I woke up this morning to a house filled with people I love.
Tiptoeing downstairs, I cataloged my parent's pantry, pulling out bags of flour and boxes of unsweetened chocolate. I examined spices and arranged my mom's baking pans. Coming home means long family dinners and late night desserts, and I wanted to be ready for the week ahead.
My little sister, Noelle, is getting married on Sunday, and our house is already abuzz with tulle and ribbon, with carefully cut programs and ivory high heels. With all the family coming into town, my notebook is full of dinner and dessert ideas, a collection of eats that will both sustain and delight.
There is something about spending a day in my parent's kitchen that makes me feel like a seasoned grandmother preparing food for her expanding brood. The recipes I've created over the years have now become family favorites, and I love tempting my sisters and parents with the the promise of sweet wheat rolls, apple pies and dark chocolate brownies.
So after determining the holes in my parent's pantry--the essential ingredients we couldn't live without--I stepped outside into a bright and cool Colorado morning. The wind rustled the blooms of my father's garden, and the air tasted cleaner than the silk of my sister's wedding dress. I drove to the store, listening to NPR, and I thought about how thankful I was to be here.
Tiptoeing downstairs, I cataloged my parent's pantry, pulling out bags of flour and boxes of unsweetened chocolate. I examined spices and arranged my mom's baking pans. Coming home means long family dinners and late night desserts, and I wanted to be ready for the week ahead.
My little sister, Noelle, is getting married on Sunday, and our house is already abuzz with tulle and ribbon, with carefully cut programs and ivory high heels. With all the family coming into town, my notebook is full of dinner and dessert ideas, a collection of eats that will both sustain and delight.
There is something about spending a day in my parent's kitchen that makes me feel like a seasoned grandmother preparing food for her expanding brood. The recipes I've created over the years have now become family favorites, and I love tempting my sisters and parents with the the promise of sweet wheat rolls, apple pies and dark chocolate brownies.
So after determining the holes in my parent's pantry--the essential ingredients we couldn't live without--I stepped outside into a bright and cool Colorado morning. The wind rustled the blooms of my father's garden, and the air tasted cleaner than the silk of my sister's wedding dress. I drove to the store, listening to NPR, and I thought about how thankful I was to be here.
Noelle and me before my wedding in May 2009
Celebrating a wedding only a few weeks after a funeral feels both odd and cathartic. We've been heavy this past year, and I think we all are in need of a dose of joy.
Come Sunday morning, my family will stand together again. This time in celebration of a new beginning and not an end.
Today, my sisters and a few of Noelle's friends are going out to lunch. We'll sit and laugh and eat. But I know I'll also be thinking of Pam. Somehow, after her death, I feel like I know her better. Her spirit is not gone.
These cookies would be loved by all my sisters. They are sweet and wholesome, they are soft and chewy. I found the recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies book, but like many of her recipes, I had to tweak the original version in order to produce the desired result.
Don't skip the maple syrup glaze...and please use real maple syrup. You won't regret the way the maple icing crackles and melts on your tongue when you take your first, chewy bite.
Come Sunday morning, my family will stand together again. This time in celebration of a new beginning and not an end.
Today, my sisters and a few of Noelle's friends are going out to lunch. We'll sit and laugh and eat. But I know I'll also be thinking of Pam. Somehow, after her death, I feel like I know her better. Her spirit is not gone.
These cookies would be loved by all my sisters. They are sweet and wholesome, they are soft and chewy. I found the recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies book, but like many of her recipes, I had to tweak the original version in order to produce the desired result.
Don't skip the maple syrup glaze...and please use real maple syrup. You won't regret the way the maple icing crackles and melts on your tongue when you take your first, chewy bite.
Apple Oatmeal Cookies
½ stick unsalted butter (4 TBSP), melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ cup chunky-style applesauce
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the butter and sugars on low speed in the bowl of a standing mixer until combined. Add egg and applesauce and beat for about 2 to 3 minutes, until thoroughly blended.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — oats, flour, baking soda and powder, and salt — and then stir into the wet ingredients.
4. Allow dough to chill for 30-40 minutes. Near the end of chilling time, preheat oven to 350 F. Drop 1½-inch balls of dough onto your baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting.
Maple Frosting
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 TBSP maple syrup
1-2 TBSP water
1. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, syrup and water, adding more water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
½ stick unsalted butter (4 TBSP), melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ cup chunky-style applesauce
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the butter and sugars on low speed in the bowl of a standing mixer until combined. Add egg and applesauce and beat for about 2 to 3 minutes, until thoroughly blended.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — oats, flour, baking soda and powder, and salt — and then stir into the wet ingredients.
4. Allow dough to chill for 30-40 minutes. Near the end of chilling time, preheat oven to 350 F. Drop 1½-inch balls of dough onto your baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake until golden and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting.
Maple Frosting
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 TBSP maple syrup
1-2 TBSP water
1. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, syrup and water, adding more water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
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