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Muskotsnittar, My New Favorite Holiday Cookie

muskotsnittar-spice-swedish-cookie-baked-fika

This year I had my act together and registered in time to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I joined in the fun several years ago and had a good experience then, and I’m really glad I played again this year. In the years that passed the cookie swap has grown and grown and there’s a nice fundraising aspect to it, too—each participant donates a small sum to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a nonprofit involved with funding research and development in the area of pediatric cancer.

Plus, it’s a chance to connect with other food bloggers and enjoy some delicious cookies. Only two of the three folks sent me cookies, but that’s ok—I loved baking mine and sending them out in pretty boxes more than anything.

This year I chose to bake muskotsnittar, a buttery Swedish cookie redolent with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger that develops and intensifies in flavor each day. They happen to travel well, too, and I’m pleased to have learned that my cookies arrived without much, if any, breakage. This recipe for muskotsnittar is from the book Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall—you can buy it here via Powell’s or find it at your local bookstore (here’s mine, Astoria Bookshop—indie beats behemoth Amazon IMO). I have a great affinity for cooking and baking traditional foods from the Scandinavian and Nordic countries, and these cookies made me really happy. Bonus: each batch makes a lot, and they freeze better, so in my book these cookies have it all.

You can find the recipe, here. I made one little adjustment of adding a bit of salt to the dough. Here’s the list of ingredients:

Muskotsnittar
From Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature (Kerrygold is my fave)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

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Spiced Okra, Easy and Delicious

cooked okra

For the longest time, I wouldn’t even consider eating okra.

Mainly, it was because of its famous sliminess (or, “mucilaginous juice”, eh), which is a total textural turnoff for me.  I’d heard there were ways to avoid the slime – don’t cut off the stem tip, or pickle it in vinegar.  Still, I wasn’t convinced.

raw okra

However, this past week we got okra in our CSA share, and so I found myself in a position where I had an opportunity to find a way to eat it.  Additionally, the weekend prior I picked up the September issue of Food & Wine, which had a very simple recipe for okra in it, that assured a lack of sliminess.  I figured it was vegetable kismet, and worth a try.

To my delight, I found the recipe extremely easy to make, and even better – the cooking technique indeed did eliminate the slime!  I’m also a sucker for charred or caramelized vegetables, yum.  Plus the spice mixture contained some of my favorite flavors.  This is one delicious dish.

spice mixture

I made some adjustments, and will include them here.  If you are curious about okra, but are scared of the slime, this is an excellent way to try out this curious vegetable.

in the pan

Skillet-Roasted Spiced Okra
Adapted from a recipe from Food & Wine.

1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound small okra, halved lengthwise
Salt
juice of one lemon

In a small bowl, blend the cayenne, chili powder, cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, an cinnamon.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the okra, cut side down, and cook over high heat for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until browned on the bottom, 4 minutes longer.

Turn the okra and cook over low heat until tender, 2 minutes. Season with salt and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds.

Drizzle the lemon juice over the okra and serve.

The okra is good with a little plain yogurt or a dollop of fresh chevre.