I had a dream last night that I was ironing and folding tiny baby clothes to put in a box to give away. Goodbye babies. It's true, damn it, time rolls on.

Love cookies

The best part about these cookies was delivering them to our valentines around town. Love is grand. This recipe is direct from my Grandmother who I think got the recipe from Martha herself although I cannot imagine a real cookie ever looking like the perfect photos in her magazine cut outs. The jam filled ones were very tasty if a bit misshapen.

* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup pale-pink or white sanding sugar (optional)
* Petal dust in pink, orange, and violet tones (optional)
* 2/3 cup apricot or strawberry jam, slightly warmed (optional)

Directions

1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture to mixer bowl, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Wrap dough in plastic; chill until firm, 1 hour or overnight.
2. To color white sanding sugar, if using: Place a few tablespoons in a small bowl. Mix in petal dust with a toothpick, a bit at a time, until desired shade is reached. Colored sanding sugar will last indefinitely.
3. Heat oven with two racks centered to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts using any 1- to 3 1/2-inch heart cookie cutters. If desired, cut centers out of some hearts. Transfer with spatula to baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if using. Bake until just golden but not too brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack. Continue with dough; reroll scraps.
4. To make sandwich hearts: Brush bottom heart lightly with jam; cover with a second heart with center cut out; jam will adhere hearts. Fill cut-out area with more jam. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.

Hello, February

My birthday is the last day of January. It is usually very cold and this year was no exception. It was a quiet, frozen day punctuated with lovely visits from friends and family. I also received this very beautiful typewriter from my husband. Nothing like a blank page to start a new year.

Good Old Lady Cake

This cake, adapted from a recipe from Baker & Spice in this book, is perfect for a cold afternoon. I baked it for a dumpling party this weekend and the best compliment was one from my friend's cute date. He said "this is good old lady cake!" .....There you have it folks.

Olive Oil Citrus Cake

1 1/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t fine sea salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 grapefruit
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
tad of lemon juice
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 C extra virgin olive oil

Choose a fruity olive oil that you like and don't skimp on the zests- go big on the citrus.

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9 inch by 2 inch round baking pan with olive oil and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt twice. In a separate bowl beat eggs, sugar and zests on high speed for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and a tad of lemon juice. Drizzle in olive oil and mix at medium speed and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix slowly until just incorporated. Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake is golden.
Cool to room temp. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze.. maybe the glaze is the old lady part?

Grapefruit glaze

3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3 T freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Whisk to combine and pour over cooled cake.

One Piece Missing

A New Year. January is always a bit of a challenge for me. The charm of the holidays is over, it is still very cold and we still have a long haul before spring. It is a good time to read, bake, and dig in to the part of me that craves silence and darkness.
I bought this puzzle second hand for Lucien and he actually finished it! (with some help from his father.) I love that there is one piece missing. There is always one piece missing, isn't there?

I ♥ school holidays

We hosted a holiday party this weekend and it was good fun. I made eggnog, rum punch that would have made my grandmother proud and a persimmon pudding that was a big hit. This pudding is dense, dark and rich but it has no butter and only a bit of sugar in it. The key is to start with very ripe hachiya persimmons.