Milk and Cookies

It's been a rough week. There has been such upheavel in my life this week, such a dramatic change of events, and so much work involved that I decided I needed to write about something comforting, familiar, sweet and secure--milk and cookies it is.

While I am not sure of the exact origin of the pairing of milk and cookies, I am sure that anyone between the ages of five and forty-five knows of a dear childhood friend, blue in nature, fuzzy in texture and somewhat bug-eyed for being so popular. He has hands like mittens that he uses like a windshield wiper, sweeping plates full of chocolate chip cookies into his felty-black mouth (where the inevitably fall out the sides, though we never questioned this). Can you tell me how to get, how to get to...Cookie Monster. I have so many memories of watching Sesame Street as a child, and I cannot picture the character Cookie Monster without a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in front of him. Now, I know this is not the origin of the combination, but for me, it was an introduction. Sometimes I miss those days. My mother would walk me home from half-day morning kindergarten (we lived just around a beautiful block, studded with bright green lawns and small, but well kept, manicured homes). I'd sit on our retro brown, yellow and cream colored floral patterend couch, and I'd eat the lunch my mother had fixed for me and watch Sesame Street. This simple memory is enough to keep me going some days.

The funny thing about all of this is that in a sense, I am returning to this memory. Very soon I will be moving back in with my parents for an unspecified amount of time. While giving up my false sense of independence will be hard on one hand, on the other I am so relieved to be able to say to myself, "You know what, you're not that independent, you can't really support yourself, you have to take a few steps back and try again when you can." Now, I know I won't be sitting on the couch (not the same one fortunately), having my Mother make me lunch and watching Sesame Street (more like Millionare Matchmaker these days). I am not thinking that my worries are over now that I'm moving home. I am thinking that for a little while, I can feel comfort of the support I've been given until I am ready and able to get back out there, support myself, and be the independent person I've only made feeble attempts at being up until this point. For now though, I'm going to sip my milk, eat my cookie (dieting you know, note, just "cookie") and let myself roll back, recover and focus on just the next step, not the rest of my life.

In the midst of the chaos of the week, I made a remarkable and thoroughly exciting discovery. For several months now, I have been endlessly irritating the people who love me dearly enough to listen about Snowville Creamery milk. I first began drinking this perfectly crafted milk when I lived in Athens as an Undergrad at Ohio University. Produced not thirty minutes away from where I lived, it was and is the freshst, most delicious milk I'd ever had. Once you've tasted milk like this, you'll never be able to drink regular ol' grocery store milk with quite the same appreciation again. Snowville milk will spoil you, rotten. The farm is locally owned, the cows are of several different varieties and are pasture grazed, the milk isn't homogenized, and it is pasturized at the lowest legal temperature possible-all of these things make for rich, sweet, creamy, earthy milk, the way milk is supposed to be. Probably the best part of this milk, second only to the superior taste, is the fact that buying it means supporting an amazing Ohio-owned, Ohio-run business. If you've ever driven through Meigs County (where this milk is produced) and seen the beautiful rolling hills and the green and yellow pastures, it'd be no suprise that this milk is so delicious. Often times, I'd find myself driving through Snowville, peering about the windows of the car at the different fields, wondering if those were the cows that were producing my milk, or maybe those over there, or maybe those up on the crest of the ridge. I'm telling you, try it and you'll be hooked (and even perhaps obsessed, like me).



Snowville Creamery milk is one of the three things from Athens I'd do just about anything to get my hands on (the other two being a blueberry muffin from the Village Bakery and an Amerretto Cappucino from Donkey). I discovered on Thursday, at the Snowville Creamery website, that I could get my hands on it. When I clicked on the retailers link on the website, and Cleveland came up as an option, I almost fell out of my chair. I don't know how long they've been selling it here, but needless to say, I'm glad I found out. I ran right out on Friday and bought myself a half-gallon of Skim, which is now almost gone. Hallelujah for local farms, natural foods, and the good retailers of Northeast Ohio that carry them. To find out if Snowville milk is near you, check out the "retailers" link on the Snowville Creamery website.

Finally, the second half of the title and theme of this post...the cookies. For Mother's Day I made what have become my famous cut-out sugar cookies. I say they've become "famous," because the more I make them, the more people ask for them. I can't get over how many people really enjoy these cookies and I'm so very glad. These cookies are not only delicious, but they are part of my heritage and making them makes me feel proud. They are my Great-Grandmother's recipe, on my Father's side. I share a birthday with this Great-Grandmother, as well as a love of baking and making all things sweet. Making these cookies makes me think of her, and how much she probably would've enjoyed me as an adult, making cookies, cakes and jams together. Here is the recipe for the cookies, and the frosting recipe follows, but be forewarned...I don't use a recipe for the frosting, so you have to just dive in and see what comes out. Buy local, eat natural and enjoy.




Grandma Chlopek's Butter Cookies

1 c. soft butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 TBS. lemon zest
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and lemon zest. (I usually do this in a stand mixer)

2. Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing well until you have a stiff, well incorporated dough.

3. Divide in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour.

4. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly flour surface, roll one piece of dough out to between 1/4" and 1/8" thick. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and place on greased baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough.

5. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, until just barely browned on the bottoms. (I bake sheets one at a time, as they burn easily)

6. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Cool completely before frosting.


My Frosting

Powdered Sugar
a pinch of salt
lemon juice
water

1. For one recipe of cookies, I'd probably start with 3 cups of powdered sugar. Add the pinch of salt and mix well. Stir in enough lemon juice and water to make a spreadable frosting that's not too thick, but not so runny that it'll run off the cookies. I'd start with 2 TBS. of lemon juice and 2 TBS. of water and add some of each as necessary. Good Luck.