th (What?!) and I'm once again at the last minute. How did this happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
In any case, I still love baking cookies and I have baked my fair share since the beginning of December, but they were just my "usual" cookies, cookies that can already be found either here or on other great food blogs so I'll spare you the reruns. The recipe I want to share today is one that I've wanted to try for a long time but it just got to the bottom of the list and I forgot about it. This week, I happened to have all the ingredients handy so I went for it! These are so crispy and crunchy and fragrant, they remind me of Lace Cookies but with a nuttier flavor.
Santa, I hope you like sesame seeds!!! :) Please check out the Eat Christmas Cookies round-up page for more great cookie recipes!
Sesame Snap Wafers
adapted from Robin Hood Baking Festival 1999
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup sesame seeds*
Start by toasting your sesame seeds. I like to do this in a dry, nonstick pan, over medium heat. Watch them carefully and move them around often as they could burn easily. Toast the seeds until they're fragrant and golden. Be sure to do this a little in advance, you want them to have time to cool before you make the cookie dough.
When your seeds have cooled to room temperature, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder; set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter with the sugar, egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and the sesame seeds and mix well.
Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about a teaspoon's worth per cookie, leaving enough space between the cookies as they spread while baking.
Bake the cookies about 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden. You can leave them a little longer if you like them crispier. The cookies will be soft right out of the oven so leave them on the baking sheet a minute or so before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
* You can use all sesame seeds or a combination of sesame seeds, black sesame seeds and flax seeds. I used 1 cup of sesame seeds and 1/4 cup of flax seeds.
If any of you are at all like me, and I suspect many of you are, there are these personalities, chefs, cookbook authors or food enthusiasts, that you just swear by. To some it's Ina Garten or Bobby Flay, others love Dorie Greenspan, Donna Hay, Jamie Oliver or Curtis Stone. I love every one of those guys. But, as I have mentioned a few times before on these pages, I am always inspired by Ricardo.
Last month, I had the chance to meet Ricardo at a book signing. I did my best not to look like too much of a groupie but I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time I spoke with him! If you've ever watched one of his shows, you know he comes across as this charming, easygoing and all around nice guy. I can now vouch for that, he is genuinely charming and charismatic.
Now, I didn't just want to share this news with you as in "Nanananana, I met Ricardo!", so I decided to share another one of his recipes. Dukka is a mix of fragrant spices and crushed almonds which is typically served as an appetizer with cubes of crusty bread and olive oil in New Zealand restaurants. Since I've never been to New Zealand, I'll take Ricardo's word for it...
I decided to fill small jars with the spice mix, decorate it with ribbons and give it as a gift. This is perfect as a last minute hostess gift or as part of a more elaborate basket of goodies with a bottle of fine olive oil and a crusty baguette. Or you can easily serve this at a party as part of an appetizer tray. Have fun!
Dukka
Adapted from Ricardo Larrivée via Foodnetwork.ca
2/3 cup whole blanched almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
cayenne pepper, to taste (1 used 1/8 tsp but will use a bit more next time)
In a food processor, grind the almonds coarsely. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle. Transfer the almonds to a small bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and store in an airtight container.
To serve: Transfer the dukka to a serving bowl and serve alongside a small bowl of extra-virgin olive oil and cubes of crusty bread. Dip the bread lightly in the oil, then in the dukka and enjoy!
