This Holiday Season, Join the League of Cookies
Every holiday season, the instructors and staff from the League of Kitchens, a group of immigrant women who teach online and in-person cooking classes, make their way to their annual holiday party potluck. At founder Lisa Gross' Brooklyn apartment, they swap and samplecookiesfrom Japan, Argentina, Lebanon, Greece, and Iran, and what's more, they share sweet bites of their stories, their history, and their homes. This season, we invite you to bake a batch or two of their recipes and share in the joy of this sweet connection.
卡在中间
出生于阿根廷的教练米塔·里纳尔迪（Mirta Rinaldi）说：“我长大后吃了阿尔法霍尔斯（Alfajores），任何时候都是与妈妈一起在家的合适时机。”“我们甚至会举办热烈的比赛，看看谁可以吃最多的饼干！今天，它们是我的签名礼物，部分原因是制作它们是一种乐趣，也是因为它们在邮件中掌握得如此之好。”—Mitra Rinaldi
Mirta Rinaldi learned how to make these delicate, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich cookies from her mother, and over the years she has probably made thousands. One of the most popular cookies in Arge tina, they're found in all sizes at bakeries there and are picked up by the dozens for special occasions and celebrations year- round. Because of the generous amount of cornstarch in the dough, the cookies remain tender and soft after baking. Dulce de leche repostero is nice and thick and won't squeeze out past the edges of the cookies in between bites.
新月Goals
"I got the recipe for these traditional Greek Christmas cookies from my niece about 30 years ago," Greek instructor Despina Economou explains. Since then, she says, "I've been making them whenever I visit friends or relatives and want to bring something with me; I love the buttery taste of the cookie combined with delicately toasted almonds."—Despina Economou
Traditionally a Greek Christmas cookie, tender and buttery kourampiedes can now be found in bakeries year-round. Some versions include orange zest, but Despina Economou prefers the simple version with butter, sugar, almonds, and vanilla. Economou's niece taught her how to make them 30 years ago, and they're one of her favorites to this day. The buttery cookies melt in your mouth, and the toasted almond pieces add a nice crunch. This recipe can easily be doubled.
获取食谱：Kourampiedes（希腊圣诞饼干）
Winter Coats
"Dates have a storied place in Persian history," says Iranian instructor Mab Abbas. "In all of our big ceremonies and festivals, it's very common for religious people to serve dates with nuts and some sharbat. My sister is part of a new generation building off of these traditions, and she has a beautiful shop in Tehran. She created this recipe by combining date dough with nuts to make a little truffle. It's an homage to how our father liked to eat: He believed in the importance of using fresh, local, natural ingredients. It feels empowering to be able to make your own healthy confections at home."—Mab Abbas
Mab Abbas learned this recipe from one of her sisters, who owns a dried fruit and nut shop and a pistachio farm in Tehran. Traditionally, dates and nuts were consumed at spiritual gatherings and celebrations. (Many Muslims break their fast with a date during Ramadan.) Not overly sweet, these truffles are nicely balanced with the sweet dates, bitter tahini, and buttery walnuts. They firm up after chilling but remain fairly soft to bite.
Oh, Christmas Tea
"When I was growing up in Japan, it wasn't common for people to have ovens in their homes, which is why my mom didn't teach me much about baking," says Japanese instructor Aiko Cascio. "But after high school, a friend and I moved to Tokyo. She got a job at a bakery and was so excited to be making cookies every day; I learned different techniques from her, but I especially loved to make matcha cookies. We made a lot of these cookies to give to all of our friends at Christmastime."- Aiko Cascio
Aiko Cascio learned how to make these not-too-sweet matcha-flavored cookies from a friend in Tokyo, where the deep green confections are popular during the winter holiday season. Matcha powder is made from finely milled green tea leaves and is used frequently in Japanese desserts to impart a slightly bitter and earthy flavor; melted white chocolate boosts the sweetness and gives a festive look. Due to the high ratio of butter in the dough, it softens quickly at room temperature; chill it in between rolling and cutting for clean cuts.
获取食谱：抹茶饼干和白巧克力毛毛雨
Savor the Date
"I'm passionate about sweets," says Lebanese instructor Jeanette Chawki, who created this recipe based on traditional Lebanese date cookies. "I ended up teaching it to the women in my community in New York; everyone loved it because it's so easy to make. If a friend tells you she's coming over, you can have 20 to 30 of these cookies ready on a plate in no time. Plus, the ingredients are not too expensive, and most are things you always have at home—no need to run out for groceries. I prefer them in the morning with coffee, or just as a snack."—Jeanette Chawki
Jeanette Chawki started baking and cooking after she got married and over the years has developed several of her own creations. This cookie combines nutmeg and cinnamon with her favorite date filling, and they're topped with nigella seeds—typically found in savory foods. These are best on the day they're made, and they're the perfect treat to have with a strong cup of Lebanese coffee.
让它雪
"This recipe for Pandan Snow White cookies was created by my mom," says Indonesian instructor Shandra Woworuntu. "I'll make these cookies for Indonesian people in my community in New York City, mostly to enjoy during the Muslim and Christian holidays. When you bite into one of these morsels, the powdered sugar on top simply melts in your mouth, and the pandan has a special flavor that's hard to describe—I'd say it's something like honey and lemongrass combined. When I serve sweets using pandan, I get to start a conversation about my culture and my food, both of which many people in the United States don't know enough about."—Shandra Woworuntu
To Shandra Woworuntu, baking comes naturally. Not only did her grandmother own a baking supply and snack company in East Java, but Woworuntu and her mother ran a homemade cookie business in Jakarta in the late 1980s. Traditionally, these cookies are made with almonds, peanuts, or cashews inside and are popular during the holidays, including Christmas, Ramadan, and Chinese New Year. Her mother's version, and now the recipe Woworuntu makes all the time, adds pandan flavoring and omits the nuts, making them more cakey than crispy. Pandan, a tropical plant with fragrant leaves, has a vanilla-citrusy flavor and is a very popular flavoring in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.
Indian instructor Yamini Joshi's chai recipe is a favorite at parties. "Fresh ginger is the most important part—it's refreshing. The fresh mint is from Rajasthan, where my family is from. And every chai needs green cardamom!"