Almond Butter Cookies

My favorite cookies growing up were Syrian butter cookies called “greybeh” in Arabic. My grandmother would serve them for dessert on a doily sprinkled with powdered sugar. The delicate cookies were shaped like bracelets and would usually have a pistachio pressed into the area where the two ends of the dough overlapped. They would melt in my mouth, with a hint of sweetness and the creamy taste of butter.

I was always convinced that they had almond paste in them because they tasted so much like marzipan (one of my other favorite childhood treats). When I finally got a hold of a recipe for greybeh, I realized that bits of almond would transform the simple little cookies into a heartier biscuit that would hold up when dipped into milk or tea.

Note: The original recipe for greybeh does not include rosewater, but I find that it adds a depth of flavor I really enjoy. If you don’t have any, feel free to leave it out. You can find a more authentic recipe in Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews by Poopa Dweck.

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Spicy Peanut Butter Cookies

Another cookie recipe! For some reason my mind is obsessed with cookies at the moment, even though I don’t really love them as a food group. These cookies, however, are much more my style. They are peanuty, spicy and just a little bit sweet. The best part is they are much easier to bake than any other cookie I’ve tried. If you’re like me and don’t usually love sweet treats, try these and let me know what you think.

I haven’t made these in a while, so I don’t have a picture. They look like slightly flatter and darker versions of regular peanut butter cookies. Update: Made these the other day, so I’ve added a photo.

Note: This recipe does not double well. Mix single batches up one after another or in separate bowls. For some reason, every time I’ve doubled this recipe the consistency comes out all wrong. Also, I’m not kidding in the ingredients list; don’t use a jumbo-sized egg.

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Flourless Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I’m not much of a sweet tooth. I would almost always reach for seconds of my dinner instead of dessert. My love for the savory shows up in the food I try to cook. I rarely bake, and when I do, my favorite thing to bake is bread. Sometimes, though, a good cookie can pull me over to the sweet side. Especially if the cookie is more like an gooey, fudgy brownie in disguise.

This recipe originally came from “America Cooks,” a staple in our kitchen, but I’ve tweaked it a tiny bit and added explanations and tips to the instructions.

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