I know. With Espresso Praline Sand Dollars.
Who would have known the running glimpse of a white squirrel would prompt the response it did? I surely and squarely did not when smacking the publish key two weeks ago.
But respond you did, with stories of your own milky darlings. With photos. And then! Discussions of ermines, (ermines!) and the theoretical possibility that my backyard visitor was one of those. A Google-tipity-tap and 20 minutes spent researching where ermines do in fact live. (Ahem. “Ermines are found across Canada, in every province and territory. Habitat: They make use of a wide range of habitats including riparian woodlands, marshes, meadows and open pastures near forest or bush. They are efficient climbers and swimmers but spend most of their time on land.”)
Thank you for sharing the fleeting magic. In that spirit, some disconnected fortunes my own.
A FaceTime with 10 seconds notice mid-morning with slippers on, the camera facing not my face but a tray of exemplars and, without greeting, getting down to the immediate business of determining if granulated sugar, cocoa-dusted granulated sugar, raw golden sugar, coarse sugar, or granulated sugar with crushed pralines made the best coating for a cookie*.
The menus of restaurants I want to visit in cities I long to visit. Picking out what I’d order if I could, debating and weighing options, and somehow feeling closer rather than far.
The song Public Enemy Number Won, sounding like it’s 1982.
Months back for a friend’s birthday, a group of us met at a drive in. While we couldn’t exactly sit beside each other, we could, and did, arrange our cars in a row. From my seat, turning my head to each side, I could see their illuminated profiles. Eyes, noses, faces I love enough to take for granted, touched by the fairy dust of the screen. Through the open windows I could hear their gliding laughter.
Perfume for a Zoom meeting.
Curry Laksa.
The word riparian.
I just stood, to answer the door and then got waylaid by one of the cats, and a bowl of grapes. Reading those first paragraphs back, I can’t help but think of the old publishing construct; creating cacophonous replies from nonexistence to justify content. That pretend intro of “So many of you asked for this …” When nobody actually did.
But it’s not that. Hands up, those who wrote, even if you’re the only ones to see. I know you’re there. That’s magic, too.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE THIS
*That FaceTime pal thought these cookies looked fudgier than they actually are. Less sweet than you might think, and deeply accented by the cocoa, they have the unexpected addition of pulverized praline. Those gravelly bits do not dissolve, even as the delicate shortbread-ish batter does, so between your molars there’s something left to chew. A sandy, delicate crunch, but crunch nonetheless. Eat them as is, or stack with frosting. I like the idea of this burnt honey buttercream I make, or a slab cinnamon ice cream between two rounds. For the latter, I would take the last of the candied pecans, crush as before, and roll the edge of the sandwich in it, Chipwich-style.
ESPRESSO PRALINE SAND DOLLARS (Makes 16 large cookies)
Start out with the candied pecans. (A recipe follows, I’ve got you covered.) Measure out 85 g of them. Snack on what remains. (You’re welcome.) The chosen ones, they need to be made into rubble. You could pulse them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or, if you have a need to get out some energy or—maybe, perhaps—stress, obliterate them with a rolling pin and a ziplock bag, or in a mortar and pestle. I do not know your life or mood. Go with what feels right. Aim for a mix of powder and some nubbly bits.
Preheat an oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle position. Line two heavy-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and put them somewhere. Get the paddle attachment onto a stand mixer, then in its bowl cream 225 g soft unsalted butter with 200 g brown sugar, 150 g granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground espresso beans (not talking instant granules, talking actual coffee, ground here. If you have instant, use 1 teaspoon REGULAR granules, or 1/2 teaspoon espresso. My preference is for actual coffee here, obviously, or I wouldn’t have put it in the recipe.) Beat on medium-high, scraping down the beater blades and sides of the bowl whenever you think to do so, while you get the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Those would be 160 g all-purpose flour, 60 g buckwheat or rye flour, 40 g cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon medium-grained kosher salt. Whisk them up.
Beat 1 egg into the butter and sugar. Knock back the speed of the mixer and scrape 57 g melted dark chocolate and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Stir in the dry ingredients, followed by the crushed pecans. Take the bowl from the machine and scrape up the dough from the bottom to make sure well mixed. The dough is both dense and somehow soft, it needs a bit of hands-on attention.
Pour 200 g rolling sugar in a bowl. (My choice is raw, golden sugar.) Using a spring-loaded 3-tablespoon scoop or similar, scoop 6 portions. Roll into balls with hands, then turn in the sugar so all sides are coated. Place on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Bake until the cookies have spread, puffed and cracked at their centres (there should be deep fissures through their humped bellies; they aren’t fully cooked if that’s not the case), 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack and let cookies cool for 5 minutes before moving to the rack to cool completely. Continue forming and baking cookies, one sheet at a time, until all the dough is used up (you’ll use one sheet pan twice). Eat, drop off boxes for pals, or keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
A note. If you make the cookies smaller, say with a 2-tablespoon scoop, they will, in fact, be fudgier. Choose your own adventure.
GLOSSY, GLOSSY PECANS (Makes a generous cup)
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat stir 100 g | 1/2 cup granulated sugar into 120 ml water. Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly with a heatproof silicone spatula or wooden spoon. As soon as teeny bubbles start burbling at the edges, tip in 100 g pecan halves and two-finger pinch of medium-grained kosher salt. Cook, stirring all the while, until the syrup boils away, clings to the nuts, and starts to send up the faintest smoke, 7 to 8 minutes. Immediately, carefully, scrape the nuts onto a baking sheet (silpat lined or lightly greased) and leave to cool. Be steadfast and resist the urge to lick the spatula/snitch a nut/touch any of it in any way until fully set and brittle.
Other recipes: Everything in Hetal Vasavada’s Diwali e-book of sweets, but especially the badam burfi bark. The entirety of Nuit Regular’s astounding new cookbook, Kiin.
THINGS I WOULD TEXT IF I HAD YOUR NUMBER
Also housekeeping from the last newsletter, the Wesley Morris essay linked is available performed aloud. Hearing it changes it, it sits differently, even more powerfully.
While your headphones are out, Resistance: Shake the Room.
One more for Nuit, I can’t help it, the book’s trailer.
Shado Magazine tackles Decolonizing Food (with Sana Javeri Kadri).
Cecilia Chiang, culinary icon and matriarch of Chinese cooking, passed away yesterday. This conversation with her friend Belinda Leong, is especially wonderful. Rest in peace and power, with thanks for all you gave.