Strolling the Santa Monica farmers market on a recent Saturday, thinking about dinner. Five pounds of that thumb-thick jumbo asparagus from Zuckerman Farms? Of course! I already had carrots and favas from my garden. I’d ordered a leg of lamb. But what’s for dessert? Almond torte maybe? Lemon curd tart?
But all that late-season citrus — Oro Blancos, grapefruits, blood oranges, tangerines — I just couldn’t resist them. So maybe I’d do a fruit salad with a spiced syrup? Or just tangerine sections sweetened a little with rosemary honey? Then, suddenly, my mind was made up for me: I tasted a wedge of Page mandarin from Armando Garcia’s stand. The flavor was almost explosive: sweet, spicy, perfect all by itself. Honey? Syrup? Forget it, the juice was almost syrupy just as it was. There’s nothing I could do to make this thing any better.
Still, even I’m not Chez Panisse-y enough to serve just a bowl of fruit and call it dessert. That’s where cookies come in.
Just as we’re heading into the heart of the fruit season, a simple cookie can be a cook’s best friend. Right now we’ve got late-season citrus like those mandarins, terrific sweet strawberries, and the first apricots and cherries, then before you know it, peaches and nectarines. There’s nothing that complements a great piece of fruit like a cookie.
