Here are a list of questions I think might be running through your head right now. Well… I like to flatter myself by thinking that these questions might be running through your head. It’s a self-involved delusion . I know you have better things to worry about. Also included here are the answer to before mentioned self-involved questions.

You might be thinking:

Seriously, Joy? Here we are in prime baking mode and you bring us crackers!? Crackers!?
Answer: Yes. Crackers. Big, thick and crispy, salty and satisfying crackers. They have sea salt, people… they must be fancy.

Joy, what are you wearing to your holiday party tonight?
Answer: I. Don’t. Know. Please send help. Please send a new outfit. Please get these crackers out of my face so I stop stress eating them.  Please.

Joy, calm down. Why not just wear your nice pair of jeans?
Answer: What? I can do that? I can seriously do that? I’ll can wear my nice pair of jeans even though they’re still jeans?  I suspect you’re just trying to make me feel better. I have to find a skirt and top combination that doesn’t make me look like too much of a lunatic hippie.  Drats.

These crackers aren’t helping. Someone take these crackers away from me.
And send help… send a pretty black top with sparkles. Quickly.  Thank you.

Let’s talk about these crackers, shall we?  With poppy seeds and sea salt, these crackers are more like crunchy biscuits… like dog treats for people… like you’ll find yourself reaching for cracker after cracker, and that’s no joke.  

The most lovely part about these crackers is that they come together in just about 10 minutes and bake up in 30 minutes.  Try them.  You might find your happy place.

Sea Salt and Poppy Seed Crackers

      from The Complete Book of Cookies

     makes 20 crackers

     Print this Recipe!

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon butter, cold and cut into 6 small chunks

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

6 Tablespoons half and half

For topping the crackers:

sea salt

half and half

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Sift together the flour, salt and sugar.  Add the butter and, using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it is in tiny bits and dispersed throughout the flour mixture.  

Stir in the poppy seeds.  

Add the half and half and mix to make a stiff dough.  Place on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 8×10-inches.  Cut into 20 squares.  

Place the dough squares on an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment or foil.  Brush sparingly with half and half and sprinkle with sea salt.  

Bake for 30 minutes or until crisp but still pale.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool and store in an airtight container.

What would it feel like if vacations lasted forever?  Would it feel as good as I think it would?  Yes.  Yes, it would.

Reality hits hard after you’ve had days to let your brain ease into a happy mush.

I’m not complaining.  Does it sound like I’m complaining?  Ok… maybe a little.  It’s just hard to let vacation time slip out of my hands.

Maybe permanent vacation is like only eating these cookies for the rest of your days.  Sure, they have both chocolate and vanilla, but you can’t eat cookies forever.  They’d lose their cookie goodness.  Maybe permanent vacation would somehow start to feel like work.  Constant cookies and vacation? I’d be willing to experiment  just to see how the two would treat me after a few years.

While I’m day dreaming of vacations past, I’d like to send a big fat thank you to my darling friends who hosted us this weekend.

Britt is one of my few friends who actually still has a land line.  Phone with a cord!?  Well done.

Seattle is a great city.  A big thank you for all of your Seattle suggestions.  I actually used to live in Seattle so this vacation was half sightseeing and half old stomping ground good times.

Now… cookies.

Salted Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart

Print this recipe!

These cookies are the perfect combination of vanilla and dark chocolate.  They aren’t too sweet and the chunky sea salt really brings out the rich chocolate flavor.  They’re pretty impressive for slice and bake refrigerator cookies.  Can you dig it?  I can.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 large egg yolk, save egg white for brushing cookie dough
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or scraped vanilla beans from 1/4 vanilla pod
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate, very finely chopped
• course sea salt

1. Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Mix in egg yolk and vanilla bean or extract. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
2. Remove half of the dough; set aside. Add cocoa powder and chopped chocolate to remaining dough; mix on low speed until well combined. Turn out chocolate dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10-inch log, about 1-inch wide and 1/2-inch tall. Repeat with reserved vanilla dough. Wrap each rectangle in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until slightly firm, at least 30 minutes.
3. Remove the chilled doughs from the fridge.  Brush the top of the chocolate piece with a bit of a remaining egg white.  This will help the chocolate and vanilla stick together.  Press the vanilla piece on top of the moistened chocolate piece.  Press lightly.  Rewrap dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds; space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If dough becomes too soft to slice cleanly, return to freezer until firm.  Sprinkle course sea salt onto the chocolate half of the cookies.  Press in lightly with fingertips.
5. Bake until firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.