a vegan cookie box

I feel ambivalent about cookie boxes. They seem like one too many expectations piled on December, and this year, they seem to have really gotten out of hand. (Everyone: Melisa, cookie tins have not gotten out of hand—please get off your phone.)

But also, I've been wanting to make them, especially since P’s passing. Ze was never fond of cell phones or social media, and as I have become addicted to the immediate gratification of modern communication, I fell out of touch. I would like to have done a fraction of what was normal twenty years ago, when we were all so good at taping together our letter-zines. I wish I had sent more birthday and leatherdaddy Father’s day greetings, and Christmas cookie tins.

I don't think I'll get to mailing any this year, but enjoyed giving a couple boxes to my teachers. Here's my vegan offering to the grand tradition of heathen and homosexual cookie tins:

1. Andrea Nguyen’s bánh palmiers

2. Camilla Wynne’s candied grapefruit peel, as published in Nature’s Candy and Andrew Janjigian’s newsletter

3. Camilla Wynne’s eggnog rum balls

4. Meera Sodha’s vegan chocolate panforte

bánh palmiers

These were the highlight of the cookie box for me. I did not want to give them away. Nguyen suggests several spice options and I went with Burlap & Barrel Red River coriander—really good.

I used King Arthur climate blend for the flour here, and in the rest of the cookie box. These were made with King Arthur classic puff pastry using Miyoko's lightly salted butter. I used the full 510g flour, and wasn't able to incorporate all of it—a little less next time. That said, this was my first vegan puff pastry with the classic 729 layers (3^6, guess whooo just barely survived math for social studies majors). On my vegan laminated dough journey, I skipped from rough puff to croissant—the benefit of going above my skill level is that I was pleasantly surprised at how well-behaved this dough was in comparison, without the butter shattering and dough resisting that I take for granted in my yeasted doughs.

Will definitely make these again before next December… when is the next occasion that might warrant a cookie box?

candied grapefruit peel

These were made using Camilla Wynne’s recipe—I dried the peel as described here, inspired by the bánh palmiers to finish them with more coriander sugar. These are a great make-ahead cookie box item because the finished candied peel will keep in an airtight container at least two months at room temperature.

eggnog rum balls

These were also a Camilla Wynne recipe—I substituted High Wire Jimmy Red bourbon for the rum, and used Miyoko's cream cheese and Three Trees nog to veganize (any plant milk would have worked fine). I don't typically consume alcohol beyond cooking/baking, and enjoyed this recipe that showcases the bourbon.

These worked great in the cookie tin as a filler between larger items, but Wynne's recipe didn't work well for me in terms of the role of a no-bake cookie in the workflow—this one has too many components for catching one’s breath. As Wynne explains in the accompanying article, rum balls are really open to improvisation, and need not be this involved.

Next time, I will make rum or bourbon balls without filling, because I was up too late shaping these. I might go for starting with homemade cookies next time though, since dough can be frozen in advance, and that could also count for two items. I'd like to try Stella Parks's biscoff, and if we're getting totally aspirational, maybe I'll make gingerbread houses to pulverize afterwards.

chocolate panforte

I've never made panforte before—Sodha’s recipe was fun! I'm not sure that panforte is my favorite of the fruitcakey holiday cakes, but I think it served an important visual and textural role in my brownscale tin. Sodha's recipe uses brown rice syrup, which I'm a fan of—I might want to try other vegan sweeteners in the next one, like sorghum or cane syrup.

didn't make the cut… cheese straws

These came about because I was looking for another puff pastry item. I used Rawmesan in the filling—it would be easy and cheap to make your own parm substitute, but I didn't want to. I used Just Egg for the wash because I had it leftover—next time, I want to try this vegan wash from Andrew Janjigian.

I enjoyed the process of making them, and sharing them with fellow former southerners, but they weren't actually that delicious relative to the work that went into the puff pastry (the King Arthur recipe suggests rough puff… I would recommend that or storebought for this purpose). And because I was gifting the boxes for later consumption, I decided it wasn't worth risking the flavor blending.

more eating

Between culinary finals, preparing for a judo test today, and disassociating through cookie boxes, I’ve been eating cookies. But tonight we ordered some rare takeout from Oakland’s Jolly-Jolly. I got the bole combo with stewed goat. I'm feeling more human!

watching/reading

Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow (2019)

Kate Lebo on Making and Remaking Recipes On and Off the Page on Teresa Finney’s recommendation

Alicia Kennedy on food regimes

Amanny Ahmad’s “Bread & Salt: We Demand Action, Resistance, and Change. The Time is Now.”