Pear Cookies

I'm waiting, waiting to discover what the next year will bring for Ryan and me, and I've discovered that patience doesn't come any easier with age.  I think back to my childhood, those anxious nights before a class party, the anticipation of Christmas morning, and my insatiable cravings for Blue Bell ice cream, and I realize that not much has changed.  Even now, with my health and my love beside me, I find myself wanting more.  And while this discontentment ebbs and flows, it remains as constant as a body of a water. 

But even as I sit and admonish my childish thoughts and behavior, I know that I am learning this difficult virtue.  I think of all the fruits I eat and bake with, how each variety has a specific window of ripeness, and how I, as a culinary craftswoman, must wait for that window and then seize upon it quickly.  I think of bananas and pears, and I see myself standing over the fruit bowl, grabbing a pear in my right hand, testing it with my thumb and forefinger and then returning it to its jar to wait another day.  I have learned the value of waiting for that ripeness, and similarly I know I will learn the value of waiting for other things I desire in my life.

These cookies are a reflection of my patience with a couple of pears.  These cookies remain moist for days if your pear is ripe, and they are both sweet and spicy, mouth-watering and addictive.  When you make your batter, you'll find it to be very moist, almost to the point of being too difficult to form into small balls.  Don't be discouraged, the cookies will turn out just fine.  If you're having a lot of trouble stick your dough in the fridge for a half hour.  I brought these cookies to a party I catered at Lucy and Louise, the precious boutique I work at.  They were a hit, and I'm sure they will be popular in your house as well. 

Pear Cookies
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1.5 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups AP flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
I pear, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup of raisins, tossed in 1 TBSP flour to coat

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2.  In a large bowl, combine your melted and cooled butter with sugar and beat until creamy.  Add your egg and vanilla and stir until well combined. 
3.  In a smaller bowl, sift together your flour, powder and spices.  Gradually pour into your wet ingredients and stir until combined.  Stir in your pear chunks and raisins. 
4.  Form dough into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes (you want to take your cookies out just before they look done)
5.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack.  Enjoy!

A platter of cookies and cream cheese brownies