When you you haven’t been for a run since last weekend, you have been wearing your laundry-day socks for three days, and you are behind on at least three chapters’ worth of readings in Nutrition textbooks, what better time to bake cookies? I think it is a logical priority. And when white chocolate chunks, toasty walnuts, and chewy coconut are tucked into a rich cocoa cookie batter, how could you not expect the results to be rapturous?

The batter whips up in minutes, with the help of a standing mixer. Just beat everything together in steps, and fold in the add-ins with a wooden spoon. I used a tablespoon to drop mine onto cookie sheets, but I would make that tablespoon slightly more heavy-handed next time. As made, they turned out to be fairly itty-bitty, (against the magnitude of a typical chocolate craving) but still scrumptious – making their dainty size forgivable. Also, do flatten them, or they will be more like macaroons.

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Growing up in Atlantic Canada, a Sunday evening wasn’t complete without a bowl (or several) of warm apple crisp. The vanilla ice cream (and my heart) would melt on contact, in full surrender. It was a final hug of the weekend, providing the courage to start another week of school. After an afternoon skating in the backyard till our toes were numb, or sliding from our yard into our neighbour’s on our man-made mountain (a happy by-product of driveway-shoveling… with New Brunswick-style snow storms, an impressive sliding mountain really doesn’t take long), there was nothing like warm, gooey apples under buttery oats to take the chill out of our cold, rosy cheeks.

That being said, a quarter-century of Sundays and my eye started wandering away from my apple crisp hugs, and I landed in the arms of another, bolder and more exciting crisp… with sweet cherries… and almonds.

Cherry crisp is like the best of cherry pie meeting the best of apple crisp. The cherries release lots of juice, making a thick, rich, delicious filling. The addition of sliced almonds to the topping is perfection. The toasty, nutty crunch is nothing short of divine with the gorgeous, soft cherries. Continue Reading »