sesame butter cookies

I used a peanut butter cookie recipe from my trusty Joy of Cooking. When you have this book, there is really no need to surf the Internet. It even teaches me how to do things I never ever want to do, like how to skin a squirrel and then cook it.

I had a jar and a half of Tahini and a hankering for Halvah, so I swapped out the peanut butter for sesame seed butter. I also ran out of sugar, so I used raw honey instead. And I added a pinch of sea salt, since I was using unsalted nut butter. But I am always surprised when I find any recipe without the inclusion of salt, I feel it is totally necessary when using sugar in a recipe.

This is my work surface.

It is pretty amazing the amount of deliciousness I can create with about 1 square foot of counter space. So if you ever say to me that you don't cook because your kitchen is too small, I will laugh and then invite you over to cook with me! You may notice that the cabinet up there has NO DOORS on it. They were the first things to go. I wanted to be able to reach everything easily and not have to worry about the clutter of doors in the way. Plus, I can see all my beautiful bowls and cups all the time.

Cookies about to go in my Cookie Jar

Many moons ago a friend of mine was getting rid of some things, and gave this cookie jar to me. The eyes are turned up looking at a little fly that landed on his head. I love it to no end.

Find things that you love and put them in your kitchen. A kitchen is a creative space, like an art stuido, treat it with child like wonder, and have fun in your kitchen! The kitchen is my favourite place to be. Out of all the rooms in my house, I spend the most time in it. Sometimes I just crack a cider and hang out in my kitchen, looking through cook books, creating mini masterpieces in my head.