Friday, January 29, 2021

The Masked Man in the Kitchen 

In January 2021 a masked man came to town.  It wasn't the Lone Ranger.  I wish it had been!  The bad guy was the Corona Virus.  The victems were, of course all of us.  But again the mask became a symbol of goodness protecting us from the Corona virus enemy.  My mask is my best friend and this last week I gained another friend- my vaccination.  Tonto can now rear up on his hind legs and the Lone Ranger can tip his hat and wave goodbye.there I live. 

For 3 days it snowed and blowed.  Highway 395 closed down yesterday..   I have no garage here so my car was completely covered and became a white blob.  The snow was over my head and too deep to get in from the driver's side so I got in from the passenger side and slid across.  The snow plow was on the way and I wanted my parking place cleared. 

I went to the kitchen and made cookies.  I made Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Chambord Jam that I had made some time ago.  The cookie dough was rolled thin and cut out.  I cut out 2 heart shapes for each cookie.  One was to have a smaller heart cut in the center.  My jam went on the solid one and the cut-out one on the top.  

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon dried, diced lemon peel (William Sonoma)

1 egg

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup or so of homemade Raspberry/Chambord Jam 

Powdered sugar for garnishUsing my stand mixer- I mixed the first 8 ingredients- then divided the dough into 2 parts and placed each part betweeen 2 sheets of waxed paper- flattening each part into a thin sheet.  Each part was frozen for 8 minutes.  Then each part was rolled out and cut in heart shapes- large and small.  The cookies were cut out and baked for 8 minutes.  When done and cooled a few minutes they were put together- the solid heart covered with the jam - then the cut-out cookie was place  on top. 

This morning the snow finally took a break and the sun came out. I will try to share the cookies with my neighbors (if they last long enough).