The fields and lawns in England were sere and hay-colored this summer. Our regular trip to visit my husband’s mum was punctuated by frequent emergency alerts about wildfires less than 50 miles away.

The other wild fire to spread through the UK was news of Harry and Meghan’s surprise! return to the country. I was rather amazed at the breathless quality of the news coverage. Royal “experts” in plummy voices — and undoubtedly a closet full of fascinators for every occasion — expressed their shock. How unexpected was their return! And after the fuss Meghan made! Was the King closer to death than we thought? Would Meghan resume her TV career? Where would they live! Did they think Meghan would make jam in the UK?

(Please consider sweetening my morning and the algorithm by clicking the heart-shaped like button. Thank you.)

The reporters for the morning breakfast shows then rushed into the streets to ask people passing Buckingham Palace what they thought of this incredible development. The majority of responses equated to “sure, whatever.” Cut to a journalist in Montecito, California asking people their thoughts on Harry schlepping the family back to England. West Coasters near-universal answer was, “Honey, we have Queen Oprah in Montecito, we barely noticed your UK royal up-and-comers. Also, what was with Meghan selling jam?”

[I perused Meghan’s “As Ever” jam, wine and home goods website, and honestly it made me want to do a whoopsie with its earnest olde-timey, grainy video of Meghan strolling her supposed orchards lovingly plucking apples to make into her spiced apple butter (made from a “family recipe,” although whose family is unclear.) There is much talk on the website of daily rituals that require her tea, candles and wine to be true experiences. Go on, take a gawp at the website. You know you want to.]

My opinion? Of course they’re going back to England. Harry wants his kids to be in on all the perks of being royal, and to get a fancy British education as he did. The rest of the family should stiffen their upper lips, stop being a bunch of twits and reconcile. Honestly, what would their mother say?

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The true royalty in all this my mother-in-law. Her husband of 73 years died last summer, and at 96, because she is able, decided to keep on living in their bungalow in the middle of countryside (aka, the middle of nowhere). I watched her with awe the entire trip. She never stopped moving ( with a few chair naps, admittedly). She walkedI all over town, with the help of a cane, sure, but she is fast. The guy who helps with the lawn was sick, so she spent an afternoon picking up the sticks and leaves that had fallen. She fastidiously composts, walking the five minutes to the compost bin in the backyard with the daily scraps. We’d come home from a trip to town and the family and I would head for the TV and slob about, while she put away the dishes before I had a chance to. She kneels to access the laundry machine, then pulls herself right up. I can barely do that.

I’m sure her upbringing has something to do with her drive. She was born in Coventry in 1929, and if you remember your history, you’ll know the city was heavily bombed during the war. Her neighbo(u)r’s house was obliterated by a bomb, while her family, tucked into their Anderson shelter, were rocked upside-down by the bomb and left for dead by the searchers. Miraculously, they were actually unscathed, and, as she told me, “we had a cup of milky tea and got on with it.” She was then sent away to the countryside to live with foster families until the war was over. Her father would bicycle 30 miles to see her every other Sunday.

She fell in love with the man she felt was her perfect fit, Terry, and they got out of depressed Coventry as fast as the ship to Rhodesia could take them. In Africa, their working class background was largely ignored (it sure helped they were white) and they had opportunities for education and growth they would never have had otherwise. Terry went from plumber’s assistant at home to a building inspector and later on back in Coventry, became a professor of construction and building science at Coventry Polytechnic. She also became a lecturer and trained legions of people to become professional assistants and secretaries.

Do I wish she lived with others to give her company and make sure she eats well? Yup. Do I wish she lived within easier reach of us? You bet. And so I’m grateful for the postman who checks in, the delivery people who bring her groceries, and the local free taxi system for seniors run by younger seniors, who shuttle her weekly to weekly 3-course lunches for widows at Hereford’s Methodist church.

She is obviously blessed by some magical genetic make-up, because her story is more of a rarity, one to marvel at, because the majority of us have to deal with far more infirmities and physical constraints. That said, now home, after years of a polite and unremarkable relationship with my mother-in-law (She did once say to my face: “A mother can’t understand or do much about who their child chooses to marry.”) I have a profound respect for her and aim to channel her energy and determination.

Speaking of aging (and cheap segues), TODAY IS NORMAN’S 2D BIRTHDAY! Yup, Norman Chief Inspector Dogleash Bates is two. We kicked off his natal celebrations with a huge, sniff-filled walk in the woods. Presents (shhhh, he’s getting a stuffed hippopotamus with a big squeaker inside) and treats to follow.

A few years ago, former state attorney for Palm Beach county, Dave Aronberg and I made a dog birthday cake for his beloved pooch. You can get the recipe here:

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Upcoming: A long-promised recipe for kimchi deviled eggs later this week.

Question: Are there any specific savory (ie, not cookies, cakes, etc.) recipes that you’re interested in for autumn? LMK.

More questions: Do you have a role model for aging? Are you forging a new path for yourself? And if you’d rather discuss something even more important, how do you celebrate your pet’s birthdays?

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Oh, and
BUY A COPY OF THE SECRET LIFE OF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Packed with 60 recipes for chocolate chip cookies. It’s a dream come true for chocolate chip cookie lovers. Know someone who can’t resist a chocolate chip cookie? Why not send them a copy… with a ”just thinking of you” note. Fancy experts even like it:

“Everybody loves a chocolate chip cookie. And who better to write about it than the cookie maker par excellence, Marissa Rothkopf Bates?”
― Simon Majumdar, Food Network host and judge

“Marissa is brilliant, clever and creative. Combined with her passion for cookies, her book is like none other.”
― Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible

“Did you not know that you need infinite recipes for chocolate chip cookies? Because you do, and the inimitable Marissa Rothkopf is at your service.”
― Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook

“Marissa Rothkopf is the world’s first public intellectual devoted primarily to the subject of chocolate chip cookies.”
― David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula

Bookshop.org now has it on sale for a whole $1.77 off of the cover price, so now’s your chance…

Hello from what I refuse to think of as the dwindling days of summer. Last Friday I wrote my thoughts about summer for The Contrarian and included some recipes I’m using to stave off the schoolkid-feeling of dread that I still feel this time of year.

(Maybe if enough people click the heart-shaped “like” button we can extend summer a little longer. Thank you!)

You can see the original article at The Contrarian, along with all the other news and insight The Contrarian provides, or read it below where there is also a printable recipe attached.

The Contrarian

Halloumi Fries and Watermelon Salad

Last week, the otherwise kind WCBS-FM DJ Race Taylor posted on social media that August 10 was the last day we’d have sunset after 8 p.m. until next year…

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19 days ago · 25 likes · Marissa Rothkopf

Halloumi Fries and Watermelon Salad

Last week, the otherwise kind WCBS-FM DJ Race Taylor posted on social media that August 10 was the last day we’d have sunset after 8 p.m. until next year.

I almost cried.

I always find myself staring down the dwindling days of August with the dread of a 10-year-old boy forced to go shopping for school clothes.

I have a hard time understanding parents who can’t wait until their kids are back in school. Why would you want to give up the freewheeling, giddy breeze of summer? I didn’t expect to get more wistful for summer as I got older, but here I am, thinking about buying a box of Creamsicles. Is it because I’ve become a gardener, and the big show we’ve been planning all year debuts in summer? Is it that I like wearing flip-flops so much?

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September will eventually work its magic on me. I’ll go back to my adjunct professoring with a brand-new notebook and a fresh set of dry-erase markers. A cooler kitchen to bake in will mean more cakes and cookie recipes to work on. September still offers tomatoes and fresh corn, and it is when my dahlias put on the display I’ve been planning since January, as they prefer warm days and cool nights.

Unlike my dahlias, though, right now I want to make the most of warm nights, listening to the tree frogs scream their love song of creaky chirps, with the crickets performing back-up. Along with a trip to the beach I’ll try to sneak in, what other way would you expect me to honor the summer than through food? To round out the summer, I created a light meal of crunchy, salty air-fried halloumi cheese with a cumin-lime watermelon salad. It’s perfect for sitting on the patio/beach/screened-in porch safe from the dastardly mosquitos, a crisp, cool rosé in hand, reveling in the present.

Notes:

1. Make the watermelon salad more of a main course salad by serving it on a bed of arugula, add feta or grilled halloumi, grilled peaches, and olives.

2. If you can’t find halloumi near you, substitute a low-moisture mozzarella.

Halloumi Fries And Watermelon Salad

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Halloumi Fries

Feeds 4

These can be baked in the oven or air fried.

What You’ll Need:

225 grams halloumi cheese

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 ½ cups (180 grams) flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground sumac (optional)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 ½ cups (90 grams) panko bread crumbs

Avocado or olive oil spray (optional)

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat the airfryer to 390°F/200°C or heat the oven to 375°F/190°C. If baking, line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Cut the halloumi into bars about 3/4-inch wide, 1/2-inch deep and 3 inches long.

(2 cm wide x 1.25 cm deep x 8 cm long)

3. Set up your dipping station: Find 3 shallow bowls. In the first one, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, sumac, salt and pepper. In the second bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. In the third bowl, pour the breadcrumbs.

4. Dip the halloumi pieces one by one, first in the flour, being sure to knock off any extra, then into the egg, and then roll the cheese in the breadcrumbs. Repeat until all the halloumi has been coated. Lay the halloumi fries on the air fryer tray or the baking tray. Spray lightly with oil. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. These are best eaten warm.

Watermelon Salad

Make this salad 1 or 2 hours before serving. If you make it much earlier than that, the watermelon will release a lot of juice. That’s not bad, just serve with a slotted spoon.

Cumin-Lime Dressing:

What You’ll Need:

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey

1 clove garlic, minced fine or grated

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon kosher salt (¼ teaspoon table salt)

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

What You’ll Do:

Put all the ingredients into a clean jar with a lid. Shake until emulsified and creamy-looking. No jar? Whisk the ingredients together. Taste the dressing to check you like the levels of salt, sweet, and tart.

Watermelon Salad

Feeds 4

What You’ll Need:

About 5 cups cubed seedless watermelon

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons minced jalapeno

2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion

2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves

(Optional: 4 cups of baby arugula)

What You’ll Do:

In a large bowl gently toss together the watermelon, cilantro, jalapeno, scallions and mint with the dressing. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. This salad is best served within 8 hours.

Serve the watermelon on a bed of arugula salad, with halloumi fries alongside. If not using halloumi, toss with ⅓ cup chopped feta.

Small note:

For all of you who have reached out with a DM, I promise to respond soon. I apologize for the delay.

If you haven’t already read Joyce Vance’s latest about how the rule of law in Todd Blanche’s DOJ has nothing to do with the actual rule of law, I highly recommend it.

And…you!

Do you feel as I do about the end of summer? At the grocery store, do you shun the back-to-school aisle with its stacks of notebooks and glue sticks, even though you haven’t gone back to school in [insert your own number of years here]? Or are you lining up your pumpkin spice recipes and figuring out Halloween decor?

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I am so grateful for your continued support! If you aren’t already a subscriber, please become one. If you’re able to offer financial support, which goes to groceries for recipe testing, and allows a freelance writer to earn a reasonable wage, I would be very grateful. Either way, if you can share this message with a friend you think will enjoy it, that would be a help.

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know my feelings on the subject.

A national day to honor chocolate chip cookies is kinda ridiculous, when every blessed day of the year should be one where we pay homage to arguably one of America’s greatest contributions to the world.

(Would you be kind enough to click the heart-shaped “like” button to help our good friend the algorithm and help more people to find this winning chocolate chip recipe?)

Let us pause and thank Ruth Wakefield, owner (along with her lesser-known husband) of The Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts for deciding to add chopped chocolate to the butter cookies she served alongside ice cream in the hotel’s popular restaurant.

There are many ways to celebrate today.

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES! This de-luxe, never before published recipe, is shrunk down to a manageable batch of 4 sandwiches. Some for now, some for the freezer. Or all for now.

A SUBSCRIPTION DISCOUNT! Now’s your chance to become a paid subscriber at 20 % off the regular price. Paid subscribers get discounts on online cooking and baking classes coming this fall. And my gratitude for supporting my work and helping to pay for the groceries that go into recipe testing. This subscription discount will be available for the next two weeks. Click the link below:

Nat'l Choc Chip Cookie Day Discount!

BUY A COPY OF THE SECRET LIFE OF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Packed with 60 recipes for chocolate chip cookies. It’s a dream come true for chocolate chip cookie lovers. Know someone who can’t resist a chocolate chip cookie? Why not send them a copy… with a ”just thinking of you” note. Fancy experts even like it:

“Everybody loves a chocolate chip cookie. And who better to write about it than the cookie maker par excellence, Marissa Rothkopf Bates?”
― Simon Majumdar, Food Network host and judge

“Marissa is brilliant, clever and creative. Combined with her passion for cookies, her book is like none other.”
― Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible

“Did you not know that you need infinite recipes for chocolate chip cookies? Because you do, and the inimitable Marissa Rothkopf is at your service.”
― Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook

“Marissa Rothkopf is the world’s first public intellectual devoted primarily to the subject of chocolate chip cookies.”
― David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula

Bookshop.org now has it on sale for a whole $1.77 off of the cover price, so now’s your chance…

To the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Makes 4 sandwiches

What You’ll Need:

6 tablespoons (86 grams) unsalted butter

6 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons ( 81 grams) light brown sugar

3 tablespoons (38 grams) granulated white sugar

14 tablespoons (114 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon table salt)

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (85 grams) chocolate chips

Approx 1 1/3 cups (slightly more than half a pint) ice cream (flavor is up to you)

Sprinkles or mini chocolate chips for decorating

What You’ll Do:

1. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As the butter begins to froth, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently. (This is not the time to multi-task and empty the dishwasher.) The butter can go from “Mmmm. Smells like nutty caramel,” to “Uh-oh, I don’t think it’s supposed to be that color” very quickly.) When the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown and the mixture begins to smell irresistibly nutty, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the mixture into a medium heat-proof bowl, and make sure to scrape in the lovely brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.

2. To the cooled butter, add the brown and white sugars, the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir by hand until blended. The mixture will look like wet sand.

3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and stir until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

4. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375°F/180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Portion the dough into 8 pieces; each one should be about 1/4 cup’s worth, or 53 grams. Form the dough into a hockey puck shape about 3/4-inch (2 cm) tall. Place 4 cookies on each sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, switching the pans top to bottom and back to front halfway through. Bake until light golden. The center should look soft and set but no longer damp. They will continue to cook out of the oven. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make the ice cream sandwiches. Soften the ice cream on the counter for about 10 to 15 minutes, or give it a 20 second blast in the microwave. The ice cream should be soft, but not oozing or melting. If you plan to decorate the sides of the sandwich with sprinkles or mini chips, put them in a bowl.

Place 1/3 cup of ice cream in the middle of the bottom side of a cookie. Top with another cookie and gently press to get the ice cream to the edges. Use the flat side of a butter knife to tidy the edges so no ice cream is oozing over. Roll the sides in sprinkles or chips, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and quickly pop it into the freezer. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

What are your earliest memories of chocolate chip cookies. Was it the first thing you baked? Was there someone special who made them, or a place where you would buy them? What’s your definition of a perfect chocolate chip cookie, or are you a willing participant in any chocolate chip cookie event—thin, crispy, chewy, cakey, giant or miniature, chocolate chunks or chips, nuts or no? Tell me!

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We will also be making brownies because I want to make sure Ayelet and family have something decent to snack on to keep their energy levels up, up, up during pre-wedding festivities.

(If you could reward the algorithm fairies by clicking the “like” button, we would be very grateful.)

You’ll get an invite Saturday AM just before the live event begins, but if you like to plan ahead, here’s the link you need to join us August 1, 2026 12:30 ET/9:30 PT.

Milk Chocolate Chunk Wedding Brownies For Zeke

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a printable recipe, for you.

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Milk Chocolate Chunk Wedding Brownies for Zeke

This brownie is related to my fudgy raspberry brownies from earlier in the year, which use nut flour and our gluten-free. For Zeke’s Brownies, the recipe was tweaked to keep its fudginess while using all-purpose flour and chunks of Tony’s Chocolonely milk chocolate bar.

I’m not sponsored by Tony’s, although, I’d be more than happy to be their ambassador. They are one of the few milk chocolate bars you can find in the supermarket that doesn’t use odd ingredients and added flavors (I’m looking at you, Lindt.) And, of course, they taste very good.

Notes:

• Whisking the butter, oil, sugar and eggs together until the ribbon stage is key in creating a crackly top. You achieve the ribbon stage by whisking the butter, oil sugar and eggs together until thick, lighter in color, and voluminous, creating a ribbon-like trail that sits on the surface for a few seconds before dissolving, which indicates enough air is incorporated.

• I add a little hot coffee at the end to help the cocoa “bloom,” in other words, to bring out the cocoa’s flavor. You can add hot water if you’d prefer.

• Fudgy brownies are not raw brownies, but how do you know when a brownie is baked and ready? A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs, not a slick of gooey batter. It’s not the end of the world if these over-bake—they’re still brownies after all—they’ll just be cakier. And yes, this is what happens to me when I don’t set a timer.

• These brownies are even better the next day. But that shouldn’t stop you from eating them warm with ice cream.

The Recipe:

Makes approx 16 2” x 2” brownies (5 cm x 5 cm)

What You’ll Need:

12 tablespoons (170 grams) butter, melted

3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (such as Canola, or vegetable)

3/4 cup (149 grams) white sugar

3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup (84 grams) Dutch-process cocoa (unsweetened)

2/3 cup (80 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond)

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon hot coffee (or hot water)

1 1/2 cups (255 grams/9 ounces) milk chocolate chunks (I used Tony’s Chocolonely)

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8 x 8” (20 cm x 20 cm) metal baking pan (do not use glass). Line with parchment paper to create a sling.

2. In a large bowl, and while the butter is still warm, whisk together the butter, oil and sugars until uniform. Add the eggs and egg yolk and continue to whisk until the mixture has gained in volume, is lighter in color, and holds a ribbon of batter (see notes above). Whisk in the vanilla extract. Stir in the cocoa, flour and salt until blended. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) and stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 28 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not wet batter. Cool and cut into squares. Brownies freeze nicely if you can’t eat them all at once (or want to hide them so you don’t eat them all at once).

When I explain this newsletter to people not already in the know, I tell them it’s all about baking, cooking, some kitchen history and a liberal dose and discussion of politics and what’s going on in the news. And it’s been a week—from the aftermath of the farce that was the White House Correspondent’s Dinner to Todd Blanche’s nomination hearing postponed. However, I was knocked sideways by my own fury at the hearing of Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

Earlier that morning I’d posted on Threads in a most teacherly tone that we shouldn’t let ourselves be distracted by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s interrogation of Dr. Fauci. Those Senators, I reminded us, were doing it to curry favor with the president, to bait liberals and stoke MAGA-types.

But then I watched some of the hearing. I saw Dr. Fauci’s lawyer get forcibly removed from chambers, listened as Josh Hawley taunted the doctor like a 5-year-old playing lawyer, and Bernie Moreno yell “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I can’t say I did anything clever at that point. I did, however, cry. Maybe it was the whole week’s/month’s/years’ news catching up with me. Or maybe I couldn’t bear to watch the grotesque injustice of an 85-year-old scientist and physician who devoted his entire life to helping people have to sit through such a disgusting self-aggrandizing performance by politicians who have done nothing for anyone but themselves.

How are you holding up as we head into August? Anyone else experience feelings as I did this week? Rant, jabber, wax eloquent or make animal sounds below. Let’s just make sure we take care of each other.

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A few more distractions:

I had a wonderful time talking with Anushay Hossain about the vagaries of publishing a cookbook, thoughts on a next book and the state of women’s rights in the U.S. Please give it a listen.

ANUSHAY'S POINT

State of Women + Baked Goods w/ Marissa Rothkopf.

Listen now

a month ago · 16 likes · Anushay Hossain and Marissa Rothkopf

I also listened to two other uplifting pods this week that had NOTHING to do with me. Conan O’Brien’s conversation with comedian Leslie Jones involved a lot of quite funny talk of s-e-x, but near the end of the podcast, Leslie shared some inspirational ideas on how we should strive to live together.

Amy Poehler interviewed Anne Lamott who was pure Anne and shared baskets full of encouraging words for writers and non-writing humans alike

And here is Clyde, sadly newly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which requires medicine twice daily. Please keep him in your good thoughts that the meds go to work fast!

Become a paid subscriber if you can. My Substack has an archive of over 300 tried and tested recipes. Please consider becoming a subscriber if you’re not already. Paying for a subscription helps support my work as a freelance journalist and ensures you well-tested recipes, plus my weekly newsletter full of recipes, and yes, politics. Plus, regular live events with well-known people like Ayelet Waldman, E. Jean Carroll, Miles Taylor and Joyce White Vance, where we talk about food, democracy and the news, in a way that’s been called, yes, “soothing” by many listeners.

Can’t afford a paid subscription? Then be kind enough to restack and share my posts! That’s a great way of helping.

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Just a quick note to say I’ll be on Anushay Hossain’s Substack live tonight at 7 pm/ET. As she is the preeminent expert on women’s health and rights, we will be diving into the state of women’s rights in the U.S. We’ll also discuss baked goods, because we can’t help ourselves.

Please join us here: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/288887

Cat tax below, of Clyde,the posing poseur:

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And here is a sneak-preview of the gluten-free apricot-almond torte appearing in tomorrow’s Contrarian.

Poke cake is a gloriously retro American confection, where cake, still warm from the oven, gets poked all over with the handle end of a wooden spoon, Jel-lo or custard is poured over and the cake is then crowned with a layer of whipped topping. The cake then chills in the ‘fridge to let the flavors develop.

The first time I ever had a poke cake, it was at my brother David’s girlfriend’s house. I was probably 6, my brother 17 and undoubtedly stuck with babysitting me, and they sat me in the kitchen with a book, a large slab of cake and went off somewhere in the house to I dunno, read books too?

Most poke cakes are made with all sorts of short cuts, usually boxed cake mix, instant pudding and my grandmother’s favorite non-dairy frozen whipped topping, Cool Whip.

My goal was to create a poke cake that was all homemade: cake, custard and whipped cream. I wanted it to be as easy as the boxed mixes promise. Puckery with lime juice and zest, served cold from the refrigerator, it is a very happy summer dessert.

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(My 20-year-old son pronounced this dessert “perfect.” Anyone with knowledge of the opinions of 20-year-olds understands the gravitas of such a pronouncement. He has yet to ask for the car keys or cash, so maybe he means it?)

Notes:

• This is a three-step dessert, so may look a little daunting. Each step is simple, with maybe the number of dirty bowls you have to clean the only vaguely tedious part.

• I used Nellie & Joe’s Key West lime juice from the grocery, but you can obviously use fresh key lime juice if you are so blessed, or just ordinary fresh-squeezed lime juice.

• Serving suggestion: Cut yourself a slice of cake and a good book (may I recommend Daniel Mason’s new Country People?) and make that the reality you focus on for a while.

• The recipe technically makes a cake large enough to serve 8 to 10 people, but as it keeps nicely in the fridge, a small family, say, can demolish the cake over a few days. That said, the recipe can be halved and baked in a 8 x 8” pan (NB: The cake will take less time to bake by about 10 minutes.)

Lime Poke Cake

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Lime Poke Cake

What You’ll Need:

For the cake:

1 cup (8 ounces/226 grams) room-temperature butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

1 2/3 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt (¼ teaspoon table salt)

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons milk (or alternative milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the lime custard layer:

14 ounces (1 can/397 grams) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup (170 grams) heavy or whipping cream

1/2 cup (113 grams) key lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime zest

For the cream topping:

1 cup (227 grams) heavy or whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Lime zest for decorating.

What You’ll Do:

Make the cake:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and flour (or spray with Baker’s Joy or similar) a 13 x 9” baking pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. With a hand- or stand-mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture, eggs, vanilla and milk and mix on low speed until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds until smooth. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 23 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake. The holes should go about three-quarters of the way to the bottom.

While the cake is baking, make the lime custard.

If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer, or whisk by hand if you’re that kind of person.), beat the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, lime juice and zest on low speed for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients. Raise the speed to high and whip until the mixture has thickened. It will never whip up fluffy like whipped cream, but it will hold its shape and appear custard-like.

Pour the mixture over the cake and smooth it evenly to ensure it makes it into the holes. Cover and refrigerate while you whip the cream.

Make the whipped cream

Whisk together heavy cream, vanilla extract and confectioner’s sugar at high speed until the cream holds soft peaks. Spread the cream over the top of the custard. Decorate with lime zest if you’re feeling fancy. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. If you can hold off for 8 hours or so, you will be rewarded with a more flavorful dessert.

You may have noticed that this week I didn’t mention the Orange Menace and election fraud (takes one to know one), the president’s personal lawyer Todd Blanche, the lack of a properly working FDA (certainly this is one way for RFK jr to get us all to just eat meat), or the missing Senator from Kentucky. It’s not because I’m avoiding the news, I just figured we all needed a safe-ish space.

That said, you might enjoy this parody video that skewers Pete Hegseth’s giddy lust for testosterone.

And what are you thinking/not thinking about?

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While our house, with my English-born, avid rabid Liverpool fan of a husband, will be screaming at and for England, you may not feel strongly one way or the other. (Although I suspect a bunch of you have fallen for Erling Haaland’s Viking charms. And how not?)

Let cake guide you. Will it be England’s raspberry and lemon curd Victoria sponge?

Or Norway’s lush spice cake?

Revisit two of my past recipes and decide.

Will it be England?

Or Norway?

Which cake are your rooting for?

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There is shocking news out of Wimbledon this year.

The ritzy Renshaw restaurant on the grounds of the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (aka Wimbledon), has pushed aside scones to serve Welsh cakes.

(Share the love, er, match and click the “like” button to tell the algorithm how much you like afternoon tea, and bad tennis puns.)

Some guests, according to an article from the BBC, are disgusted by the Welsh interlopers, finding it a slap in the face of tradition.

That said, lunch, with a full afternoon tea included, costs a whopping £467.50 ($624.54) per person, so after adding Welsh cakes and bara brith to the menu, the chef appears to have conceded that guests who pay that much can definitely have scones as well.

While I adore scones, I firmly believe Welsh cakes deserve attention. Made from an enriched shortcrust dough—which basically means cookie-like pie dough—flavored with spices and filled with raisins, they dough is rolled out, cut into discs and cooked on a griddle. So, sort of like a pancake, but dense, yet tender, buttery and crumbly. So, texture wise, mebbe think of Welsh cakes like a scone, but if a big Welsh sheep sat upon it and squashed it flat.

I don’t suppose that description will get me working for the Welsh Food Alliance any time soon, but maybe if I show you this beautiful picture of the Welsh coastline…

Notes:

• Welsh cakes take very little time to make. They are typically served with butter and jam, but I like them plain.

• The recipe makes 14 3” Welsh cakes. Any you don’t eat, you can wrap well and keep in the freezer. Reheat them before serving.

• Hate raisins? Use dried cranberries. Hate dried fruit? Mini chocolate chips are a great substitute (says the woman who wrote an entire book on chocolate chip cookies).

• Traditional recipes use an equal mix of butter and lard. I prefer all butter.

• The recipe calls for a mix of spices, but you can substitute a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.

• The recipe also asks for 1 to 2 tablespoons milk. Only add if after the addition of the egg you find the mixture is too crumbly to hold together when you grab a handful. Add one tablespoon at a time. When I make these sometimes I need one tablespoon and sometimes two.

• You can make the recipe using a food processor, or by hand.

Make yourself some Welsh cakes, fix yourself a bowl of cyclospora-free strawberries and cream, and fix yourself a nice cuppa (or better, a Pimms cup) and watch the World Cup, enjoy Wimbledon.

Welsh Cakes

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Welsh Cakes

Make 14 3-inch cakes

What You’ll Need

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (225 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (85 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon mixed spice (recipe below)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 14 pieces

1/2 cup (50 grams) raisins

1 large egg, beaten

(1 - 2 tablespoons milk)

Extra butter for cooking

Extra granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Spice Mix

This makes enough for there to be leftovers, which are nice mixed with sugar and sprinkled over the cakes. Mix together

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Store leftovers in an airtight jar.

What You’ll Do

To make by hand:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, mixed spice, salt and baking powder. Add the butter pieces, toss them in the flour mixture, then smoosh and crumble them by hand, tossing and smooshing, until the mixture looks like damp sand. Mix in the raisins.

2. Incorporate the egg with a fork until the mixture is evenly moistened. Grab a handful. If it holds together, skip to number 3. If not, add a tablespoon of milk, and toss. Add another only if necessary.

3. Gather the dough together in a ball and transfer to a floured pastry board or clean counter. Roll the dough out 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 3- or 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the cakes, re-rolling the dough as necessary.

4. Heat a pan or griddle over medium-heat, Add a tablespoon or so of butter, and once it’s melted and hot, add as many cakes as fit in the pan without crowding. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Lower the heat if necessary.

5. Sprinkle both sides with granulated sugar while still warm. Best eaten warm. Butter and jam optional.

To make in a food processor:

Using the metal blade the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and salt to the food processor and pulse 5 times to blend. Toss in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, stir in the raisins and then follow the instructions from number 2 in the recipe above.

Why not make a proper afternoon tea, whip up some cucumber sandwiches (no crusts!) and bara brith and cheese scones?

Bara Brith recipe:

Cheese scones recipe:

Will you be glued to all the sports on TV this weekend? In my house, Wimbledon is usually number one on our watch list…unless it’s a World Cup year. And with an English husband … tomorrow’s match against Norway is going to be a super-tense watch.

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(also, please click the “like” button to keep chocolate chip cookies chocolatey across the world.)

Is the Great American State Fair not filling you with semiquincentennial pride? Worried the new golden eagle on the front of the White House feels a little too, what is it, Reichstag-y? Concerned your July 4 barbecue will be accompanied by one long, sad trombone sound as you and your guests ponder why you’re even celebrating what feels like the end of the American experiment?

Then let me offer you something that should fill you with pride in America, something that reflects the hardworking innovation and quality that the United States has been known for — something that brings joy on the daily to people around the world.

Is this magical thing telephones? Lasers? The internet? Vaccines?

No, my friend and patriot, I believe America’s greatest contribution to the world is the chocolate chip cookie.

This humble butter cookie is now eaten around the globe, from Japan to England and back ‘round again. In Nigeria, you can pick up a pack of “Royalty Chocolate Chip Cookies” at the supermarket. At a cafe in Tashkent, order an “American cookie” to go with your cup of qahva, and you’ll receive a chocolate chip cookie.

And in case you were worried, as one 5-year-old girl was, whether they are chocolate chips at research stations in Antarctica, there are. This entire subreddit is worth the read, but if you don’t have the time, rest assured there is a little girl who will continue to pursue a science career in Antarctica because chocolate chip cookies will be available.

Ruth Wakefield, the creator of the chocolate chip cookie and owner of the Toll House Inn, would probably be amused, in a quiet New England sort-of fashion, to discover how her simple cookie has brought joy to the farthest corners of the globe. Developed in 1938, the cookie was intended to be an accompaniment to bowls of ice cream served to guests at her popular inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.

The Inn, which she owned with her rarely mentioned husband, was popular with celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and even Duncan Hines. It wouldn’t be an American story without a Kennedy involved, and apparently patriarch Joseph Kennedy was a big fan of the Inn’s Boston Cream Pie (which is a cake, not a pie, and a dessert enigma for another day).

News of the cookie spread across New England after Wakefield appeared on the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air and the recipe was printed in several newspapers. The Second World War cemented the cookie’s popularity, as GIs from New England received care packages of chocolate chip cookies they shared with their buddies. Soldiers would write home and ask to have these cookies sent to them. Soon Nestle, who had seen a spike in sales of the new chocolate morsels (the original bars had to be broken apart with a small pick) began directing ads to women on the home front.

The chocolate chip cookie is a classic All-American story full of imagination, innovation, and marketing know-how. It even features World War II soldiers, Kennedys, and seemingly greedy corporate overlords. The common story is that Wakefield was ripped off by the Nestle company, which alleged to have bought the recipe from her for $1. However, Wakefield was no idiot. A trained home economist and smart business woman, she cared most about her inn. To this day, each and every bright yellow bag of Nestle’s chocolate chips includes a recipe for Toll House cookies. That kind of marketing is worth millions of dollars, and it cost her almost nothing.

My cookbook, The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies, has over 60 different takes on the chocolate chip cookie, from thin and crunchy to soft and gooey, and a variety of flavors from ginger-rye to triple chocolate. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States and a thank you to all you Contrarian readers, I have a brand new chocolate chip cookie recipe for you, which my very opinionated family claims is my best one yet. Of course, I leave it to you to judge.

The cookie is large and chewy-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside. Made with browned butter and (secret ingredient) malted milk powder, the caramel flavor reaches out and grabs you before you have time to think, and the cookie is studded with large chunks of hand-cut semi-sweet chocolate.

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A few ingredients and techniques make this cookie stand out:

1. Brown butter: Browning the butter does two wonderful things. First, the process removes the water from the butter, leaving only the tasty milk solids behind. This helps make the cookie tender and, best of all, adds a nutty caramel flavor to the cookie.

2. Malted milk powder: Whisk the malted milk powder into the brown butter, where it will caramelize in the heat. You don’t have to be a malted milk fan to like these, it’s there to enhance the rich, caramel flavor.

3. An extra yolk: Along with an egg, an extra egg yolk is added to ensure chewiness, thanks to the additional moisture and protein in the yolk.

4. Chopped semisweet and milk chocolate bars: Cutting up chocolate bars creates a variety of shapes and sizes of chocolate chunks. The more chunks, the more gooey chocolate in every bite. Use the best quality chocolate you can find. On the more affordable end of the range, Ghirardelli and Lindt are great choices.

5. The challenging part: Refrigerate the dough for at least eight hours before baking, and 24 hours if you can wait that long. This allows for the flour to properly hydrate and the flavors to deepen.

   For more tips on how to shape and bake these cookies, plus a great convo about what it means to be a patriot, give a listen to me and Ayelet Waldman.

Super Ccc

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The “Best Chocolate Chip Cookie I’ve Ever Eaten” Chocolate Chip Cookie

What You’ll Need:

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons malted milk powder

1 cup (213 grams) light brown sugar

½ cup (99 grams) granulated white sugar

2 ¼ cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt)

1 large egg, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate, cut into chunks

4 ounces (113 grams) milk chocolate, cut into chunks

What You’ll Do:

1. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As the butter begins to froth, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently. (This is not a time to check your phone, as the butter can go from “Mmmm. Smells like nutty caramel,” to “Uh-oh, I don’t think it’s supposed to be that color” very quickly.) When the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown and the mixture begins to smell irresistibly nutty, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the mixture into a large heat-proof bowl, and make sure to scrape in the lovely brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the malted milk powder, and let the mixture cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. To the cooled melted butter, add the brown and white sugars, the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir by hand until blended. The mixture will look like wet sand.

3. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and stir until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chunks. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. (Although I certainly wouldn’t object if you baked off one or two now. That’s what I do.)

4. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375°F/180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Portion the dough about 3 tablespoons of dough. Form the dough into a round-ish shape, pinching the top to make it taller than it is wide. Leave 2 inches (5 cm) between cookies as they spread. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, switching the pans top to bottom and back to front halfway through. Bake until light golden. The center should look soft and set but no longer damp. They will continue to cook out of the oven. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

How are you celebrating the Fourth of July?

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Please consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. If you can’t afford that now, sharing my substack is also helps me out. Thank you so much.

For those of you looking for more chocolate chip cookie recipes, howsabout buying a copy of my cookbook, The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies from a small, local bookseller?

Kate demonstrated how to make the world’s cutest and most creative individual tarts made with a bomb-proof cream cheese dough. I made a frozen passion fruit pie. All the techniques are in the video, and the recipes are below. Enjoy!

Frozen Passion Fruit Pie

makes 1 9-inch pie

About Passion Fruit Pulp

Although I wish, wish, wish I had my own passion fruit orchard, I live in New Jersey, and that ain’t ever going to happen. Even fresh passion fruits are hard to find. So, if you’re sad like me, you’ll have to use frozen pure passion fruit pulp, which can often be found in the freezer section of most Latin grocery stores. I also find fresh passion fruit pulp with very few additives at H-mart, the Korean grocery chain. To be clear you don’t want to buy a juice product, as they’ll contain too much sugar.

If the seeds aren’t already removed, that’ll be your job. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, pour in the pulp and lightly press on it to push the juice through. Like this:

What You’ll Need

For the crust

1 1/2 cups (180 grams) finely crushed graham crackers (about 12 full graham sheets)

6 tablespoons (84 grams) butter, melted

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

For the filling

2 cups (16 fluid ounces) heavy cream

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup (8 fluid ounces) passion fruit puree, melted if frozen, or “pure” juice (see notes above on what to look for)

Zest of 2 limes (about 2 teaspoons)

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (optional, but it boosts the pucker)

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly butter a 9-inch pie pan.

2. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt. Pour the mixture into the pie plate and using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup, firmly press the crumbs to the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes until just light golden in color. Let cool completely before proceeding with the next step.

3. Whisk the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, gently fold in the sweetened condensed milk, passion fruit puree, lime zest and lime juice. Spoon this lush, cloud-like mixture into the pie shell and smooth into place. Freeze for 2 hours, or until firm. If you plan to keep the pie in the freezer for a few days, cover the pie with plastic wrap to prevent icky freezer odors seeping in. Mrs Paul’s fish stick and passion fruit pie is what we’re trying to avoid. (Also, when was the last time you had a fish stick?)

4. Remove the pie from the fridge 15 minutes before you intend to serve it. I drizzled more puree over the pie to 1. Give eaters a clue what the pie was about; 2. Ensure some puckery passion fruitiness. Cut the pie with a knife dipped in hot water and dried. Problem getting the crust out? Put a warm towel underneath the pie plate. Store any leftovers in the freezer (but you probably know that).

Kate’s Cream Cheese Dough

Kate's Cream Cheese Dough

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Kate’s Cream Cheese Dough

Makes 2 dough discs

Halve for 1 disc

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

• 1/2 cup (120 g) cream cheese, chilled and cut into small pieces

• 12 tablespoons (180 g) salted or unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s or another artisan apple cider vinegar)

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water

PROCEDURE

By Hand

1. In a large bowl, place the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix together with a fork, whisk, or clean fingers.

2. Add the butter and cream cheese, and with clean hands, quickly smoosh the mixture

together until it looks like coarse meal with some small peas in it. You can also use a pastry blender or a mezzaluna, chopping up and down.

3. Sprinkle the apple cider vinegar and water over the mixture and mix together with a fork or your fingers.

4. Lightly squeeze and press the dough until it all holds together and form into a ball or rectangle.

5. Keep the dough whole or divide it in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.

By Food Processor

1. In the bowl of a food processor fit with the metal blade, place the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Pulse two or three times to combine.

2. Add the butter and cream cheese, and pulse 10 to 15 times until it looks like a coarse meal. It may take more…or less.

3. Add the vinegar and water, and pulse 5 to 10 more times.

4. Turn the dough into a medium bowl and form into a disc with your hands. Wrap and place in the fridge for an 30-60 minutes before rolling.

From Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want by Kate McDermott,

The Countryman Press (2020)

If you have any questions, large or small, just ask.

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Over the past five years here on Substack, I have shared over 300 recipes with you. That’s 2 to 3 cookbooks worth. If each recipe was printed on an 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper and laid to end, that would get you .00002% of the way to the moon.

Arithmetic gymnastics, however, is not what this is all about. This is meant to be a confession and hopefully, absolution, because at the end of May I realized I’d never shared with you one of my most popular recipes: s’mores bars.

The bars are made up of layers of graham cracker-infused shortbread and covered in layers of chocolate and marshmallows. The result is a gooey dessert that offers all the flavors of a s’mores without the need for a fire or bug spray.

I bring these s’mores bars to potlucks, teacher toasts and block parties, where they tend to disappear with much oo-ing and ahh-ing. If my kids had to rank their favorite desserts of mine, these would be in the top 3.

I recently gave a batch to my neighbor to take on the Girl Scout camping trip she was going on with her daughter. The second night they were there, the campsite was inundated with rain and tornado warnings. All activities were cancelled for the night and the kids and caregivers were packed into a small room to wait out the storm. The group had been looking forward to a campfire, sing-a-long and, of course, s’mores. My neighbor suddenly remembered the package I’d sent her off with and shared them with the crowd—saving the day with these no-fuss, no-fire-needed s’mores.

Shrinkflation: This recipe was born about 8 years ago. Since then, Hershey bars and graham crackers have gotten smaller, which I realized while re-testing the recipe over the last month. Where I once called for a pack of 6 Hershey bars, 7 are now required. And prices for the bars have nearly doubled.

Notes:

As you should do with all recipes, read it carefully before beginning. Part of the graham cracker mixture is set aside to make the crumb topping, and I don’t want you to confuse which is which.

I use Hershey bars for the classic s’mores taste, but feel free to use the semisweet or dark chocolate bar of your choice.

Smores Bars

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S’mores bars

Makes 24 squares

What You’ll Need

• 3 cups (330 grams) graham cracker crumbs (@3 full sleeves of Honey Maid graham crackers or similar) (set aside 1 cup/140 grams for the topping)

• 1/2 cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup (71 grams) brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 7 1.55 ounce (312 grams) Hershey bars

• 2 1/4 cup (115 grams) mini marshmallows

For the crumble topping

• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, room temperature

• 1/3 cup (71 grams) brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

What You’ll Do

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 13 x 9-inch (23 x 33 cm) pan and line it with a large piece of parchment that hangs over the edge of the pan by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). The parchment paper will act as a sling to help you lift the s’mores bars from the pan after they’re baked to make cutting them easier.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the graham cracker crumbs, the flour and 1 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside 1 cup (140 grams) of this mixture in a smaller bowl. The mixture in the smaller bowl will be turned into the crumb topping mixture later.

3. With a hand- or in a stand mixer, beat together the 10 tablespoons (142 grams) butter, 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended Add the larger bowl (2 cups worth) of graham-flour mixture and stir until blended. Press this mixture evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan. Break up the chocolate bars and distribute them evenly over the crust. Top with mini marshmallows.

4. Make the crumb topping: To the crumb topping mixture you set aside earlier, add 2 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix together with your fingers (or a fork if you’re feeling dainty) until clumps of crumble form. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown. Place on a cooling rack. I typically cut these into about 2-inch squares for a potluck or buffet.

These can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight tin. They keep fresh on the counter for at least a week, but I doubt very much if they’ll last that long. If you won’t be feeding a crowd, wrap slabs of the s’mores bars in a layer of plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost on the counter.

Mark your calendars. Two big live events this week!

July 2, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT: Pie and tart-making lessons with me and the Queen of Pie, Kate McDermott.

July 3, 12 pm ET/9 am PT: Ayelet Waldman and I will be baking America’s greatest contribution to the world: chocolate chip cookies, and we’ll be dredging our own personal reflecting pools to find real reasons to celebrate America’s birthday.

How are you holding up? What is up for you this weekend? I plan to wrestle my ADHD to the ground and finally organize my closets and drawers. Think good thoughts.

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(For every person who clicks the heart-shaped “like” button, Norman says he will get a piece of cheese. Thank you.)

Shlock and eww

In my Tuesday post, I mocked the merch being sold by the America 250 group. About 12 minutes after I posted it, this article about the Beinecke Library’s collection of Bicentennial kitsch appeared in the New York Times and made me rethink my sneering remarks. Bicentennial sani-pad bags, anyone?

Better than sliced bread

Kate McDermott’s substack this AM is so warm and full of love on the subject of bread-baking and family that you may be able to smell freshly baked bread when you read it. It also has a very surprising tip for encouraging yeast to do its thing and a simple bread recipe which I plan to try today.

Rats on cheese

I’ll spare you how I got to this clip this AM (Hi, Monica!), but, please, please take the time to enjoy some dancing rats singing about cheese.

Der Bus Kommt Nach Montclair! And the coach with coaches!

My suburban New Jersey town is filled with well-known people: journalists, TV, film and Broadway stars. Stars regularly grace our sidewalks on their way to the Montclair Film Festival. Dammit, we’ve been fancy for years. We are the childhood home of astronaut Buzz Aldrin and The Gilbreths, aka the Cheaper By the Dozen family (who were eugenicists, but that’s for another day). And Benjamin Moore, the paint guy, was an actual real human, and where did he live? Yes, clever one, you are following along! Montclair.

Montclair takes fame in its stride, until yesterday, when it was discovered that the German soccer team was staying at the fancy hotel in town and people fizzily posted about sightings in town. “German football officials spotted on Church Street!” Squee! I guess the team is staying here because we offer the nicest hotel this side of the MetLife stadium, where they’ll play against Ecuador in a Group E match-up for the World Cup.

Mind you, they could’ve stayed at The Royal Motel, which is much closer to the stadium and offers hourly rates and mirrored rooms, so they can be sure their hair and sports kit looks right before the game…

And if the rumo(u)rs are correct, England’s National Team will be staying here on Friday pre-game. And they better get a good night’s sleep and play fully awake or else my English husband and kids will be not well-pleased. Esp. after their last snoozer of a match.

Dreams Do Come True: A story for your dog, from Norman

Here’s a little story to tell your dog friends. It is A True Story that happened this very morning.

Once upon a time there was a dog named Norman who was asleep outside, dreaming happy dog dreams on the cool stone patio when all of a sudden he heard a loud “THUMP.”

Norman woke up instantly, ran to where the noise came from and discovered his dreams had become reality! A squirrel had fallen from an oak tree and lay there, stunned, dead—he didn’t know. And he didn’t care. He gently tucked the squirrel into his large, toothy maw and took it to his other favorite tree, where he paced around, sniffing and inspecting the squirrel with both his nose and his mouth. So many good smells emanated from this lifeless, furry body! The fetid odors he’d noticed the many times he’d followed squirrels at speed along the fence line were here, finally still, in front of him! “It IS a dog’s life,” he mused to himself, as he nuzzled the lifeless, slightly bloodied front paw of the squirrel.

My friends, I’m afraid, this story doesn’t have a true happy ending for either Norman (or the squirrel for that matter). For Norman had to watch as the now-deceased squirrel was unceremoniously scooped up with an old snow shovel and placed in a large plastic bag—as if the squirrel were garbage and not Manna! Norman always knew humans were lesser beings, but he’d never seen proof quite as close-up before. Although Norman had seen the squirrel seemingly disappear into the white bag, he knew this must be some sort of human trickery, like how they get you into the car saying you’re going to the cheese store and you end up at the vet instead.

Norman wants you to know he spent the next 25 minutes sniffing each blade of grass with his long proud snoot, hoping for a clue to the squirrel’s whereabouts— and as he plans to do daily for at least 3+ years (Thanks to dog-friend Lola for the great idea!). Soon after, a so-called a “dog bone” was thrown his way, some stupid product with a ridiculous, demeaning name like “Nubz.” It was peanut butter-flavored. It wasn’t squirrel, for sure, but he admits it was tasty. He ate it willingly and went back to sleep, this time under the oak tree, hopeful that his dreams would come true again with another great thump.

Share this with all your dog friends.

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Want s’more? Norman does. Tomorrow, far away from this story about deceased squirrels, I will be sharing one of my all-time, most-popular-with-friends-and-family, yet, never-before-shared recipes for s’mores bars. Make sure you are subscribed and that you subscribe 10 or 15 friends (!) to ensure they don’t miss out on stories for dogs and recipes for humans.

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Two items in today’s Monday Rundown: A recipe repeat from this past Friday’s Contrarian and some thoughts on the upcoming 250th anniversary of America’s signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Pie That Isn’t

Last Friday’s Contrarian News round-up had one of my favorite new recipe creations; a deconstructed fresh peach pie.

You can read the entire article here.

The deconstructed fresh peach pie consists of a rye-ginger crust baked as one enormous cookie on a sheet pan, then broken into large shards of flaky crust and served in a bowl atop sliced, fresh peaches and vanilla ice cream. The result, if I do say so myself, is delicious, easy-to-make, and allows you the pleasure of playing with your food.

The best bit? This preparation is about 96 percent easier than making an actual two-crust pie. There is no pie pan to struggle with, no crimping or worry about the dough cracking, and no soggy pie bottom.

The crust can be baked a day or two in advance, leaving you only to have to cut up the peaches and scoop the ice cream when it’s time for dessert.

If your fruit is less than perfect, or you are just craving the warm gooey comfort of pie filling, you can cook fruit, some sugar, lemon zest and a touch of thickener (tapioca or corn starch) on top of the stove. I’ve done it with apples for one of the family’s more low-key Thanksgivings, and it was popular.

This dessert works nicely as an elegant dessert you can plate for guests. My preferred method, however, is to serve this as a make-your-own pie bar, with all the components laid out (fruits, pieces of crust, ice cream), allowing everyone to indulge in their own ratio of crust to filling to ice cream.

Baking Notes:

I used a blend of white, wheat, and rye flour to create a nutty-tasting, crunchy dough.

If buying rock-like unripe peaches and nectarines is your only choice, make sure the skin color nearest to the stem is yellow and not green. At home, place the fruit in a brown paper bag to ripen.

Warming the crust before serving is a nice touch and creates a nice contrast to the cold ice cream and lush peaches.

And, obviously, make up your own fresh fruit combinations to suit what’s in season near you.

The video below will show you how to make the crust by hand. Although I always prefer the ease of a food processor.

Deconstructed Peach Pie with a Rye-Ginger Crust

Serves 6

This makes enough crust to serve six people generously. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. But if you are thinking of halving, ponder how nice it would be to have leftover crust “cookies” to nibble all week.

This pie crust recipe is adapted from pie royalty, Kate McDermott, and her book The Art of the Pie.

What You’ll Need

For the crust:

½ cup + 2 tablespoons (75 grams) all-purpose flour

⅔ cup (75 grams) whole wheat flour

4 tablespoons (32 grams) rye flour

¼ teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons (98 grams) butter, cold and cut into pieces

¼ cup (60 grams) ice-cold water (plus 1 or 2 extra tablespoons, if necessary)

1 ½ (19 grams) tablespoons granulated white sugar

For the crust topping

2-3 (30 to 45 grams) tablespoons heavy cream or one egg beaten with a teaspoon of water

@⅓ cup (70 grams) demerara sugar or “Sugar in the Raw”

3 tablespoons (40 grams) minced crystallized ginger

For the pie filling

9 ripe peaches, sliced into wedges. (I estimate at least 1 ½ peaches per person, and sometimes 2 because I am genetically programmed to worry there won’t be enough for everyone)

For the ice cream

Vanilla ice cream (my choice is Tillamook old-fashioned vanilla)

What You’ll Do

Make the pie crust

Food processor method:

1. Add the white flour, wheat flour, rye flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor with the metal blade in place. Pulse 10 times until blended.

2. Sprinkle the butter over the flour mixture and pulse 15 to 20 times or until the butter is cut up into pea-sized pieces and the mixture looks sandy. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and pour over the ¼ cup of ice water. Quickly toss the water in with two forks, as if you were tossing a salad. When the flour is completely moistened, grab a handful of the dough and squeeze. Does it hold together when you let go? If so, great! If not, toss in one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture holds together. Things to avoid: Adding too much water, and finding yourself with a gummy, sticky dough.

3. Gather the dough and gently shape into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or up to 3 days ahead. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 400°F/200°C and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. On a well-floured pastry board or cold counter, roll the dough out into as much of a rectangle as you can muster. It should be ⅛” thick. Transfer to the baking sheet. Using a fork, lightly “dock” the pie crust: Prick the dough all over with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing. Do not poke the fork through the dough, just leave indentations.

4. Brush the top with the heavy cream or egg wash. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and crystallized ginger. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is crisp and a light toasted color.

Hand method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Toss the butter pieces in the flour, then, using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the flour up into pea-size pieces and smaller. The mixture should look sandy.

2. Pour over the ¼ cup of ice water. Quickly toss the water in with two forks, as if you were tossing a salad. When the flour is completely moistened, grab a handful of the dough and squeeze. Does it hold together when you let go? If so, great! If not, toss in one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture holds together. Things to avoid: Adding too much water, and finding yourself with a gummy, sticky dough.

3. Gather the dough and gently shape into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or up to 3 days ahead. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 400°F/200°C and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. On a well-floured pastry board or cold counter, roll the dough out into as much of a rectangle as you can muster. It should be ⅛” thick. Transfer to the baking sheet. Using a fork, lightly “dock” the pie crust. (See above for description.)

4. Brush the top with heavy cream or egg wash. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and crystallized ginger. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is crisp and a light toasted color.

To assemble each bowl:

Layer in a large scoop of peaches, then ice cream, and top with dramatic shards of pie crust. Spoons are optional.

Red, White and Blues…

My Monday Q for you: Do you, or anyone you know of, have big plans for the United States’ 250th birthday, aka, the semiquincentennial? Something beyond your regular July 4th hot dogs and homemade potato salad. Will you going to one of “America’s Block Parties?” According America250.org, a bipartisan-ish website that promises America’s 250th birthday will be “an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.”

And! Buy a lot of merch on the official site, including:

A pet bandana for $13.99

A laser-engraved (oooo!) rich-brown colored faux leather (ahhhh!) notepad that because of its “classic appearance and commemorative design make it an ideal gift for history enthusiasts, professionals, students, and patriots alike.” Reminscent of the faux-leather notepad your granny kept next to the phone in the hallway, it is sure to become a collector’s classic. It costs $32.99.

A 14K gold with lab-grown diamonds, rubies and sapphire pin for $7,800.

And then there’s this familiar-looking baseball cap. Forty-five bucks and it promises it’s made in the good ol’ U.S.A.

There’s plenty more on the site. In fact, there appear to be more pages of merch than events planned.

Are you going to one of the apparently big block parties planned? A local talk on history? Will you spend 150 dollars to sail on a chartered yacht around New York Harbor so you can see some tall ships? Although Orangeburg, New York’s Historical Museum & Archives gets the prize for their exhibition: Orangetown & The Bicentennial 1776 to 1976! From Democracy to Disco!

In my highly arbitrary award-giving, Orangeburg wins because they confirm what I suspect, we were a lot more vested in celebrating the Bicentennial than we are today’s 250th.

Or, am I just an awful East-Coast elite who finds it hard to whoop and holler because it’s difficult to see the Democracy through the murk and stink of Trump and co’s corruption, poor job prospects, a medical system failing too many, or my kids’ inability to understand the rah-rah, and who can blame them when they see how America is seen on the world stage (usually mumbling gibberish and wandering away).

I am suffering from a case of the red, white and blues. You?

LMK. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Marissa Rothkopf-Bakes: The Secret Life of Cookies is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Interested in buying a box of 20, or maybe a thousand copies of my cookbook? Maybe just one copy? That would be great, too. You can, here

This is just a note to say,

I am writing up a recipe.

It’s for The Contrarian, and will appear on Friday.

Ta-da!

But.

The squirrels that live in my brain,

They know a deadline is looming.

And.

They would rather say hello to you.

And suggest that making a bakewell cake, or tucking into a dish of something garlicky,

Might very possibly

Be.

Preferable to writing up the report, finishing the spreadsheet or paying quarterly taxes

However.

If you are in the middle of surgery, or flying a plane or defending Democracy

You should probably wait until you get home.

And, how are you? (And don’t worry, , copy will be incoming today…)

What are you, or the squirrels in your head, up to? LMK.

Leave a comment

This substack is a reader-supported publication. I cannot do it without you. If you’re able, paying for a subscription helps pay for the groceries necessary for recipe-testing and recipe development. Also, it supports me—a freelance writer—and ad-free journalism.

The pay scale for journalists and writers has not kept up with the cost of living. That’s why having a Substack newsletter has become such a terrific venue for so many writers. Best of all, it puts me, Norman, Calvin and Clyde in touch with our readers like never before. And: Clyde would like to add, it keeps him in cat treats. He is obsessed with these little Temptations savory salmon flavor crunchies.

Can’t afford a subscription? Do the next best thing and give free subscriptions to all your friends. The more the merrier.

On yesterday’s Substack live podcast with the one-and-only Ayelet Waldman, along with a remarkably frank discussion about s-e-x, I also demoed how to make light and delicate fresh peach scones, as one does. (You can watch the video on YouTube.)

If you have seen the video from yesterday, you’ll know that (with all due respect to William Carlos Williams), someone had eaten the peaches I was saving for the scones. So, instead, I added (surprise!) dark chocolate chips, and sprinkled the tops with cinnamon sugar.

I apologize the recipe is delayed in getting to you. It was delayed by bad storms last night that left a chaotic scene in my garden beds and pushed over my already-teetering apple tree. Here’s hoping my janky attempts at righting the tree hold.

Baking Notes:

• Of course you can substitute other fresh fruit. This is a recipe that you can continue to make all year long, substituting whichever fresh fruits and flavor combos appeal to you. You can also be fancy and peel the peaches first.

• I’ve made these with peach version of these scones with three different flavor profiles. Choose your favorite:

  1. Plain vanilla: Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  2. Almond: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

  3. Ginger: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and either 1 1/2 teaspoon ground dried ginger, or about 3 tablespoons of minced crystallized ginger.

• I use a stand mixer for this recipe. Alternatively, you can use a food processor, or go old-fashioned and whisk the flour mixture by hand and cut in the butter with two knives.

• A mix of half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour adds a nutty, warm flavor. You can use all white flour if you wish.

• And yes, heavy cream and whipping cream are interchangeable. And yes, that is confusing.

Fresh Peach Scones With Brown Sugar Glaze

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Fresh Peach Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

Makes 8 to 12

For the scones:

1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (113 grams) whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon regular table salt)

10 tablespoons (142 grams) cold butter, cut into about 16 pieces

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup (118 grams) heavy/whipping cream, cold

Heaping 1 cup (@150 grams) fresh peaches, diced

Flavoring of your choice (see above)

For the egg wash:

1 egg, beaten well with 1 tablespoon of water

For the brown sugar glaze

1/4 cup (57 grams) butter

1/2 cup (106 grams) brown sugar

1 cup (113 grams) confectioner’s sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment* blend together both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. (If using powdered or crystallized ginger, add it now.) Add the butter and mix on medium speed until the mixture is sandy, and the butter is in small pieces of varying sizes—from slivers to pea size.

3. Whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, vanilla and any other flavoring you are using. Remove the bowl with the flour mixture from the stand mixer. Pour over the heavy cream blend and fold it in until just blended. A little bit of dry flour here and there is okay. Add the peaches (or chocolate chips) and fold in evenly using two or three strokes. You don’t want to over beat.

4. Turn the dough out onto well-floured pastry board or counter, and bring the dough together and pat it into a circle about 3/4” thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces and place on prepared baking sheet. All the scones will fit on a large baking sheet, but leave about 2 inches between.

5. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until light golden and cooked through. Let cool before glazing.

7. To make the glaze: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat; add the brown sugar and stir until the brown sugar is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the confectioner’s sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. Add more heavy cream if necessary to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones. Enjoy. (There may be a small amount of glaze remaining. It’s nice poured over ice cream. )

PS: Did you know that this week 8,000 government employees became, with the scribble of a Donald Trump signature a category of employees that now serve at the pleasure of the president and can be fired at will? Why is this important? Because it’s this level of dedicated civil servants who have been pushing back on (illegal/clandestined) Trump projects that need support and approval. Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, an organization that is suing the Trump administration over the new rule made this statement to National Public Radio: "The people responsible for protecting our public health, safeguarding our environment, delivering our mail, managing our airports, protecting our public lands, and enforcing our laws should be allowed to do their jobs, not targeted by the same government they serve.”

You can read a full account of the story here.

Interested in buying a box of 20, or maybe a thousand copies of my cookbook? Maybe just one copy? That would be great, too. You can, here

Howdy!

Just a quick reminder to tune in to Ayelet Waldman and my Substack live at noon ET/9 am PT. Here’s the link.We’ll be talking about what Persuasion, “Heated Rivalry” and “Four Weddings and Funeral” all have in common. By all means, bring your hand fan and Mexicali heat powder to avoid the vapors.

Also: I’ll be making peach scones and there will be discussions of quilting and just about everything else.

Hope to see you there. Or you can, if you find you have OTHER places to go (harumph) on YouTube later.

xoxo

Eat My Globe Podcast Alert

I had the true pleasure of being interviewed by Simon Majumdar, the food expert, author and judge of many Food Network shows, including “Cuthroat Kitchen” and “Iron Chef.” We talked non-stop about so much, including the history of cookies, whether they’re better than British biscuits, and tchocolate chips. Simon is one of the world’s great and smart people and I hope you’ll give it a listen.

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What you could be thinking about instead of the news: Egg Salad

My favorite writer on all foods New York, Robert Sietsma, wrote an article in praise of egg salad today, which includes a nifty history of salads green and “bound,” and helped inspire part of today’s post.

Robert Sietsema's New York

In Praise of Egg Salad Sandwiches

Even though the average price of eggs has spiraled to $6 or so per dozen in area groceries, and $10 in farmers markets, eggs remain among the most reasonably priced sources of protein, offering a complete array of nine amino acids. They also supply vitamins and anti-o…

Read more

3 months ago · 26 likes · 9 comments · Robert Sietsema

My British father-in-law, who I must add lived to the age of 97, made the world’s best “egg mayonnaise” sandwich. His secret? Along with your usual egg and mayo, he would butter the soft wholemeal slices of bread. Overkill? Mebbe. Delicious—with every fat cell in your body screaming with joy for another bite? Definitely.

(Did you know that by clicking the “like” button it is a simple way of boosting my copy? Thank you.)

The only egg salad of memory that comes close is one from a deli in New York, probably from some time in the 80s. My mother, a freelance writer, did a lot of work for Scholastic (Perhaps you remember Scholastic Headline Maps from the early 80s? Those were my mom’s.) and she took me along on a visit to meet with her editor or whatever. I don’t remember why. But I do remember the sandwiches they had delivered to the office, because of course I do. (Me: “Nice to see you again. No, I don’t remember your name, but I do remember we once shared a very good almond croissant.”) Wrapped in white deli paper and sliced in two right through the paper, it was an egg salad with the addition of the perfect foil: bacon. Lordie. No wonder I followed in my mother’s footsteps; I probably thought that standard fare for freelance writers.

My big brother Paul taught me the best way to cook perfect hard-boiled eggs each time was to use an Instant Pot. Have you ever tried it?

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Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs, using the 5-5-5 method

1. Place the rack in the pot. Add 1 cup of water. Place as many eggs as you’d like to cook on top of the rack. Secure the lid on the pot, and make sure the valve is turned to ‘sealing.’ Set the instant pot to 5 mins on high temp. Once cooking time is over, let sit for 5 minutes to release naturally, then release manually and open. Plunge the eggs into a bowl of water and ice cubes and let sit for 5 minutes. Eat right away or store in fridge.

With the Instant Pot trick nailed, this weekend I made deviled eggs, another hard-boiled egg classic, and served them off my mother’s genuine 1960s deviled egg plate.

As my son is on a kimchi-making kick (there are much worse hobbies), I updated my mother’s recipe with minced kimchi, which was pretty damn fab, and I’ll have the recipe for you within the month, once I sort proper measurements out.

Ultimate Coffee Soft Cookies

In the meantime, I leave you with a link to my latest recipe for the Ultimate Coffee Soft Cookie recipe I shared over on The Contrarian last Friday, in case you didn’t see it. It is the sister recipe to last week’s ultimate soft sugar cookies.

Here is the link in giant, unmissable form:

The Contrarian

Coffee Sugar Cookies

As I was playing around with a recipe for ultra-soft and chewy sugar cookies, I landed on sweetened condensed milk as a secret ingredient…

Read more

3 months ago · 70 likes · 13 comments · Marissa Rothkopf

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And, last but definitely not least, mark your calendars for a culture and crafts conversation extravaganza. On June 6, at 12 pm ET/9 am PT, author Ayelet Waldman and I will get a little flushed in the cheeks talking about the wild intensity of limerence in “Heated Rivalry” and Jane Austen’s Persuasion, among others. There will be discussion of quilting, baking and making fairy gardens (my slightly embarrassing new obsession.)

This is the link here, but we will send it again and if you are signed up as a subscriber you will automatically receive the link in your inbox. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure and remind you.

Let me know what you’re thinking:

Leave a comment

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to my Substack. Your subscription pays for all the recipes and time that goes into developing and testing recipes, and also supports me, an independent journalist. You pay my salary, for which I’m grateful. Thank you. And if you can’t afford a sub now, please do the next best thing and share this Substack with friends!

Looking to update your bookshelves for summer? Why not try this one-size-fits-all, but oh-so-attractive cookbook?