Roll Out of Bed, Make Cookies
A special Just a Bite with Laurie Ellen Pellicano plus her recipe for Sunny Millet Cookies
Pastry friends,
Laurie Ellen Pellicano is a master in the food world. Formerly head chef at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, Laurie Ellen now helms a Brooklyn-based cookie business—producing elegant treats like coconut lime shortbread, everything cheddar crackers, and café au Lait buttons. When she's not making thousands of cookies in her kitchen in Crown Heights, Laurie Ellen develops recipes for the New York Times, Epicurious and more. Read on for her Just a Bite and sunny millet cookie recipe. — TB
You’re making dessert. What is it?
In my professional baking, I find myself creating crispy shortbread cookies, but there's a special place in my heart for soft and chewy ones. Today, I'm sharing a personal favorite: my Sunny Millet Cookies. I have a bit of an obsession with millet, and love experimenting with textures. You’ll regularly find me coating things in poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and cacao nibs. It's not just about the crunch; it's about achieving that perfect balance between savory and sweet.
The recipe follows a traditional creaming method. What sets these cookies apart is the generous helping of citrus zest, which adds a burst of refreshing flavor and the studded millet exterior which makes for an enchanting appearance and a deliciously nutty finish.
Someone is making you a dessert. What do you ask for?
Cake! People are often timid when it comes to preparing dessert for me, which is rather amusing because I absolutely adore dessert. I even jest about having a separate "dessert stomach" reserved exclusively for that part of the meal. So, when I do make a request, it's typically a classic birthday cake for my birthday: a classic yellow cake adorned with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
You’ve transformed into a pastry. What are you and how are you consumed?
I’m a layered pudding, like a trifle, with little bits of soaked cake, softened cookies or meringue. I'm being eaten for breakfast by someone standing in front of an open fridge door with a spoon that is too large.
What fictional dessert scene will you never forget?
In C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the scene that immediately springs to mind is the one where the queen tempts Edmund with some delectable Turkish delights. This particular scene has lingered in my memory since childhood. It's a study in contrasts: the frigid snow and ice queen stand in stark opposition to the warmth of the child, all set against the backdrop of the cozy wardrobe leading to the outside world. And then there's the magical allure of those soft treasures of delight.
Edmund, is a little sh*t, goes overboard with the candies, ultimately betraying his siblings in the process. That part I kinda gloss over because to me it’s all about the box full of turkish delights.
What is a baking hack you can’t live without?
Parchment paper sling! If you need to sift, sift your ingredients over a sheet of parchment paper and then lift both sides to gently pour your dry ingredients into the wet ones or return them to a bowl. I also use mini slings to assist in refilling bulk spices into spice jars. I'll craft a sling from any paper, but parchment paper is ideal because you can later use the same one to line your pan or employ it again as a sling. At Tartine, we used to keep parchment paper stacked in our tammies specifically for repeated sifting purposes. Eventually, these sheets fulfilled their intended purpose by serving as pan liners, living out their beautiful lives.
Tell us about running your own cookie business! What do you find most rewarding and what do you find most frustrating?
Every single day, I get to roll out of bed and make cookies, and let me tell you, it's consistently fun, endlessly fascinating, and full of challenges. But the real thrill comes when we hit the sweet spot during our research and development phase for new flavors. Sometimes, it's a journey with dozens of batches before we finally get it just right. Then, there are those moments when an idea pops into my head fully formed, having tumbled around in shower thoughts for months – those are true firework moments!
The most frustrating thing is capacity, especially in NYC. It's not just about space, though that's always a precious commodity in this city. It's also about pushing my own limits. Learning the ropes of things like accounting, shipping logistics, web design, and copywriting can feel like a lot, but it's a journey that I'm taking one step at a time, allowing it all to just absorb into me but sometimes it feels like a pat of butter on a piece of lukewarm bread, it’ll eventually melt, but it sure is taking it’s damn time.
Follow Laurie Ellen on Instagram: @lpelican.
Make these cookies and show us on Instagram: @cake_zine