Bookish Gatherings – How to Feed a Crowd Without Stressing Out

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 2 Comments

I’ve had a busy week filled with work events, book clubs, and a Hallo’ween event with my boyfriend so instead of sharing with you a new baked good or tasty treat and telling you how it reminds me of a book or author I am going to do something a little different.

Today I want to talk about hosting – specifically hosting a book club meeting. I love to play hostess. Having people over is my jam. I am that girl asking if you have had enough to eat, if you’ve tried the crackers with this specific cheese, and then throwing a piece of cake in your general direction. I show my love with food. It’s what I do. 

The thing about loving to host means I need a new audience every so often. So when the opportunity presented itself to host for my friend’s book club a few months ago I jumped. I aggressively cleaned my house, and then threw any clutter in the closet, the guest room, my boyfriends closet…really anywhere with a door was fair game. 

I also went all in on a book club spread.  Anytime I host there tends to be cheese, some tasty carbs, a few fruits, a good tray of veggies, and some hummus.  Below I’ll give you some tips, tricks, and snack options that are sure to please a crowd. 

For starters I  went with some crowd favorites like goat cheese, havarti, cheddar, and a basil jack, as well as pulling out a brick of cream cheese and covering it in a spicy peach jam. Pre-sliced salami was a total hit.  I also find a mix of buttery crackers and something more grainy gives enough variety for all to enjoy. This is always the most popular section of any spread I create. Cheese is big in my friend groups. Cheeses with meats and jams are basically heaven on earth. 

For a sweet touch I included a plate of chocolate hummus covered in strawberry pieces, animal crackers, and strawberries. 

My go-to veggies for any type of spread are carrots, pea pods, peppers, cucumbers, and sometimes celery. They are all very tasty in either veggie dip or hummus. Also hummus always deserves pita chips. Carbs are love. Love yourself and your friends.  They’ll thank you for a healthy snack that also gives them all of that crunchy salty goodness. 

As a more substantial snack by my veggies and hummus I included some super easy spinach pie. I always have a box from either trader joes or costco in my fridge. They heat up in 20 minutes and are good all night. I never have any left over. Give them a try.

Oh, also don’t forget a killer dessert. As this was a meeting from the end of June I had a lemon pound cake with a lemon glaze for everyone to snack on when they had their fill of cheese, veggies, and spinach pies. We barely had any left at the end of the night. 

Those are my tips for a flavorful and fun spread for any sort of gathering. I think this combo works really well for book clubs. It is all finger food (minus the cake,) it isn’t very heavy, and there is something for everyone.  

Next week I promise to be back with a spooky granola recipe and a deep dive into my new found love of the All Souls Trilogy. Until then, go eat some cheese! Also, if you have spread or board ideas that you think are fun and unique let me know in the comments. I am always looking to change things up!

Librarian On Vacation: Bookish Things To Do In Chicago

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 5 Comments

Last weekend I grabbed several scarves, a light fall coat, and every rust colored piece of clothing I own and took the train to Chicago. Those of you who have been following me for a few months now may remember that I used to live in the city. I still feel it as part of my history. It is really a great place.

However now I live a couple states over in a very cute house in the suburbs. Things change. I like not having to carry my groceries for blocks and not being stuck in a half hour of traffic when I only need to go 8 miles. Priorities. They’re a good thing to have.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like the occasional visit. This one I tried to chalk full of bookish things. I stopped at my favorite Barnes and Noble. I eyed Sandmeyers, the indie bookstore near my old apartment on Printers Row (which is, imo, one of the most adorable areas in the city.) We walked through Grant Park talking about books and libraries, and past the Main Branch of the Chicago Public Library. 

If you have a few extra minutes in Chicago I highly recommend stopping by the Harold Washington Library building. It looks like it was designed by someone straight out of Gotham City. The owls on the corner look quite imposing. It also has a beautiful atrium on the top floor and wonderful collections to browse. It’s right down town and has its own El stop. Go, you won’t regret it. 

Also, if you love old books, maps, manuscripts, and history check out the Newberry Library. Located in the Gold Coast it is a premium research center dedicated to american, european, indigenious people, and history of the book. They have rotating exhibits in their entry way, seminars and talks populating a very full public calendar, and the most adorable gift shop. I was lucky enough to run into their Rare Book and Manuscript Curator on my visit and got a quick tour of their reading rooms. Now I need to find something to research so I can use these amazing lamps and desks!

Lastly, my latest Chicago adventure included a slightly less than bookish visit to the Field Museum. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Field let me just say this – Go. Book a flight. It is my all time favorite museum. 

I say this as a person who actually works in a very cool museum. We have a lego exhibit right now. And lots of amazing artifacts. But the Field is childhood interests come to life. Their Ancient Egyptian exhibit is so thoughtful. The design is super cool. I never get tired of walking down into the tomb and seeing vases and sarcofagi. Then there are the Dinosaurs! Oh my lanta! Sue, the massive T-Rex we all know and love now has her own room in evolving planet. Her replacement greeter dino, Maximo, has a presence on twitter and you can text him when you’re in the museum. It is so cool and interactive. It helps me feel like a kid again, and not a 30 year old standing around looking stuffy at a museum. 

There are also a ton of great traveling exhibits, a hall of animals, a large exhibit to indigenous peoples of the Americas, gems and DNA and environmental conservation. We were there for 3 hours. We only saw the greatest hits. 

This is of course only a small sample of all of the things, bookish our not, that you can do in Chicago. The bar scene is great. The food is amazing. You can never go wrong walking through Grant Park or along Lake Michigan. The shopping is pretty stellar too.

Review: Dutch House by Ann Patchett

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 1 Comment

Somehow I have been sleeping on Ann Patchett. Which is weird, because Dutch House has been on my radar for months, and was an instabuy the day it was released. 

It is the first book of the fall to keep me up past my bedtime. When I couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night I dove back into Patchett’s family drama. I fell in love with the characters. I read in my phone over lunch at work. I read in the car while my boyfriend drove. I mourned when the story ended. 

Can I just be best friends with Ann now? I can help her run her bookstore. I bet I would be really good at that.

Anyway, Dutch House is a novel about the Conroy family, mainly the two children Maeve and Danny.  They group up in the titular Dutch House. It is a stunning mansion. It has a ballroom and glorious ceilings and portraits of the lovely dutch family that built the house. It is also like a prison to their mother.  Dutch House is a story about boundaries, growing up in good times and bad, support systems and free falling. It is the story about what happens when you tie yourself to a place, a person, an idea, and can’t seem to let it go. It is a fairytale about growing up, forgiving, forgetting, and moving on. 

With Dutch House Patchett does something that is difficult for many authors. She makes us care about a small family story. I know I avoid a ton of family dramas. I don’t like to read about deceased parents, orphan kids, and family striff. Here, it lifts itself off the page. I care about the family chaos. It is easy to take sides, but also easy to see how things are not black and white. Maeve and Danny are so alive. They feel real. It feels like listening to a family friend tell you about their life. 

I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. It is everything I love in a book. A vague fairy tale feel (you’ve got evil stepmothers, children fending for themselves, a mythos about a house), interesting characters, a setting that feels so very real, and beautiful prose. If you’re looking for a great literary read I suggest you scuttle over to your favorite bookstore and pick up Dutch Hour now! 

The Haunting of Hill House and Some Spooky Shirley Jackson Inspired Scones

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 1 Comment

Shirley Jackson is a legendy. She is thoughtful, she is unflinching. Her work is powerful. 

She is also spooky AF. 

I can still remember the spine chilling experience of reading The Lottery in middle school. Also, 12 is probably too young for The Lottery, but here we are. I can remember every time we revisited it in my education. It always left me with that sense of dread. There is no escaping it. No one is really safe. 

And then a few years ago I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I was so hooked. It was just the right level of creepy to make me feel uncomfortable, but not scared. Things were off, but I wasn’t in danger. There was some social commentary. There were memorable characters. Oh, how I loved this book. 

This year I decided to challenge my own personal spook meter and read The Haunting of Hill House. I have avoided the Netflix series like the literal plague because I value being able to sleep and spend time in my house. I own the place and don’t want to get scared of the noises old houses make in the night. Also, moving is very complicated and expensive. So I avoid scary things. 

Though I have to say, Hill House isn’t that scary. Mind you I do not want to live there. I’m perfectly fine in my non-haunted house, but I didn’t have any problem with the novel that inspired the Netflix terror. The characters were interesting, if a bit annoying. There are some really interesting implications of how women are treated because the 1950’s were pretty rough for people that weren’t white men.. Eleanor Vance clearly needs some help, a friend, and a real vacation. What she did not need was a spooky house, insolent housekeeper, and mean girl Theodora. 

OIn the end I don’t quite understand the Hill House hype. We Have Always Lived in the Castle feels like a more well rounded, creepy story. Though I will admittedly avoid the new movie at all costs. I remain interested in what my book club thinks of this cult classic. I think it will inspire some really spirited discussion, and I have had several of our members reach out to talk about the story, the characters, and Jackson since selecting this for our October read. Sometimes it isn’t just about the reading experience, but the community you can build around it.  

The biggest Hill House perk was taking some baking inspiration from Shirley Jackson. I loved how every morning the The Hill House guests all got together for breakfast. Biscuits and tea. I’ve already made biscuits for you all so I figured I would do you one better. Scones. Scones that taste like an Earl Grey Latte. Perfectly Sweet, crumbly, bergamot goodness. I recommend them hot on a Sunday morning. You could even top them with honey or a little lemon curd, but really they are perfect on their own. 

Ingredients
3 c all purpose flour

1/3 c sugar

4 tsp loose earl grey 

½ tsp baking soda

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¾ cup butter, frozen

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Steps

Preheat oven to 425F. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Take frozen butter and cut up into small chunks. Incorporate with dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter until mixture feels like a course meal.

Create a well in the middle of your butter/flour mixture and add buttermilk and vanilla, stirring until combined. 

Knead until a dry dough forms. Roll out until about an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter, or form a circle and create small triangles. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. Dust with extra buttermilk and a sprinkle of course sugar. Bake for 13-14 minutes. 

Enjoy!

On Reading Too Many Books at Once

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 4 Comments

I have a very common problem. My TBR is too long. My free time is too short. Audiobooks are too expensive and I have too many meetings that get in the way of my listening during work. 

I never once expected to make it through my reading wish list in this life, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go down fighting. 

As a resultI find myself reading every more books at the same time. I always used to do this. I would have an ebook and a physical book going in perpetuity. I would try to keep the subjects different enough so that I wouldn’t get confused. Then audiobooks came into the picture and I could do 3 books at a time.

Never more than 3. 3 is already crazy. 3 is juggling but with words and plots and characters. 3 is a form of stress.

So how does my Goodreads say I am now reading 5 books? How am I actually somewhere in the middle of all of them, slowly prodding away until I reach completion? How am I keeping them all straight? Am I actually keeping the plots separate in my head? Will I be able to remember anything about them once I am done? 

I hope the answer is positive. I hope this haphazard way I am trying to make the most of my reading life means I am better read, happier, more full of ideas and energy and compassion. I can’t quite find the right way to stop. What with Goodreads asking me “what’s next” every time I finish one of my many “currently reading” books, and having to maintain status in 2 book clubs, plus keep up with library trends.

What do you all do when the book world gets to be too much? Do you try to keep up with all the new releases? Do you read multiple books at a time, and if so, do you have a limit? Let me know. I’m just a crazy reader looking to rediscover free time! 

Plus I just started How To Do Nothing and would really like to be less plugged in some days, that includes the audiobooks and eBooks that I am constantly reading on my phone. Whoah.

Review: What We Talk About When We Talk About Books By Leah Price

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 1 Comment

This may come as a surprise, but I am a bit of a book nerd. Not just a “I love to read books” book nerd. A “I like to look at old books and learn about how they were printed and bound and their whole history” kind of book nerd. I am super into the book as an object. I think it is a very interesting, elaborate history. 

If I ever went back for my Ph.D it would be as a book historian. But money and time and sanity are all important to me, so I will continue to work at a museum and dabble in book binding and read books like What We Talk About When We Talk About Books. 

What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: The History and Future of REading is a dive into the book as object, and how it has been used for the majority of its existence. It dives into the ebook/book divide, distracted reading, skimming, books as therapy. It covers the gamut of what a 21st century reader may be curious about. 

Price’s book is also entirely accessible. She does a fantastic job of putting historic situations into relatable context. She shows us that we are like the readers of yesteryear, and that the way we treat books isn’t all the different. Victorians didn’t sit down and read a book cover to cover without distractions. People doodled in their books, they underlined and dog-eared pages. People in the past! They’re just like us! Sort of. 

I will say that having listened to the audio version that this work is very accessible. This is the type of nonfiction that listens like a podcast. I assume that also means it reads easier than your typical nonfiction works. There are times when it feels overly edited, like an argument is being condensed for the sake of brevity or for fear of being complex. I didn’t learn a ton new about book history because of this. I did see benefits in the comparison of reading habits through time, as well as the history of the reader, even if it wasn’t all new information.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of books and reading but may not have done a deep dive into the topic. If you already consider yourself an amateur (or actual) scholar in this area you won’t find much new info here, but you may find some comfort in someone talking about books, just for a little bit.

Frankenstein Should Have Been a Baker

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 2 Comments

I am a rebel.

Okay not really. When I call myself a rebel I am mostly referring to the one time in high school when I was supposed to read Frankenstien and instead read Jane Eyre and complained the whole time. I was super fun to be around at 14. Ha. 

This minor resistance meant that I never really fully understood Mary Shelly references. I didn’t get the dept of the work. I would hear things like “The real monster is Frankenstien” and shrug it off as something that sounded deep. Sure. People are monsters sometimes. Maybe the creature he created wasn’t that bad? Who knows?

Last year in an attempt to get into the Halloween spirit I finally read (err, listened) to Frankenstien. I was surprised by how many complex emotions the “monster” had. I was shocked that Dr. Frankenstien was actually just a crappy person. All of the memes made sense! I understood all of the references! I also felt I would have enjoyed the story more as a 14 year old less experienced with classics, with adaptations, with so much random background knowledge whirling around in my head. 

However, my minor background knowledge and inability to avoid spoilers gave me plenty of time to imagine alternate career paths for Victor while listening to his ill advised life. For instance he could have been an actuary and avoiding all of the risk of creating a sentient monster made out of various corpses. He could have been an actor, if he wanted to be dramatic. As a lawyer he may have made more money, and could have defended his monster in court. He could have put his tinkering to good use as a baker. He could have made Frankenfood instead of a Frankenperson.

 Anyone up for a TurDuckEn? No. Okay. 

But really, if Frankenstien was a baker I bet he would approve of these apple cookies. They are almost cake like in texture, but full of tart apple flavor, beautiful cinnamon, and vanilla. The frosting is just sweet enough to make you feel like you’re eating a perfect fall treat.  It is the experiment the world deserves, not a lonely monster that would really just like a friend.

You know what, I bet the monster would like these cookies too. 

Ingredients
1 c apples, preferably tart, peeled and diced

2 eggs

3 c flour

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c salted butter
½ c brown sugar
1 c sugar
2 ½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting

½ c salted butter

1 block cream cheese

3 tsp vanilla
4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix.  

Add cinnamon, baking powder, soda, salt, and half of the flour and mix. 

And addles and mix. When fully incorporated add the rest of the flour. 

Drop by rounded tablespoonful on greased or covered baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, until just grown around the edges. 

While cookies bake combine frosting ingredients, mix, and set aside. Wait for cookies to cool and then frost. 

Enjoy!

September in Review

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 2 Comments

And just like that it is officially Fall. October began yesterday with an unnecessary heat wave, so I am spending my time inside reflecting over a very eventful September. 

We kicked off Labor Day with a killer hot dog bar and a ton of fun with friends and family. Then we promptly spent a week recovering. 

I did a 5K and went back to my favorite Spin Classes. I still talk my boyfriend into seeing our personal trainer a couple times a week. I like to bake cookies. We both like fitting into our clothes. It’s a balance. 

Last weekend my parents took our family to Mackinac Island. We stayed at the Grand Hotel. My boyfriend and I pretended to be fancy people for a couple of days. We sat on a big porch by the lake. We took a carriage ride. I bought so much fudge. 

I also did a ton of reading. I finished Pumpkinheads, Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set A Watchman, A Discovery of Witches, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and What We Talk About When We Talk about Books. I posted reviews for most of these. Follow the links! 

I also had a ton of bookish thoughts. I talked with you all about cookbooks, banned book week, graphic novels, and book clubs. You guys gave me lots of fun feedback. Thanks 

I showed my love of Harper Lee, Neil Gaiman, Harry Potter, and everything pumpkin spice by baking lots of tasty treats. My pantry is a little less full now. It’s okay though. I have a ton of great ideas for October to share with you. 

Basically, the blog has been hopping! It has been great to read all of your comments, and to find so many awesome new book lovers to follow.

Now, I am so excited for October. I am planning on going to lots of cider mills. I have a trip planned to see my best friend in Chicago. There is a Read-A-Thon at the end of the month I am gearing up for. 

Now before I do all that I want to share with you some of my favorite bookish news of the last 30 days. 

I wish my library had a miniature book collection. They’re so perfect, small, and fun. 

I’m sure you already know librarians are magic. They are also detectives. Here’s a great story on some librarians tracking down those titles that might elluide you. 

Have you also noticed Goodreads lack of innovation? 

I feel seen or attached I don’t know which – Gourmet Baking Shows are Secretly Reality TV for Frustrated Writers 

Buying this lovely illustrated guide to New York bookstores. You should too. It is super cute. 

Everyone’s favorite lions are getting a bath! The NYP Library is taking Patience and Fortitude off display for a few months. 

Public Domain is everyone’s best friend. I am so here for more initiatives to provide everyone access to books. 

I would so get married at a library. I would also rather pick up a marriage licenses from a librarian than a clerk at our city call. 

Milton read, and annotated Shakespeare. Woah. 

Y’all, Salinger’s estate is going to publish all of those works he stuck in a locker before his death. We’re also getting centennial covers of all of his seminal works. Guys. I. Am. Pumped. 

Review: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 2 Comments

First I would like to start by linking you all to one of the best short stories I have read in a long time, also by Ten Thousand Doors of January author Alix E Harrow. Thank you to Jocelyn is Wrong for pointing it out to the masses. I have thought about it every day since reading. Really. It has librarians and witches. It has books. Go read A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies. 

Now, for The Ten Thousand Doors of January. I was super hyped for this book. After about 9 months of seeing the cover everywhere, reading reviews, and just general buzz I did something I almost never do. I preordered the book. It showed up at my house the day it was released and I was ecstatic. I took many pictures of the gorgeous cover. I told all my friends about it. I dove in. 

I found the reading waters to be thick. The language was beautiful. I was so excited, but I wasn’t enjoying my reading experience.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is the story of a girl living with an oppressive guardian. It is the story of a girl who opens doors that appear in the middle of nowhere. It is the story of a girl who barely knows her family, but knows her dad is an adventurer. A girl who grew up quiet and well mannered. 

It is also the story of a girl who learns to resist, who learns to grow, who writes her own story. 

In theory I should be all about the Ten Thousand Doors of January. Instead I felt that the beautiful prose allowed the story to drag out. The middle of the book felt like drowning to me. There was no end in sight. I didn’t care for the story within a story aspect that Harrow used to provide backstory. I wanted adventures through doors with January Staller. I didn’t care about anyone else. 

And that, I think, was the real downfall of The The Thousand Doors of January – The characters. Mr Locke is both intimidating and endearing enough to create a complex emotion. January is full of life. She jumps off the page. Everyone else is stale. The story really comes into its own when it is January’s own adventure, who own story, not when she is trying to solve her past, or interact with her family and friends. When she is on her own she shines.

What I guess I’m saying is The Ten Thousand Doors of January could use more January. 

I know my review is in the minority. So many people loved this book. The writing really is beautiful. It just wasn’t the story I had wanted it to be. I suppose that is the problem with hyped books. Readers have time to imagine all sorts of amazing things and sometimes those visions are hard to live up to.  It is definitely still worth the read, and I wouldn’t want to dissuade anyone who thought the premise sounds interesting.

To Kill a Mockingbird and After School Blueberry Lemon Cookie

~ Sarah Joyce ~ 4 Comments

Every year I try to read something for banned book week. Most years I fail. I’m a planner in most aspects of life, just not in my reading habits. However I’m in multiple book clubs now, and also help to create some social media content for my work’s accounts, so Banned Books Week was actually on my radar a month earlier than normal. 

Which meant I was able to snag the audiobook of To Kill a Mockingbird from my public library before anyone else could jump on the Banned Book bandwagon. 

First off, yes I think audiobooks count as reading. Thank you. 

Second. Wow. I didn’t know it was possible to fall in love with a story you already knew so strongly. 

I first read To Kill a Mockingbird my first semester of high school. I was young and naive. I didn’t know what books I liked. I didn’t understand what made a classic a classic. I knew I enjoyed Scout and Jem. I knew Atticus was a good man. It felt like the right type of story to be reading. Realistically I didn’t understand more about race and fairness than Scout. I still loved the book. I enjoyed the movie too. I was officially a Harper Lee fan.

And then I ignored her and mockingbird for 15 years. When Go Set a Watchman came out I read the coverage and decided to skip reading, for reasons I outlined in my actual review of Watchman last week. I probably sent out a sad tweet when Lee died, but that would have been the extent of my interactions.

Then Furious Hours came out this year and I was obsessed again. I didn’t remember as much from Mockingbird as I had originally thought. I gained a better understanding of Harper Lee’s life, the more autobiographical nature of parts of her work, and the place Watchman fits in everything. I also knew I wanted to give her seminal work another try. 

Reading To Kill a Mockingbird at 30 was like coming home. The whole gang was there. Only now I had background information. Dill was clearly based on Truman Capote, which is a sentence 14 year old me wouldn’t even know how to process. Scout is also younger than I remembered, and her naivete shows. The fact that it was only published in 1960 really packs the biggest punch. Civil rights were still a hot button issue. Writing something from a southern perspective set during the 30’s was a hot take. 

Mockingbird carries more weight because of its setting and time. It also carries more weight coming from a true Alabamian. 

More than anything though Mockingbird is a tale of growing up, of learning that life isn’t always fair, and that you shouldn’t always judge a book, or a person, by their exterior. 

To Kill a Mockingbird also reminded me of my own school days, coming home for a homemade snack, talking with my mom and spending time with my friends. It reminded me of cookies. So while I was listening to Sissy Spacek narrate Scouts coming of age story I popped into the kitchen and made up a snack of my own. 

These cookies are a little cakey, a lot of blueberry, and have the most perfect lemon glaze. They’re soft and moist and a pop of flavor. They’re everything a picky eater would ignore, but we are adults now, and no longer picky eaters. 

Ingredients

1 c flour

½ c softened butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2 c blueberries (about a quart) 

1 ½ c powdered sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Cream together butter, busar, and cream cheese. Add egg and vanilla until combined. 

In a second bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and then mix into wet. 

Gently fold in blueberries. Be careful not to burst the berries as they will dye your batter.

By the rounded tablespoon place cookies on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. 

For glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk, vanilla and lemon zest. Wait for cookies to cool. Drizzle with glaze. Enjoy!