Cookie Day impossible to resist

<p>Friday is National Cookie Day and it's hard to argue that such an observation is not a delightful break from the necessities of life and the season. Who doesn't love a cookie? The word itself is endearing, of course; we all know someone with the nickname of Cookie, don't we?</p><p>In my experience, cookies disarm even the grumpiest curmudgeon, at least for a few seconds as the aroma of freshly baked cookies and the scent of their familiar ingredients evoke a happier time, long before the grumpiness took hold.</p><p>I saw the power of cookies close up a number of years ago when I returned from Manhattan with a vanilla perfume that I'd found in a tiny shop in SoHo. It has always been a favorite scent but it never occurred to me to dab it behind my ears. The first time I did, a friend I was visiting leaned in close, his face all soft and dreamy, and exclaimed, “You smell like cookies!” </p><p>I noticed men responding this way whenever I wore my vanilla perfume. I think it made them all think of their grandmothers and the cookies they enjoyed as little kids. </p><p>Eventually, I came up with a slightly devious though harmless plan to exploit this response.</p><p>I had been injured and because I was not healed in a year, a lawsuit was necessary to cover my continuing medical bills. Lawsuits being what they are, the situation soon because contentious and dragged on for years. As mediation approached and I realized I would be in a small room with five male attorneys, at least two of whom wanted to make me look as bad as possible, I thought of my vanilla scent. Would they be quite so adversarial if I could make them all think of their grandmothers? Arriving at mediation with a plate of cookies would be too obvious but no one in that room would be able to guess what my invisible secret weapon was. </p><p>I dabbed on my vanilla perfume, sailed through the mediation and received a very favorable recommendation from the mediator. The case settled soon thereafter and I've always credited the magical scent of vanilla, carried on the aromas of warm cookies from so long ago, with the happy conclusion.</p><p>The first time I saw a langues de chat — cat's tongue — I giggled with delight. The cookies, served alongside a dessert I no longer recall, looked exactly like their name. They were made by Healdsburg chef Martin Courtman during his tenure at the restaurant at Chateau Souverain. I've had other similarly named cookies since but none as delightful, as they have been too big to evoke their namesake. It takes a bit of practice to get the size and shape right, but it is worth the effort. There are many versions of this recipe but I find this one, adapted from “The French Cookie Book” by Bruce Healy (Morrow, 1994), reliable and delicious. </p><p>Langues de Chat </p><p>(Cat's Tongues)</p><p>Makes about 60 cookies</p><p>—Melted butter</p><p>—All-purpose flour</p><p>3½ ounces (100 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature</p><p>3½ ounces (100 grams) confectioner's sugar</p><p>2 large eggs</p><p>1 teaspoon vanilla extract</p><p>3½ ounces (100 grams) all-purpose flour</p><p>3/4 teaspoon kosher salt</p><p>Brush 3 or 4 large heavy baking sheets with melted butter. Sprinkle with flour and tap the baking sheets to distribute it evenly. Set aside.</p><p>Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the butter into a medium stainless steel bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon until it is smooth, creamy and pale in color, almost white. Sift the sugar over the butter and beat it into it.</p><p>Add 1 egg and beat vigorously with the wooden spoon.</p><p>Add the second egg and use a whisk to incorporate it in the mixture. Whisk in the vanilla. Sift the flour and salt over the batter and use the wooden spoon to mix it in thoroughly.</p><p>Scoop the batter to a large pastry bag fitted with a small (8 mm, 5/16-inch) plain tip; use a rubber spatula to transfer all of the batter from the bowl to the bag.</p><p>Pipe the batter onto the sheet pan in 2½ inch strips about 1/8 inch wide, arranging them in a slightly diagonal staggered rows so that the cookies don't run into each other. Separate them by about 1½ inches. The ends of the strips should be slightly fatter on the ends than in the middle.</p><p>Bake one sheet pan at a time until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges but still pale in the center, about 6 to 10 minutes. </p><p>Use a thin metal spatula to slide the cookies from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Continue until all cookies have been cooked and cooled to room temperature.</p><p>Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week.</p><p>This Corsican recipe comes from a biscuiterie in Marseille by way of “Made In Marseille” by Daniel Young (Harper Collins, 2002, $32.50). They are, Young says, halfway between biscotti and butter cookies. I think they are a tad closer to butter cookies - a very good thing, to my mind.</p><p>Canistrelli</p><p>Makes about 40 cookies</p><p>2 sticks butter, at room temperature</p><p>1 cup sugar</p><p>4 large eggs, beaten</p><p>—Zest of 2 lemons, grated</p><p>—Juice of 2 lemons</p><p>3½ cups all-purpose flour</p><p>1 teaspoon baking soda</p><p>½ teaspoon kosher salt</p><p>Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.</p><p>Use a small nubbin of the butter to coat one large or two medium baking sheets.</p><p>Put the butter into a medium mixing bowl and beat vigorously until it is smooth, pale and creamy. Add the beaten eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and beat until the dry ingredients have been completely incorporated.</p><p>Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into two pieces.</p><p>Roll out one piece of dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 ½-inch squares. Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet, leaving at least ½-inch between them and repeat with the other piece of dough. </p><p>Bake on the center rack of the oven until lightly browned, about 30 to 35 minutes. </p><p>Remove from the oven, cool slightly and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.</p><p>Variation: Omit the lemon zest and juice. Use 2 limes or 1 orange instead. </p><p>A lot of people like to say there is no such thing as too much garlic; I feel the same way about ginger. When you layer in the flavor of both dry and fresh ginger, you achieve a seductive quality that keeps you reaching for just one more.</p><p>Gingery Ginger Cookies</p><p>Makes about 3 dozen cookies</p><p>3/4 cup butter, at room temperature</p><p>2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger</p><p>2 cups ginger sugar (see Note below) or granulated sugar</p><p>1 large egg, beaten</p><p>¼ cup molasses</p><p>1 teaspoon vanilla extract</p><p>2½ cups all-purpose flour</p><p>2 teaspoons ground ginger</p><p>1 teaspoon baking soda</p><p>1 teaspoon kosher salt</p><p>Put the butter into a medium mixing bowl and beat vigorously until smooth, creamy and pale. Add the ginger and 1 cup of the sugar and mix until smooth. Beat in the egg, the molasses and the vanilla.</p><p>Cover and chill the dough for an hour or two.</p><p>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.</p><p>Put the remaining sugar into a medium bowl.</p><p>Roll the dough into balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Drop 3 or 4 balls into the bowl of sugar and agitate the bowl to coat the balls thoroughly in the sugar.</p><p>Combine the flour, dry ginger, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and mix with a fork. Add the dry mixture to the egg mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined; do not over mix.</p><p>Set the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, placing them about 2 to 2½ inches apart. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies have begun to brown and the centers are still soft.</p><p>Remove from the oven, let rest a couple of minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool to room temperature.</p><p>Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days.</p><p>Note: To make ginger sugar, fill a quart canning jar about two-thirds full with granulated sugar. Add several thin slices of fresh ginger, seal the jar and shake it vigorously. Shake several times a day for several days, use tongs to remove the ginger and store, tightly sealed, in the pantry. Use as needed.</p><p>Michele Anna Jordan hosts “Mouthful” each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com.</p>