A wonderful friend from Spokane sent me an instant message two days ago.She had scored a last-minute flight to Chicago and would be at my house in, oh, just slightly less than 24 hours.
Visions of great neighborhoods to explore with her popped into my head. I thought of the new roof-top bar we had to check out. The Mexican place I'd been wanting to try for dinner.
And then I thought of:
The mountain of dishes in my sink.
The overflow of The Kid's toys into the guest room.
The growing battalion of dust bunnies in every nook and cranny.
So, I decided to bake some cookies. And hope that she wouldn't notice my messy house.
I think it might have worked.
This recipe, from the latest issue of Everyday Food, caught my eye. I had all of the ingredients on hand, including plenty of zucchini from the CSA box.
These are nice little no-too-sweet cookies, perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Next time, I might drizzle them with some lemon glaze or something for a little extra oomph.
And if you drop a few crumbs on the floor, no worries. Nobody will notice.
At least that's what I'm hoping.
Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies
Makes 25 cookies
From Everyday Food
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1 medium zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.
Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. (To truly get 25 cookies out of this recipe, you'll want to do rounded teaspoons.) Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.
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