Sherlock Holmes and Allspice Cookies

Welcome to the second day of Cookie Bookie Week. There's a lot going on today-Cookie Bookie and my Tuesday weekly baking club. So let's proceed in order, shall we?

Today's book is The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Did I ever mention how much I adore Sherlock Holmes? I bought the Quiet Man the complete set of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas last year. I also begged my little West to dress as Sherlock Holmes for Halloween; Indiana Jones won out, but West says maybe next year. I'm dying to sew this costume. Maybe I should dress up as Sherl-y Holmes.But the charges do love Sherlock Holmes, thanks to the old radio program cassettes that we regularly check out from our local library. I thought since they were already enamored with the brilliant old gum-shoe, that I ought to read them The Hound of the Baskervilles out loud at bedtime. The first night, I started in with Holmes and Watson considering the reported case of a phantom creature, prowling the grounds of an estate and causing general mayhem and particular murder. These are not good bedtime topics for young charges; even young charges who like Sherlock Holmes will become reticent. Especially if the wind wails outside the window and clatters the blinds. It is my experience that one night of The Hound of the Baskervilles is all that little children will be able to manage. I had to go on alone. It was better that way, because the book becomes truly spooky, suspenseful, even thrilling. But don't take my word for it; find out for yourself.

And now for our cookie, or rather first things first. Today is Tuesdays with Dorie, my weekly baking club. Not to miss out on my assignment, I baked some superlative allspice crumb muffins. They were scrumptious. Please click here for the recipe. But today is NOT muffin-bookie week. That sounds almost obscene. Today is cookie bookie, and I've created an allspice-snap, cousin to the more popular ginger-snap. I have to wonder why I have been ignoring allspice all of these years. It's only been a part-of-the-gang kind of spice, not something I was willing to use on its own. But after I tried the muffins above, I knew I had to give allspice a starring role in a cookie. So ta-da. Here it is. So get reading and baking.

Allspice Snaps

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for 16

Adapted from Didi Emmons

6 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more later)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon allspice (plus more later)

pinch of salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in egg yolk. Add allspice, salt, soda, and flour. Form cookie dough into one inch bowls. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. Roll cookies in sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with hand. Bake at 350 degrees6-8 minutes, or until puffed in the center and crinkled on the edges.

Come back tomorrow for More Cookie Bookie