Good Things by David

With Fall right in our midst, sugar squirrels and acorns abound in the landscape.  These gigantic copper cutters from Martha by Mail capture the adorable images of a fuzzy-tailed squirrel and one of its favorite nuts.  Skillfully made by one of this country's best coppersmiths, the cutters are unique in every which way.  They are such a pleasure to use because they produce such large, beautiful cookies (approximately 8" each); there is plenty of space for every baker's creativity.  If you happen to own a pair of these cutters or know someone that does, take them out of storage and start baking batches of these marvelous cookies for your loved ones (sugar cookies are ideal).  Let the images below, from the Martha by Mail catalog, guide you in decorating the cookies or simply let your artistry take over.  Thank you Martha & the designers of the former Martha by Mail catalog...

As I was having my coffee this morning I noticed that a thick fog had rolled in during the night.  After finishing my morning routine, I grabbed my camera & made my way around the house.  I realized that I had never captured fog images here on the property, so it was about time I did.  There's something eerie & mysterious rolled with a bit of the serene whenever I think of fog.  Nothing beats fog in San Francisco for me or on the beaches of Santa Barbara where my family used to take walks whenever we'd visit aunt Sylvia.  I haven't had the privilege of experiencing a foggy day in London or on the moors of Scotland, but perhaps one day I will.  Take a morning stroll with me and enjoy the view. Here I am making my way up the driveway.  You can see that so many leaves have fallen in the last week or so.  These majestic maple trees look so bare.  Up the hill on the right hand side is the barn. Another shot of the maples as I was app...

I'm nibbling on one of my fragrant Pomegranate Cookies right now.  The tender, light and buttery cookies get their inimitable brown sugar-like flavor from pomegranate molasses.  This rather unusual ingredient is nothing more than pomegranate juice that's been concentrated to the consistency of honey.  It's used in Middle Eastern cuisine and can be found in any specialty food store or by mail order.  A small amount goes a long way.  My cookies also get a bit of pomegranate juice mixed into the dough and on the sugar glaze in which they are dipped after baking.  Pomegranates are very much of the season right now, so I urge you to give these cookies a try.  P o m e g r a n a t e C o o k i e s The Cookie Ingredients 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (10x), sifted 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses 1 tab...

The Creating Cookies Booklet was provided with every cookie cutter set in the Martha by Mail catalog.  Many great tips, suggestions & recipes that every baker should have can be found here.  I know that not everyone has access to such a booklet, so I wanted to share with you the valuable information found in this little cherished gem.  Enjoy! ❃ Text from the Creating Cookies Booklet . There's no reason to limit the pleasures of cookie decorating to the holiday season.  With a few simple tools and techniques - a pastry bag filled with royal icing for drawing lines and dots, a sprinkling of colored sugar for texture - you can customize cookies to suit any occasion. Section 1: before you begin Making beautiful cookies like the ones shown here takes time and care.  For best results, bake the cookies the day before you plan to decorate them.  If you wish, you can freeze undecorated cookies up to 4 weeks; allow t...