Category Archives: Favorite Cookie Recipes

Saba Jam Will Definitely Be Your Jam

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Saba Jam's Fig Ume Plum Jam stars in these bar cookies.
Saba Jam’s Fig Ume Plum Jam stars in these bar cookies.

Imagine jam that tastes as if peak ripe fruit were picked off the tree, then immediately cooked down before a luscious spoonful made it into your mouth a mere moment after cooling.

I think that’s the highest compliment I can give San Francisco’s Saba Jam, which tastes so clear and vivid, and comes in such inspired flavors as Blueberry Verjus, Bosenberry Beet, and Persian Lime Juniper Berry.

They’re the handiwork of Saba Parsa, an Iranian American who is a former chemical engineer-turned extraordinary jam maker.

She scours local farmers markets for the best fruit in season to make her small-batch jams using a minimum of sugar. She drops new ones only four times per year. They’re so highly regarded that they’ve racked up multiple Good Food Awards.

I had an opportunity to try samples of two of her jams: Nectarine Ginger, and Fig Ume Plum (8-ounce jars for $19.95 each).

Saba Jams made in small batches with seasonal, local fruit.
Saba Jams made in small batches with seasonal, local fruit.

The former is slightly chunky with bits of candied ginger, adding a subtle warmth. It tastes very much like a nectarine crumble. It would be wonderful on so many breakfast staples — be it oatmeal, plain yogurt, toast, scone or bagel. Or even drizzled over roasted squash.

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Kat Lieu’s Bodacious Black Sesame-White Chocolate Cookies

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Black sesame paste plus black sesame seeds give these cookies a deep nutty taste.
Black sesame paste plus black sesame seeds give these cookies a deep nutty taste.

What’s black and white — and delicious all over?

These “Black Sesame-White Chocolate Cookies” by Kat Lieu.

It’s from her new “108 Asian Cookies” (Little, Brown & Company), of which I received a review copy. Based in Washington State, Lieu is a food writer, recipe developer, and founder of Subtle Asian Baking, the global online group focused on spreading the deliciousness of Asian baking, and fundraising for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Born in Canada to a Chinese mother from Hong Kong and a Chinese Vietnamese father from Vietnam, she readily admits that she didn’t even baker her first cookie from scratch until 5 years ago. The former doctor of physical therapy found herself embarking on a baking spree that year as a way to heal from the sorrow of her father’s death.

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Rah-Rah for Rhubarb Brownies

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An easy rhubarb jam gets folded into the batter for these rich chocolate brownies.
An easy rhubarb jam gets folded into the batter for these rich chocolate brownies.

Resembling mutant celery and smelling rather strangely green and vegetative, rhubarb hasn’t necessarily been a favored springtime pick for me.

If given the choice, I’d much rather reach for strawberries instead.

But a recipe for “Rhubarb Brownies” captured my fancy enough to want to place a bunch in my grocery basket.

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Coastal” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Chef Scott Clark of Dad’s Luncheonette in Half Moon Bay, with assistance from James Beard Award-winning food journalist Betsy Andrews, who is a contributing editor at Food & Wine magazine.

If you’ve had the pleasure of visiting Dad’s Luncheonette, you know that it’s the cutest little cafe that operates out of a permanently parked, historic train caboose.

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The Ultimate Cookie: Brown Butter, Passion Fruit Chocolate, Walnut & Sea Salt

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Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.
Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.

Does the world need another chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Absolutely, if it’s one by legendary pastry chef Dominique Ansel.

After all, the man who originated the croissant-donut mashup, the Cronut, definitely knows his stuff when it comes to baked goods.

This cookie recipe, which I took one liberty with, comes from his newest cookbook, “Life’s Sweetest Moments” (Harvest, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

He may be a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef whom Food & Wine magazine dubbed a “Culinary Van Gough,” but rest assured that this collection is designed for the home-cook with 40 recipes ranging from the easy to those that will require a little more time and effort.

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A Sweet Pairing For Valentine’s Day

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These cookies are two treats in one.
These cookies are two treats in one.

Newman and Woodward.

Travis and Taylor.

Kermit and Miss Piggy.

What’s your ideal sweet pair?

For me, it’s got to be peanut butter and dark chocolate.

If you know someone with a similar predilection, then bake them a batch of “Peanut Butter Cup Cookies” this Valentine’s Day. You’re sure to win their heart with these treats that are like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — but in cookie form.

Best yet, this recipe makes a reasonable six treats — just enough to satisfy, but not too many to feel as if you’re going overboard.

This nostalgic yet timeless treat is from “Small Batch Cookies” (Kyle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Edd Kimber, the London baker and food writer who was the inaugural winner of “The Great British Bake Off.”

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