OF SEA SALT
FLAKES
COOKIE’S
68 | December 2019
FOOD HOLIDAY BAKING
essie Sheehan
derives much of
her baking
inspiration from
vintage recipe booklets
she started collecting
more than a decade
ago. She had recently
begun working at
Baked, a Brooklyn
bakery known for
classic American
desserts, and was
drawn to the timeless
nature of the booklets’
old-school recipes.
“They were simple and
reliable—ideal for
experimentation,” she
says. “By playing with
an unexpected spice
or extract, I can
appeal to the more
adventurous palates
of today’s bakers.”
J
TAHINI
BLOSSOMS
If peanut butter
blossoms are a
must-have in your
cookie tin, consider
this version their
well-traveled cousin.
Jessie swaps in
tahini, the Middle
Eastern sesame
seed paste commonly
used in hummus,
which gives the
chocolate-topped
cookie complex
nuttiness and subtle
e a r t h y fl a v o r.
PB&M FUDGE
Fluff ernutter fans,
this one is for you.
Jessie turns a
childhood favorite—
peanut butter and
marshmallow creme
on white bread—into a
confection that hits
the same salty-sweet
notes. She streamlines
the classic fudge
method (which
requires a candy
thermometer to heat
sugar to an exact
temperature) by using
sweetened condensed
milk as a shortcut to
optimal fudginess.