Of Spice and Men + Forbidden Fruit Thumbprints for My Man and His Buddies #BlendsBash #BookBlends #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Book Club Cookbook.
I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development,

but all opinions are honest and they are my own. This page may contain affiliate links.

My contact at The Book Club Cookbook emailed, asking if I would be interested in trying our a couple of their new spice blends. Of course! I am always up for some culinary adventure; and when it ties reading to cooking...well, let's just say I will make time in my calendar for that no matter what. 

So, I perused the choices - of their Book Blends, TV Blends, and Song Blends - decided on Cocoa-Mo, a Black Onyx Cocoa Powder and Of Spice and Men, Indonesian Korintje Cinnamon. I selected these based on spices I needed for upcoming recipes this holiday season; but I do love the play on words for all of the blends, especially Don't Stop Bayleave-ing, Dried and Prejudice, and A Wrinkle in Thyme.

Of Spice and Men seemed fitting as Of Mice and Men is one of my favorite Steinbeck books and Indonesian Korintje Cinnamon, scientific name Cinnamomum Burmanni, is my favorite cinnamons! Yes, there are different kinds of cinnamon. When I taught a spice class for six weeks at the International School of Monterey a few years back, I was surprised to discover that though Indonesian cinnamon is the most commonly used one in this country, Indonesians do not use cinnamon frequently. And, when they do, it's usually in a savory not a sweet. One of my favorite Indonesian dishes is Beef Rendang.

Today Jake is leaving for a guys' trip to the desert. This photo was from their last Testosterone adventure to Mt. Madonna...in September. When I first heard that Jake was assigned food for Saturday, I thought to myself, "That's silly. The man doesn't cook." THEN, as I was marinating chicken and baking salted chocolate chip cookies and red wine brownies, it struck me: they had a plan all along.

So, for their desserts, I decided to bake some cookies. In additional salted chocolate chip cookies, red wine brownies, and Earl Grey shortbread, I wanted to make a spiced thumbprint cookie. Thumbprint cookies are quick and easy as there is no rolling or chilling involved. You can see some other versions I've made, including Quince Jam Thumbprints, Frangipane Thumbprints, and my Gluten-Free Rhubarb Thumbprints appeared on The Heritage Cook (here). 

This version was inspired by the Forbidden Fruit Marmalade from local-to-me jam goddess, Tabitha Stroup of Friend in Cheese Jam Co. This marmalade includes up to six types of locally grown winter citrus mingled with vanilla and a hint of chile. It's one of my favorites. Hope my man and his buddies enjoy these.

Ingredients makes approximately 30 cookies

• 3/4 C butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 C organic granulated sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 C flour
• 1/2 C ground almonds
• 1 to 2 t ground cinnamon (I used Of Spice and Men, Indonesian Korintje Cinnamon)
• 1/2 t pure vanilla bean paste
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• jam or marmalade (I used Forbidden Fruit Marmalade)

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in the egg yolks until incorporated. Stir in the flour and ground almonds until a flaky dough is formed. Add in the spices, gently working the dough until it forms a ball.

Pinch off pieces of dough and form into small balls, about the size of a walnut in its shell. Place each ball onto the baking stone or baking sheet, pressing a "thumbprint" into the center of each and slightly flattening. (The cookies will not spread, so make them the size that you want!) Add about 1/2 t to 1 t of whatever jam or jelly you have on hand to each thumbprint and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Let cookies cool for several minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Find the Sponsor

On the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram

*Disclosure: I received product for free from the sponsor for recipe development, however, 

I have received no additional compensation for my post. My opinion is 100% my own and 100% accurate.