This is a special episode of An Herbal Diary. I am organizing a virtual herbal bake club and this is the first companion podcast episode.  Please consider joining me! I have also started a newsletter on Substack. Please subscribe for all the details, recipes and zoom link for the meeting. 

If you are not yet subscribed to my new Substack, please head to notesfrommykitchenapothecary.substack.com to join. I would love to have you join! 

If you are subscribed to my Substack, you are automatically invited to Herbal Bake Club meetings. Check your inbox for the recipes and Zoom link. 

Our first Herbal Bake Club Meeting: Saturday, October 25th at 2 pm EST. 

We will be making two herb infused desserts, banana panna cotta and lemon butter cookies. We have two special herbal guests –  ashwagandha and cardamom. We will meet on Zoom. 

I’ve introduced ashwagandha in the last few episodes. 

Link to Ashwagandha Monograph episode. 

I hope that our herbal bake club will give us a chance to smile a bit together, immerse ourselves in kitchen herbalism and bake lovely creations. 

Sending you warm baking and gathering together thoughts and thank you for listening!!

When I saw Maida’s macaroons, which she calls Italian, immediate confusion burst into my mind. Besides the ancestry question, I’m attempting to clear up the difference between macaron and macaroon. I grew up eating canned coconut macaroons for Passover. When a very different meringue cookie became a craze, I never really understood how it could also be called macaroon, regardless if it was spelled with one o or two.

I didn’t know when I started to make these, the true French/Italian difference is in the meringue. Maida classifies these as Italian because her method involves preparing a hot, sugar syrup and ever so gradually pouring it into beaten egg whites. The French macaron begins with a traditional whipped egg white meringue gently folded into a mixture of almond flour and sugar.

As I rolled the soft meringue batter in a ton of pine nuts, it was a leap of faith in Maida to continue. It seemed like there was no way they would bake into cookies, but they did. The difference between this somewhat messy, free form technique was a striking contrast to the precisely formed cookies my daughters made. Perhaps this is the heart of the distinction.

Italian cuisine evokes rustic, robust, homemade mama images and Maida’s macaroons fit into this picture. In contrast, the organized, controlled, structure of the piped and filled, bite-sized French macaron seem well placed in the culinary mystique of Paris. As for Passover coconut macaroons, the fact that they are flourless gives them place in the current gluten-free culture but I’m not still not exactly sure about their relationship to the meringue cookies.

Maida wrote nothing about them, no introduction, no notes, no story. They’re the last recipe in the cookie-jar cookies chapter, sitting there like an after-thought. I made them because they seemed simple and the yield was high. I was looking for something my daughter could take to a school party.
I had no clue how I would love them. Love them because they are easy to make. Love them because they are rich chocolaty moist thins of a cookie. Love them most because they gave me inspiration and ideas for my herbal bake shoppe baking.

I’m still beginning my journey to better baking by practicing through Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts. In the back of my mind, this little curiosity always searches for hope that baking with herbs will be possible. Past experience has sometimes failed with cookies a real problem. I’ve wanted to add liquids or syrups or something different from a powdered spice like cinnamon, but struggled with the how. Here in these chocolate cracks an answer was unveiled. Butter and chocolate are melted together with water, water that could easily be replaced with a strong tea. This opens a world of herbal cookie possibilities, as long as the tea flavoring blends well.

There has been other inspiring ideas and I’m excited by the thought of how many will come. And all the while, I’m practicing. That feels hopeful.

For these cookies the name and the spice blend both gave me pause.

Certainly when writing this cookbook refrigerators had replaced iceboxes, but Maida still hung onto the old term. Perhaps it was something from her childhood because I think by the 1950s there were no more ice deliveries happening. When I lived in FL we lost electricity for two weeks after Hurricane Wilma. My kids were 7, 5, and 4 and I was using a big cooler to keep some things like milk cold. It taught me a lot about living without modern comforts and how hard that can be. One of my projects every day was to get a new bag of ice because the last one had melted making a watery mess in the cooler. I can’t imagine anything endearing about an icebox so why use the term for cookies instead of refrigerator? I am not sure I will ever know.

Second, I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about Scandinavian culture and I can’t help but wonder why these are called Swedish. I found a traditional holiday cookie called Pepparkakor that closely resembles this recipe except it appears they are often made without nuts. They seem to be a staple Swedish holiday party tradition that serves seven cookie varieties, called sju sorters kakor (translates: seven kinds of cookies).

Spices and nuts complement each other. Spices are warming and exotic and festive. Nuts add richness and texture. Out of the 8 recipes I have made so far, this is the fourth to have used a really intense and large quantity spice mixture. It is also the fourth to use a large quantity of nuts, usually in the same recipe as the intense spices. While I am still only at the beginning, I have looked forward and see this as a continuing trend for many of the classic and traditional cakes and cookies. My own herbal baking goals always hang in the background of my mind. The fact that spices and nuts are so prominent in what Maida considers the greatest desserts sparks a little light of hope for my baking future.

Maida instructs that before you bake, read the recipe entirely. Always. Her list of “before you bake” steps are sinking into my soul, becoming habit. This recipe was a long one with lots of details, so I read and re-read several times. I followed every step and all was going fine. The crust came together in a smooth, lovely way, I got it into the pan intricately like Maida directed. I watched it carefully as it baked to make sure it didn’t puff up or slide down the sides just like Maida directed. The last step was the pecan filling.

I have a calendar and I plan the recipes I’m going to make about three weeks in advance. I make a list of all the ingredients and buy in advance so I have them even if the plan has to change. These bars call for 20 ounces of pecans, that’s a lot. I bought four containers; I bought them two weeks before baking. My mind did not remember the containers were 6 ounces; I had purchased four to make sure I had enough. During my before baking ingredient readying, I got out all four containers.

I didn’t look at the ounces, I didn’t remember that I would have extra. I thought about checking but in my imperfect way poured them all into the pot of caramel-like syrup and then looked. How backwards is that? That’s certainly not following every detail. So my beautiful crust now would house 24 ounces of caramelized pecans instead of 20 ounces. I thought about taking some out but then I thought I would be short on caramel and so I just put them all into the shell. Overflowing pecan squares. This is what I have. But they cut fine and still tasted really amazing.

I’m trying to be the perfect student but I think the lesson is there is no such thing. I think I will still try. But I’m glad Maida’s recipes allow for imperfection, t

I decided to break from the complicated, elaborate cakes of the first few chapters. These desserts feel like tough teachers who give lengthy assignments. While cookies seem like the less demanding instructor, although no less effective. I needed a little breather. The batter mixed up easily and the cookies took only minutes to bake. This felt really nice. Obviously, the quick, easy and delicious style of cookies has much to do with why people love to make them. If I didn’t truly get this before, I do now.

I chose this recipe as my first of Maida’s cookies because of the spice (herbs!) and especially because they were called black pepper, which made me think about digestion. Pepper helps digestion and also harmonizes flavors. I’m always wondering about the effects of herbs in baking.

I imagined pale cookies with little black specks that tasted sort of like a sweet salt and pepper cracker. Not at all what happened. Yes, there is a good amount of black pepper, a whole ½ teaspoon, but these cookies are more a spice blending clove, cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne and a lot of ginger. Really the black pepper becomes a background palate for the other spices, especially ginger.

In her intro, Maida describes these as tantalizing. Tantalizing – exciting the senses, teasing, provoking desire. I’m not sure I would say tantalizing, but I had trouble eating just one, addictive maybe. And minimal guilt because they’re light and crisp and all the spice did feel make them easy on my stomach.

gluten free chocolate chip cookies

recipe planning with tulsi

tulsi chocolate chip chickpea flour cookies

These cookies were inspired by: http://www.valisesetgourmandises.com/vegan-chickpea-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies/#.WN_VyCMrJO0

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that

Making these cookies triggered a contemplative moment for me. Of course, people love baking cookies because they taste delicious. But, perhaps more critical, cookies blend up in no time and super easily. Ok, I know that’s no great revelation, but I’ve never truly got that before, like in my soul.

I’ve been baking cakes for my “becoming a better baker project” and they take a lot of time. Cakes also use large amounts of sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. When I took a break from the project and baked these cookies with none of the aforementioned ingredients and in literally under 30 minutes, I experienced an instant cookie love. I felt it in my soul, easy and delicious, not to mention frugal and sustainable, but that also relates to ingredient choices. (Click here if you would like to read more about my project.)

I’ve also decided cookies champion powdered herbs better than any other herb form like tea, syrup, extractions etc. Teas, syrups, honey seem to disrupt batter proportions creating liquid imbalances. Concentrated extractions are added in such small amounts, you may not even know they are there. There may be solutions, but I’m still working them out.

So, two discoveries in one cookie, I like that. Still in progress… uncovering ultimate ways to bake with alternative flours, sweeteners, and moistening ingredients.

cookies-on-a-plate

orange-peel-purchased

dried-orange-peel

out-of-the-oven

crinkle-cookies

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that.

s’more cookies with flowers

marshmallow flower

marshmallow root powder

thicker cold infusion

cocoa powders for cookies

making marshmallow creme

chocolate cookies in marshmallow shape

vase and plate

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that.

The idea behind baking so entices me that my less than perfect outcomes often become disappointing. Intellectually, I understand that practice is the mode to achieving better and if my recipe doesn’t come out well that doesn’t mean failure. But in our social media world, I struggle not to envy all the irresistible, scrumptious looking photos and compare and feel lacking.

Recently, I decided to make marshmallows, which in their most original form were made with the root of the marshmallow plant, for which they are named. There are not many photos of homemade marshmallows roaming on Instagram to evaluate myself; besides how could the fluffy white sweets be made from roots? The recipes I found used gelatin but I chose not to use it so I could experiment with marshmallow root’s ability to thicken. It is reputed in herbalism as a mucilaginous herb, which means it holds water making a gooey tea consistency. On my first try, I realized I was making more of a lovely marshmallow crème with an icing like smoothness. At first I was discouraged, then vowed to give real marshmallows a second try. But I realized the crème was too good to not use. With the inspiration of the awe-inspiring Claire Ptak and her whoopee pies, these cookies offer a different take on the homemade s’mores I set out to make. I’m still working on them and marshmallows.

plate of cookies

nettles plus for vinegar

infused balsamic ingredients

nettle plus balsamic oatmeal cookies

nettle infused balsamic vinegar

straining herbal vinegar

oatmeal cookie ingredients

ready for baking

more acidic than they look

one oatmeal cookie

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that.

In my earliest herbal baking thoughts, I imagined two goals. The first was transforming herbs primarily used for tea or alcohol extractions into edible delights making for enjoyable medicine taking. The second was also a transformation, this involving the kitchen as herbal apothecary that anyone could operate. It seemed simple and natural. Ultimately, both goals proved challenging. Adding herbal preparations into baked goods sometimes makes them taste awful. And making herbal preparations sometimes creates cumbersome baking. I am working these out, among other trials.

Lately, I have been having a problem quieting my mind. I am not sure why this is happening, but songs that I do not even like become stuck and I hear them over and over. I don’t like it. I am practicing replacement with a mantra.

Progress not Perfection. This is actually a motto from an amazing online educational resource, Marie Forleo’s B-School. The wisdom, passion, and commitment of this woman and her team are truly brilliant. Throughout her programs, she acknowledges self-doubt as normal and encourages the concept of progress not perfection. I highly recommend checking MarieForleo.com out.

I easily get tripped up by amazing recipe sites, photos, cookbooks, etc. They all look so perfect. I often feel I should never post any of my recipes or ideas until they are perfect. And then I think I would never post in that case. These are imperfect cookies, but yummy, nevertheless. Baking them transforms the kitchen into an alchemical bakery. Herbal baking progress not perfection.

gluten free rose chocolate chips

rose petals

rose petal tincture

inside a cookie

plates of cookies

rose hazelnut chocolate chip cookies

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that.

Granted, sometimes a recipe needs work. When I mixed together the first batter for these cookies I used almond flour and coconut sugar. I kept thinking that it looked too wet and dark but I hoped that after a short time in the refrigerator, it would bake up fine. As I carried the covered bowl of batter to the refrigerator, I became distracted with something I left on the counter and put the batter bowl down quickly on top of the washing machine, which was churning my Sunday laundry. Note: never do this. In a split second the glass bowl of batter was face down on the floor, shattered in millions of pieces, batter splashed everywhere. I admit, I began to cry as I cleaned it up. After about an hour collecting myself, I began again and in the end I believe it was divine intervention for the first was a batter that should not have been baked. The new one looked much better using organic granulated sugar and hazelnut flour (I did not have almond flour left). The final result these extremely delicate but totally scrumptious chocolate chip morsels, totally gluten-free. Perhaps an egg would have helped them to hold together and I plan to try them that way another day. For now, my children all approved, and that works for me just fine. Possibly the brightening spirits rose petals worked their magic.

lemon balm walnut cresents

ingredients

lemon balm tea

just out of the oven

coating with powdered sugar

I am a descendant of recipe collectors both sides, my father’s mother and my mom; it is strong in my genes. But I am not sorry for this because their hand written recipe cards accumulate as my treasures and settling down with a pile of recipe sources to sift through has always been a comforting pleasure.

When I moved to Florida for college, my grandmother lived there. On weekends we watched cooking show after cooking show resting on twin beds in her bedroom after a morning of my helping her with shopping errands. At that time cooking shows were only aired on PBS, no cable food channels existed. After she always prepared a yummy and easy dinner for us, never what we had just watched, she was fast and recipe-less. She was usually critical of the programs and called them fussy, except Julia Child, who she loved. She was addicted to collecting recipes, though, mostly those she clipped from the newspaper. She had boxes of little pieces of paper and also notecards on which she had scratched a recipe from a friend or a box or anywhere she could find something that looked good to her. She left Florida to move back to Pittsburgh when it got hard for her to live on her own. I inherited her prized recipe collection and spent hours transferring them to typed notecards, then throwing away the newspaper because I thought this would preserve them better and also organize them, it was before computers and recipe apps. Now I actually wish I had kept the newspaper as well because she had made notes on some of them and I miss her. I still have the notecards, all of them.

Around the same time, I had a few years of big holiday baking projects. One of the recipes from my grandma’s collection was a favorite, walnut crescents. This year it became my muse. I think my grandma would love it.

Because some ingredients may be hard to find, links are provided to make buying easier. I may earn a small commission for some of the product links in this recipe. Your purchase will lend support to this website at no further cost to you. Big love and thanks for that.

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