How The Cookie Crumbles

My agent likes cookies -- I'm not sure if he's a round the clock cookie hound or if he just likes the ones I make. But does that really matter? Usually the cookies I send him are of the shortbread varietal, specifically those butter rich cookies you roll into a log and the slice and bake. I have sent him lemon cookies, cookies with cranberries and pistachios, chocolate cookies, walnut rosemary cookies. He loves them all.

So this morning I set out to bake him some cookies using a roll of dough hidden away in the fridge -- this short cut was going to save me big time. I heated the oven, whirled up my smoothie, put the coffee pot on, then sliced and baked. But apparently in my hurry I did not fully read my little recipe card and the part I had heavily underlined in black pen -- the part about lining the cookie sheets with parchment. I didn't use parchment and the cookies stuck, broke, and turned into butter cookie crumbles.

Ok, I thought. On to plan b. Plan b was significantly under-researched. I basically used the first recipe I could find that used ingredients I had: Vanilla Hazelnut Shortbread. They sounded kind of plain, but like they might be nice mid-afternoon with a cup of coffee.

Once again, I should have read the recipe. These are gluten free cookies that are also trying (just a bit) to be healthy, low-fat, etc. They are bland looking, bland tasting, and so crumbly I am sure they would not survive the flight, much less being tucked into my bag and ferried to breakfast, the Met, and then our first meeting. I am willing to say that if you can't have gluten these cookies might be ok. They might also be good alongside a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a pile of summer berries or peaches, but I am not carrying any of those things uptown either.

So, this how the proverbial cookie crumbles. I am either going to: go to Tartine and pass off one of their delectable baked goods as my own (I am so not above this), get something fancy in NY, or show up empty handed. All these things sound kind of sad.

I guess I could always bake more this afternoon -- but two batches of messed up shortbread in one morning do not bode well for a successful post lunch baking endeavors. I might be done for the day.