Olive Oil Sugar Cookies With Pistachios & Lemon Glaze Recipe on Food52

When I was growing up, my grandma would often stay with us during Christmas. She never learned to drive, so she took a three-hour bus to Minneapolis. She traveled with one suitcase—full of clothes and a plethora of scarves —and a container of crispy pecan cookies. My mom hid these from the rest of us as soon as Grandma arrived, nibbling in secret all of Christmas Eve and Day. At the time, I had no interest, and let my mom enjoy them as she pleased.

When I was in sixth grade, Grandma came a few days after Christmas, with her usual suitcase, scarves, and crispy cookies. My siblings and I were impatient for another round of present opening and, in anticipation of the big event, were pleasantly helpful all day. After dinner, my little brother passed out the presents, and the three of us discovered, in dismay, that Grandma had brought just one small gift for each. Sensing my mother’s narrowed eyes, we tried to conceal our disappointment.

Regardless of that initial disappointment, Grandma sat on my shelf all through junior high, and high school. She came with me to college, perched on my dresser next to square, silver Pier One frames full of high school friends, her humble wooden frame standing out. She made the journey back to my parents’ house when I lived there for a year, then to my first apartment with my husband. She was always with me, even when she wasn’t.

Every time I glance at the photo, I see her in all pink, then think of her tall frame in the kitchen, baking pies, bread, cookies, and huge meals for us every time we visited. I see her nestled in her favorite chair—quilting and watching football, and muttering under her breath when her team was losing.

I came up with these cookies in remembrance of Grandma’s pecan cookies. She died years ago, along with her recipe, which she never wrote down or shared. I make these for my mom because she still loves crispy cookies, and she prefers pistachios. They’re easy to make, very forgiving, a perfect addition to any holiday table. I think Grandma would approve of them .by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group LLC, A Penguin Random House Company.

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Orange & Brown Butter Madeleines Recipe on Food52My mother’s parents, Angel and Miren, opened Pastelería Ayarza in my small town of Amorebieta in 1949 when my mother was barely two years old. The pastry shop became the center of their lives and work. My grandparents went on to have seven more children, and all but one ended up working in the family business. They lived in the flat above the shop. I was the third grandchild in this very tight-knit family of chefs and bakers. The shop, or gozotoki, as we referred to it in Basque, was also a center of our little community, where people from all walks of life came and went. It’s the aspect of hospitality that my grandmother loved the most: the socializing, the conversations, and the feeling that she was touching people’s lives. My childhood days were spent at school and at the family shop, helping with all kinds of tasks—from peeling blanched almonds to dipping the top of cream puffs in chocolate. I also ate most of my meals there and finished my homework on the floral oilcloth-lined kitchen table. I particularly remember winter months in the cramped kitchen that was heated by the ovens, while brioche, shortbread, and madeleines were baking. The smell of butter permeated the air. Christmas was the busiest time of year. The days before Christmas Eve, my mom came home late and left for work before the sun came up. My grandfather often worked through the night, taking short naps on a tiny cot propped open next to his workbench. My grandmother kept everyone fed and fueled with coffee. There was a feeling of anticipation and acceleration that culminated when the last patrons picked up their cake and pastry orders, and the doors of the shop closed at 6 p.m. sharp on Dec. 24. After that, the focus was directed at our family and what we were going to cook and bake for ourselves that evening. We settled on the meat and fish preparation, and there was likely a warm apple custard tart wrapped in puff pastry to bake last minute. My grandmother took the lead and we followed ord
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