Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

As many of you know, I have a disibility of epic proportions. At least in the eyes of my school. For I am allergic to nuts. Not so much so that I can't be in the same zip code as them, but just enough to make me unable to eat them. Although if I'm feeling daring or suicidal, I'll eat a Snickers bar, just to tempt fate.

I found out about it when I was fourteen, eating a salad with pecans. I was sick for the entire first half of Les Misérables, which for a growing theater nerd like me was horrific. But I didn't put two and two together until I ate a chocolate with walnuts out of a sampler box from Whitman's. Having never eaten a lot of nuts, aside from peanut butter and Hershey's with almonds, it wasn't the earthshaking blow it probably should have been. Although if it had been gluten or dairy, there would be hell to pay. I could live on nothing but bread and cheese and pasta forever!

Now, most people wouldn't consider a food allergy to be a disability. I certainly never have. It's been an inconvenience more than anything else. Having been in culinary school a week, I'm starting to change my tune. I'll spend an entire day making this incredible Tarte Bourdaloue, and I find myself having to remind myself not to eat the class sampler because there are almonds and an almond cream in the tart. I become so wrapped up in the process that I almost forget that what I've been working with all morning could kill me.

That being said, I've found that most of the time I can turn this disability into an advantage. Last week in class, we were making Vanille-Kipferl. In our recipe, we use ground hazelnut, although traditionally, they're made with almonds. Since the chef instructors have been made aware of my disability (I signed a waiver), one of them suggested that I use coconut instead. My cookies did not have the same darker color that the rest of the class did, and I did catch a few people looking over at the dough thinking that I'd screwed up, including one of the instructors. Yet in the end, it was generally agreed that the substitution, while not traditional, ended up tasting better. A small victory for me, thanks to my disability.

It's one of the things that I love about cooking. You're able to experiment and try to make something better. Plus if you don't get it right the first time, there's always a second chance to try again. And the mistakes are delicious.

Vanille-Kipferl

315 grams butter (about 1 1/3 cups)
180 grams powdered sugar (about 2 cups)
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
410 grams all-purpose flour (3 cups)
150 grams unsweetend coconut flakes (or ground hazelnuts)
Vanilla sugar, for finishing

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the flour and coconut and mix just until combined. While the dough is still soft, shape it into equal sized crescents. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the tips have browned slightly. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in vanilla sugar to coat.

Makes approx. fifty to sixty 3-inch long cookies.

A few quick notes: Feel free to substitute the coconut flakes for the hazelnut, or vice versa, using the same amount of either. I've been told that both taste good, but the coconut got a few rave reviews (including ones from my taste buds and stomach).

Granulated sugar may also be substituted for the vanilla sugar. It's the same thing, just minus the vanilla. And while the vanilla sugar helps to bring out the flavor of the extract, it still tastes good with plain sugar.

Finally, the dough will seem a little drier with the coconut than with the hazelnuts, but if you warm it up using your hands, the dough will be fine.