I may claim that I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but that just means there’s not a 6-pound bag of gummi bears somewhere on the premises.
Before my friend Ann up and moved to Texas, she made me these sage-scented shortbread cookies as a birthday gift (photo from epicurious.com). I shared one with the prof whose office is across the hall from mine. And I was planning to share the plate with my intended (who is more honest about his love of sweets). Really, that was the plan.
I’ll say that I’m not a huge fan of shortbread. I think of the blue tins at my parents’ house, especially around Christmas. I think the cookies are Swedish or something. They’re stacked four deep in crenellated paper like cupcake wrappers. They’re dry. And unexciting. No offense to my parents (they don’t bake the cookies, after all. They just buy them and make them available in the bread drawer. It’s not like I’m rejecting their garlicky buttery Chex mix or something).
But of these shortbread delights, I don’t know which to prefer, the buttery smooth backdrop, the intense crystals of sea salt, or the savory hints of sage. Some of the cookies were standard round cookie shape, like golden coins from another realm. The rest were shaped like elephants. (I guess Ann had not yet packed away her elephant cookie cutter).
Ann, the baking poet , claims that you can follow the recipe as written. She didn’t have to add extra water. I feel like a bit of a poser, blogging about this recipe before I try it myself. Last weekend I made an apple crisp, and soon, I’ll try my hand at these cookies. And this time, I’ll make sure to share.