"baking cookies" news and stories

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Slashfood readers!

While we here at Slashfood did the majority of our St. Patrick's Day preparation yesterday, we don't want to forget that today is the actual day to wear a bit of green, indulge in a pint of Guinness, and have a couple of shamrock-shaped sugar cookies! These are simple cookies made from dough sugar cookie dough dyed with green food coloring - use more than a few drops or else they'll be a little pale, like mine were - and piped with white chocolate. Make sure to drink your Bailey's on the rocks after you finish the piping, too, otherwise the lines will be a little squiggly like mine.

So what's the story behind the shamrock anyway? "Shamrock" is derived from the Celtic word "seamroy" for a three-leafed clover. It is considered a sacred plant because it symbolizes the arrival of spring and the idea of re-birth. The shamrock has long been associated with Irish culture because it is believed that St.Patrick used the three-leafed clover to symbolize the Trinity.

The idea of the lucky four leaf clover comes from a legend that the three leave of a regular clover each symbolize hope, faith and love. A fourth leaf on a clover symbolizes luck.

I'll take all the luck I can get, so I made a cookie with four leaves for myself.

The article from Saveur seduced me with its tale of thousands of cookies baked around the clock in the small town of Solebury, Pennsylvania. Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish, raises about $1,700 each year through its 20,000-cookie bakefest. But better than the money was the idea... grandmothers and little boys and single parishioners all working together to mix, roll, bake and box the buttery cookies made from recipes handed down for generations.

How could I resist? So two years ago I tried this recipe when I bought a Costco bag of walnuts and needed to use them up. Ever since I've been buying walnuts, nutmeg and cinnamon specifically for this recipe. These cookies satisfy my longing for spicy, crispy, nutty treats - and they're protein packed and low-net carb, to boot. I eat them for breakfast throughout December.