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ANN
BLOOM
IT’S ALL GOOD
Food trends:
Looking back,
and ahead
Living
B
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Cookies:
From easy to complicated
I
f last year’s pandemic and forced work-
at-home time taught us anything it’s that
many of us turned to food as a way of
coping and for comfort. Not just for suste-
nance, but also as a creative outlet (think of
all the people who learned to make bread and
sourdough starter). There was an increase in
sales for pots and pans, cookbooks, kitchen
gadgets and tools.
Some of those trends continued into 2021
and some will continue into 2022 and beyond.
Though no one has a crystal ball and can
truly predict what will appear as a trend for
2022, it is still interesting to look back at the
food and health trends of 2021 and to look
ahead at what 2022 may have in store.
In 2021, along with an increase in baking,
people turned to cooking from scratch and
meals made from pantry staples. This was
due, in part, to save money and because many
restaurants were still closed due to the pan-
demic limiting the number and availability of
places to dine.
Cooking focused on mental as well as
physical health, specifi cally the need for nutri-
ents. Nutrients such as Vitamin D and B vita-
mins encourage mental and emotional health
and may help fi ght depression. Vitamin D,
sometimes called the sunshine vitamin, is
found in fortifi ed milk, fortifi ed cereal, fatty,
cold-water fi sh such as salmon, mackerel and
sardines, egg yolks and some organ meats.
Vitamin C is found in most citrus foods,
strawberries and broccoli and leafy green
vegetables. As an antioxidant, Vitamin C
helps support a healthy immune system. Iron
and B vitamins are all found in meat, fi sh,
poultry, eggs, legumes and nuts. And cooking
was therapeutic. It relieved stress and was
creative.
People also turned to comfort foods.
Although comfort foods have always been
a way of life for most of us, they became
even more important as the pandemic turned
everyone’s world upside down. Foods such
as macaroni and cheese, biscuits and gravy,
pancakes and meatloaf with mashed potatoes
somehow tasted better than ever before.
With time to spend in the kitchen, people
began experimenting. They experimented
with diff erent herbs and spices in cooking
along with diff erent types of mushrooms, and
oils such as pumpkin seed and avocado, and
sugar alternatives like maple and coconut.
People were also trying diff erent milk alterna-
tives such as oat, coconut, almond and hemp.
Home preservation increased in popu-
larity and there was a shortage in home can-
ning supplies such as jars and lids. The home
preservationist moved beyond canning, trying
fermentation and canning quantities of sau-
erkraut, pickles and kimchi (a type of Korean
fermented cabbage), along with drying fruits,
vegetables and herbs for later use.
Businesses were closed, but local sup-
port of farms and local farmers’ markets
increased, and money was put back into
communities.
As 2021 draws to a close and 2022 begins,
some of the health trends that began in 2021
will continue into the new year.
The frozen food market, which held steady,
is continuing to increase for several rea-
sons, among them convenience, and budget.
Improvements have been made in processing
and frozen foods can taste on par with their
fresh counterparts. Too, frozen foods are
quickly processed. Since they do not have to
travel hundreds, or even thousands of miles
like their fresher counterparts, the nutri-
ents of frozen fruits and vegetables are more
intact. In terms of nutrition, it is important to
remember that all forms of fruits and vege-
tables — fresh, frozen, dried, canned or 100
percent juice — are all nutritious and are part
of a healthy diet.
Companies will continue to try diff erent
milk alternatives going into 2022, using
grains like barley. These milks are a good
option for people with lactose intolerance
since they are more easily digested. However,
unless fortifi ed, they lack the calcium and
other nutrients of regular dairy milk.
Nutrients, no matter what year it is, will
continue to be important for general good
health. Nutrients for mental, physical, emo-
tional and gut health will never go out of
style. A balanced diet of whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, proteins (meat, poultry, fi sh,
beans, nuts, legumes and plant-based pro-
tein) and whole grains along with healthy fats
provide the vitamins and minerals needed to
maintain one’s health.
And as far as the baked bread and com-
fort foods go? Yes, they’ll still be popular
in 2022.
———
Ann Bloom has worked for the OSU
Extension Service for 15 years as a nutrition
educator. She studied journalism and edu-
cation at Washington State University. She
lives in Enterprise.
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Chocolate-dipped orange shortbread.
By DANIEL NEMAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
W
ith everyone
concentrating
on the gifts they
plan to give
others at this time of the year,
we often overlook the smallest
of gifts that are always
received warmly.
I’m talking about cookies.
The holiday season is nothing
if not a time for the baking,
giving, receiving and espe-
cially consuming of cookies.
They are a vital part of the
season’s festive spirit, a way
to spread cheer and make the
days merrier and brighter.
And they are so easy to
make, or at least some of them
are. With a good cookie — and
is there really such a thing as a
bad cookie? — the ratio of joy
they bring to the recipient to
the labor of baking them is off
the chart.
This holiday season, I made
eight batches of cookies. They
range from very easy (sugar
cookies) to decidedly compli-
cated (hazelnut crunch bars),
but they all fi ll you with that
sparkling holiday spirit, and
calories.
The procedure for making
them all is basically the same:
You cream butter and sugar,
add vanilla and maybe an
egg or two, and gently mix in
fl our, possibly baking powder
or baking soda and perhaps a
fl avor such as cinnamon. Then,
bake as directed.
It’s hard to believe that
so many diff erent types of
cookies can be made from this
one fundamental outline.
Here are the eight I made:
• Sugar Cookies: The Big
Bang of cookies, the cookie
from which all other cookies
were born. Simple and classic,
they are the best way to make
sugar and butter crunchy, espe-
cially when fl avored with a
splash of vanilla. If you choose
to top them in royal icing,
you’ll add not only bright color
but also an irresistible crisp top
that brings textural contrast to
the soft cookie.
• Danish Butter Sand-
wiches: Think Oreo, but even
better. Two delicate and light
butter cookies surround a
slightly nutty brown butter
fi lling. They are kind of per-
fect this way, but if you don’t
want the hassle of making
the crème fi lling (or you just
love butter cookies, which is
understandable) the cookies
by themselves are absolutely
marvelous.
• Chocolate-Dipped Orange
Shortbread: Soft and crumbly
shortbread is a traditional hol-
iday favorite. It’s a classy
cookie, quietly understated,
that encourages the fl avor of
butter to shine through. You
wouldn’t think it could be
improved, but a bit of orange
adds intrigue and makes it
even more appropriate for the
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Sugar cookies.
holiday. Dipping it in chocolate
only increases its elegance.
• Sugar-Topped Molasses
Spiced Cookies: Call them
gingerbread cookies if you
must, because that’s what they
are, but these sugar-topped
molasses spiced cookies have
an intriguing twist. A sprin-
kling of black pepper gives
them a delightfully unexpected
bite that acts as a contrast to
the brown sugar and molasses.
• Pecan Squares: These
combine the best aspects
of pecan pie with those of a
cookie. Instead of a crust, a
buttery shortbread is just the
right thing to serve as a base
for a pecan-pie topping. The
earthiness of the nuts is bal-
anced by a blend of maple
syrup, honey, brown sugar and
cream; it all blends into a mar-
velous three-bite treat.
• Cinnamon Bun Cookies:
Some evil genius took the
heavenly and seductive fl avor
of cinnamon buns and fi g-
ured out how to transfer it to a
cookie. A swirl of sweetened
cinnamon runs through these
simple yet exquisite vanilla
cookies, and they are made
even better by an enchanting
glaze brushed or drizzled on
top.
• White Chocolate Chunk
Macadamia Cookies: The
actual cookie dough is superb,
even for a chocolate chip
cookie; it begins with just
enough ground oatmeal for
fl avor and texture, and corn
syrup for chewiness. But then
you add the always-delectable
combination of macadamia
nuts and white chocolate, and
you end up with an unbeatable
super-cookie.
• Hazelnut Crunch Bars:
Decadent and indulgent, these
spectacular bars are worth
the eff ort. They have four dis-
tinct layers, each better than
the next. The bottom is a mix-
ture of hazelnuts, milk choc-
olate and, for a lightly crispy
texture, Rice Krispies. Then
comes a rich, soft caramel. A
soft cloud of sweet homemade
marshmallow fl oats above the
caramel, and it is all topped
with an impossibly silky choc-
olate ganache.
SUGAR COOKIES
Yield: About 24 servings
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose fl our
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks)
unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Royal icing, optional
1. Adjust an oven rack to the mid-
dle position and heat the oven to
350 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of the
sugar in a shallow dish for coating
and set aside. In a separate bowl,
whisk the fl our, baking powder and
salt together, and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and remaining
1 1/2 cups of the sugar together in
a large bowl using an electric mixer
on medium speed until light and
fl uff y, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the
vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time,
until combined, about 30 seconds,
scraping down the bowl and beaters
as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low
and slowly mix in the fl our mixture
until combined, about 30 seconds.
Give the dough a fi nal stir with a
rubber spatula to make sure it is
combined.
4. Wet your hands with water, and
roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time
into balls, then roll in the sugar to
coat. Lay the balls on two parch-
ment-lined baking sheets, spaced
about 2 inches apart. Flatten the
cookies with the buttered bottom
of a drinking glass, then sprinkle
any of the remaining sugar over the
fl attened tops.
5. Alternatively, roll out the dough
1/4-inch thick, sprinkle with some
of the sugar that was set aside for
coating and cut into festive shapes
with cookie cutters. Place on baking
sheets spaced 2 inches apart.
6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a
time, until the edges are set and just
beginning to brown but the centers
are still soft and puff y, 10 to 12
minutes, rotating the baking sheet
halfway through baking.
7. Let the cookies cool on the
baking sheet for 10 minutes, then
serve warm or transfer to a wire rack
and let cool completely. If desired,
top with royal icing.
Per serving: 309 calories; 14 g fat;
9 g saturated fat; 67 mg cholesterol;
3 g protein; 44 g carbohydrate; 44 g
sugar; no fi ber; 111 mg sodium; 20
mg calcium
— Adapted from “The America’s
Test Kitchen Family Cookbook”
DANISH BUTTER
SANDWICHES
Yield: 24 servings
8 ounces (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, divided
3/4 cup fi rmly packed
light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose fl our, sifted
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 5 to 6 teaspoons heavy cream
1. Adjust racks to top and bottom
thirds of oven and preheat oven to
325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets
with parchment paper or foil.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer,
cream 2 sticks (8 ounces) of the but-
ter. Add the brown sugar and beat
to mix. Add the egg yolk and beat
to mix. On low speed, gradually add
the fl our, scraping the bowl with a
rubber spatula and beating just until
the mixture holds together in a ball.
3. Place a long sheet of waxed
paper in front of you. Use a slightly
rounded spoonful of the dough for
each cookie and place the mounds
of dough on the waxed paper, mak-
ing 48 mounds.
4. Roll the mounds between your
hands into round balls and place
them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on the
lined cookie sheets. With the heel of
your hand or your fi ngertips, fl atten
each ball into a round cookie about
1/4 inch thick.
5. Have a little extra fl our in a cup
or bowl. Dip a fork into the fl our and
press the back of the tines fi rmly
onto the top of the cookies, forming
See, Cookies/Page B2