CM: Yeah, like little sauvignon.
KV: Yeah, something fun.
CM: Yeah. Cool.
KV: I don’t know. That’s been my dream is a little powdered sugar jelly donut.
CM: She’s got that. I mean, that’s very attainable dream.
KV: Yeah.
CM: But still a vision, nonetheless.
KV: Yes.
CM: Okay, let’s talk about cookies.
JS: Everyone’s looking at me, okay.
KV: The king of cookies has landed.
JS: Yeah. Sure. I’m here. I’m here.
CM: No. So, you developed an entire package of cookies for the December issue of Bon Appétit.
JS: I did.
CM: That was five different cookies.
JS: Yes.
CM: And these weren’t just colorful, exciting cookies that add to the conversation around festive cookie making. These actually showcased a lot of new ideas and new thinking and ultimate simplicity. Talk more about them.
JS: Yeah, I developed five cookies and includes a five-spice crackle cookie, a peppermint bark cookie, a Tahini slice and bake, pomegranate glaze, shortbread wedges, and then what we’re calling pistacharoos, which is a pistachio version of a Scotcheroos.
So, all five of them don’t require a mixer or any specialty equipment, like no food processor, no blender or anything like that. So, baked with a bowl and a whisk or spatula. I feel like I wanted people to win the cookie swap and make really beautiful cookies that make people feel cool and with it, but people will actually make them. Because I feel like so often the cookies that make people feel cool or edgy or whatever are kind of inaccessible for various reasons.
CM: Do you have a favorite or two?
JS: I have a Tahini cookie. But I think was actually my hardest to develop, it’s a…
KV: You made that so many times.
JS: Yeah, I kind of spiraled out on this. It’s a shortbread and it’s made with Tahini and it’s split into a chocolate and a vanilla base, so then I also use just a 100% powdered sugar as the sugar source, which I think really helped tenderize it with the addition of starch in that and just how fine it is, but it probably is my favorite now.
CM: Interesting.
JS: Yeah.
CM: What about number two?
JS: Number two, there’s a crackle cookie that…
KV: I was like, do I start the chant? Five-spice crackle cookie…
JS: It probably is my favorite, yeah. It’s a molasses-based one, but its spices is just five spice powder. Obviously, I like the taste of it, but I was really set out to get the crackle to look a very specific way.
CM: It’s a prodigious amount of crackle.
JS: Yeah, I really like the flavor of that one too, and it’s a very soft cookie.
CM: Now, okay, question for you. Let’s like real talk, okay?
JS: Mm-hmm.