Mr. Mellark’s Sugar Cookies
Lets set the Scene… Katniss has just taken her sister’s spot and is saying her goodbyes to the most important people in her life, for probably the last time. Then her competitor’s Father comes to wish her luck…
The baker sits awkwardly on the edge of one of the plush chairs. He’s a big, broad-shouldered man with burn scars from years at the ovens. He must have just said good-bye to his son.
He pulls a white paper package from his jacket pocket and holds it out to me. I open it and find cookies. These are a luxury we can never afford.
Now we know Katniss is pretty stubborn and won’t take anything from anyone. She also refuses to make friends with Peeta (someone she has seen around and has shown kindness/charity to her before). So she thinks to herself…
A kind Peeta Mellark is far more dangerous to me than an unkind one. Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there. And I can’t let Peeta do this. Not where we’re going. So I decide, from this moment on, to have as little as possible to do with the baker’s son.
When I get back to my room, the train is pausing at a platform to refuel. I quickly open the window, toss the cookies Peeta’s father gave me out of the train, and slam the glass shut. No more. No more of either of them.
Yes, that is right – she threw perfectly good cookies out of the window! Now I get why she did this, she didn’t want to feel that she owed Peeta or his family anything – but seriously!? Throughout The Hunger Games we learn quite a bit about the Bakery that Peeta’s Family runs. We know that they are quite good and impressive bakers (even if Katniss has never really been able to enjoy these treats) but don’t know exactly what kind of cookies Mr. Mellark gives to Katniss on that day…
Feel free to make any sort of Sugar Cookie for your Hunger Games Viewing Party but these cookies are a delicious, easy, and beautiful sugar cookie (without any rolling required -even better in my opinion!)
Peeta’s Father’s Sugar Cookies
| Mr. Mellark’s Sugar Cookies |
- 1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 Cup granulated sugar (plus more for kneading the dough)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth. Add egg yolk and beat until full incorporated.
- Add flour, one cup at a time, beating until just barely mixed.
- Sprinkle sugar on a clean surface. Place dough on top and knead until the dough smooths out.
- Roll dough into one long log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover log securely with plastic wrap. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Oil a large baking sheet.
- Unwrap chilled log, Slice dough into about 1/8 inch thick cookies and place onto prepared cookie sheet about an inch apart. Make sure the cookie dough is still cold when placed in the oven to avoid spreading.
- Bake until the cookies just begin to turn golden-brown around the edges, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy
as cooked from The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook & inspired by Fictional Food
Check back on Sunday for a GIVEAWAY of this Great Cookbook (which gives you a “note from your Sponsor” on every page, one of my favorite features of this fun & creative book)
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… What food would you give if you were trying to show someone you cared about or appreciated them?