Saturday, November 18, 2023

A Pie Making Revelation + A New (Classic) Cookie from Yossy Arefi's Latest Book

A platter of roasted green beans with crispy fried shallots.

Let's start with the cookies.

A better name for these cookies would be One-Bowl White Chocolate Salted Macadamia Nut Cookies, but that would be a real mouthful.

The recipe comes from Yossy Arefi's latest book, Snacking Bakes, and starts with two words that make my heart sing: brown butter. In addition to the lovely nuttiness brown butter lends to baked goods, it also assures me I'll neither have to lug out my stand mixer nor soften any butter. How nice?!

Once the butter is browned, the dough comes together quickly in one bowl. The formed cookie dough balls do not require chilling before baking and after about 10 minutes in the oven, they're done.

With crispy edges and soft and chewy centers punctuated by chopped nuts and chocolate throughout, to me these cookies are heaven, evoking, as Yossy writes in the headnote of the recipe, the vanilla-scented Mrs. Fields classics beckoning mall shoppers of the 1990s everywhere. Memories!

Friends, I am still putting together my 2023 gift guide, but if you are looking to get a jump start on the shopping, Snacking Bakes would be a great one to gift to the baker in your life. It's filled with simple recipes, most of which can be made in less than 1 hour in one bowl.

I have made only one recipe, but I have many others flagged — malted sugar cookies, chocolate ricotta cake, coconut cookie bark — and I'm looking forward to the many low-lift, big-flavor treats in my near future.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

PS: Brown Butter Fans: here are a few more favorite sweet treats that call for it: these snickerdoodles, these blondies, and these stamped Christmas cookies.

Pie Making Revelation

Sister Pie's Salted Maple Pie on a plate with whipped cream and a spoon.

For the past few years, this has been my Thanksgiving pie rhythm: make the dough on Sunday or Monday; parbake the crust Tuesday or Wednesday; fill and bake the pies Thursday morning.

This schedule has worked well for me: it breaks up the pie-making steps over the course of a few days, while also ensuring the pies are baked fresh.

But I've always wondered if the pies might be fine baked a day (or two) before the big feast. And so have many of you.

Earlier this week I experimented with making one of my favorite Thanksgiving pies, Sister Pie's Salted Maple Pie, ahead of time. I made the dough on Monday. I parbaked the crust and baked the pie on Tuesday. I let it cool completely, then tucked it into a jumbo ziptop bag and didn't touch it till Thursday.

When it came time to test the pie, visually it still looked fine, but I had my doubts. The crust won't be as flaky. I worried. The bottom will be soggy.

Friends! When that knife met the crust and I heard a glorious crunch, my heart leapt. And upon taking one bite, I nearly danced a jig. The pie tasted as fresh as ever, and my children, who historically are not pie lovers, devoured it after school.

Now, while I am thrilled about this discovery, I do wonder if certain pies hold up better than others when made a few days in advance. I think this Bourbon Pecan Pie would similarly do well. I'm not sure about the Roasted Butternut Squash Pie due to its higher moisture content.

One final thought: Salted Whipped Cream. In addition to a small amount of sugar, I always add a generous pinch of Maldon flaky sea salt to heavy cream while I'm whipping it. It makes all the difference.

Hope your holiday preparations are going well, Friends!

Sister Pie's Salted Maple Pie

Thanksgiving Menu 2023

In this post, you'll find all of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes — pies, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes, turkey, punch, and more — along with timelines you can print, make notes to, and adapt to your own schedule. Good luck 🎉💪

Below are a few highlights:

Hasselback Potato Gratin