Star Creature

Dr bfly's Ginger Citrus Spice Cookies

AKA the cookie recipe I've been fiddling with and refining for like a decade and the only cookies I make anymore because I like them too much Ingredients: • 12 Tbsp (1.5 sticks) butter - I'm lazy and use salted most of the time. idk how europeans measure their butter so do your own conversion • 3/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter • ¼ cup molasses • 1 large egg • 2¼ cup all-purpose flour • 1.5 cup brown sugar • 1 tsp baking soda • 1 Tbsp ground ginger • 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon • 1 tsp ground cloves • 1 tsp ground allspice • ½ tsp ground nutmeg • ½ tsp ground cardamom • ½+ cup minced candied ginger • ½+ cup minced candied orange peel • up to a shot's worth ~(40ml) bourbon, Cointreau, both, or other liquor according to taste • Optional: 1-2 tbsp powdered buddha's hand* • turbinado sugar

*this is an ingredient I invented because a friend kept giving me buddha's hand so I started candying it like you would make candied orange peel or whatever but it still kept going bad so I stuck it in a dehydrator for a whole day and then put it into a spice grinder and it's great for imparting a citrusy floral note to any baked goods. You could probably approximate the same by candying, dehydrating, and grinding other citrus peels.

Instructions:

Soften butter in large mixing bowl. Beat in egg and molasses. If in a rush, butter can be gently melted, but be careful to let it cool for a few minutes at least before adding in egg. Using melted butter will give the final cookies a more “crinkly” appearance and texture, which may or may not be to your taste. I like them both ways, personally.

Stir in sugar, as well as minced ginger, orange peel, and bourbon if you’re using it.

In separate mixing bowl, evenly stir or sift together all remaining ingredients except for the turbinado sugar

Slowly beat dry mixture into wet mixture. The dough is very thick and sticky, so a hand mixer may have problems. I recommend either a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a wooden spoon and a strong arm.

Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours. If in a rush, you can put it in the freezer for 30 minutes, and then pop it back in between batches. You should be able to handle the dough without it sticking all over your hands.

Preheat oven to 350F (~175C)

Roll dough into balls no more than ¾ inch (~20mm) in diameter. Pour turbinado sugar onto a plate and then roll dough balls in the sugar and squash down into discs.

Place on parchment paper covered baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes

😎

And for anyone outside the US, conversion to metric under the cut:

From the article:

Their metrics showed that — in addition to providing over 1.7 billion meals to 40 million people in need globally — food banks also diverted an estimated 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. By intercepting unspoiled food destined for the landfill, and redistributing food from local farms and wholesale produce markets, the 2023 report offered evidence that community-led solutions to addressing global hunger can also help protect the globe itself.  “Nearly a third of the world’s food is lost or wasted at the post-harvest, retail, and consumer levels, never reaching the people who need it,” the GFN team wrote in the report. “Food loss and waste proves costly for producers, takes up space in landfills, and emits harmful greenhouse gases, intensifying climate change.”

Reading this was one of those "oh duh!" moments for me. Despite being aware that food systems and food waste are major sources of fossil fuels, I had mentally placed food banks in a "addressing non environmental problems" category. But of course, food banks make our food system more efficient and less wasteful by making the most out of the food was have already produced.

The better health commercials- "you can't escape your crappy job, try talking to us!"

That's not funny. Also isn't it sad that most people don't really seem to have close friendships anymore and that you're selling the friend experience more than a doctor one because you can't actually fix anything?

The progressive commercial- "you should go on vacation; what's a vacation? ... I don't know I've never been on one either"

That's not funny. That's fucking awful. Can't you see that's not a fucking joke??

The e-banking app- "how much did I spend on groceries this month? 500?? -hey dad can the guys stay for dinner? - NO!"

Gallows humor ain't fucking funny when it's coming from the guy wearing a black hood with his hand on a lever.

Like fuck you, your CEO makes millions of dollars and your spending more money than I'll ever see in my life to pay other corporations whose CEOs also make millions of dollars to write / produce / display ads fucking gloating about you and your cronies plunging the world into poverty to line the pockets of investors. If I see an ad doing that shit, your company is going straight on the "boycott if at all possible" list.

original image from the magazine:

And the bit where they’re HER roses? Almost a relief, but also sadder, as she will arrive at whatever event without them, or with them destroyed.

Do you think when the righteous anger and anxiety and annoyance fade, when she arrives at her destination- will her loved ones applaud her? Will she be proud? Will her hands shake? Will she walk home with company from then out, and for how long?

In this moment, she is provoked into anger. Anger is good- it appears strong. But look at his face. Would you put it past him to linger there after dark, in case she returns alone?

What story will HE tell, of ‘I was perfectly polite, but she didn’t even give me a chance- women like that, they’d swoon for a jerk in a heartbeat, but kind and flattering men like me?…”