haibane.moe

• Flour, all-purpose, 240g
• Mahlab, 14g
• Butter, at room temperature, 170g (about 1½ sticks)
• Sugar, 130g
• Salt, pinch
• Egg, large
• Vanilla extract, 1tsp

1. Whisk the flour and mahlab together in a mixing bowl.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and salt together.
3. Mix the egg and vanilla extract into the butter.
4. Pour the flour/mahlab mixture into the butter and mix.
5. Roll the dough into logs about 1” in diameter.
6. Wrap in plastic and chill or freeze for later.
7. When ready to bake (if frozen, you may want to thaw in the fridge overnight), preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
8. Slice cookies about ¼” thick and place on baking sheet lined with parchment.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes (bottoms will be a little browned).

Mahlab is a powder made from the seeds of a particular cherry species. When raw, the taste is quite bitter, but it smells strongly of cherries; once baked, it’s quite subtle. Compared to just plain butter cookies, it’s hard to name exactly what’s changed with these cookies—but they’re so much better than plain.

The recipe here is based on Just One Cookbook’s matcha cookies. The spice can be ordered online or found at a specialty grocer. If you’re in New York City, Sahadi’s carries it.