Recipes & Food Styling

“Whiskey and a cookie!”

“Whiskey and a cookie” is such a fun tradition, and these recipes celebrate maple tapping season. Maple syrup is so wonderful, it just seems like tapping season should be celebrated.

I will always remember my surprise and delight when I was served my first “whiskey and a cookie” at the bar at the original Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. The bar manager explained to me that the shortbread cookie is the traditional accompaniment – or “garnish.” as some refer to it – for the Robert Burns cocktail. So, then why not for this Maple Manhattan?

Make sure you fill your cocktail glasses with ice before filling them with the cocktail to get them extra-cold. Sometimes, I even set the glass filled with the cocktail in the freezer for a bit, because the colder the better when it comes to whiskey.

Maple Manhattan 

1 ounce dry vermouth

1 ounce whiskey

3 teaspoons maple syrup

7 dashes angostura bitters

Garnish: Lemon twist and maraschino cherry

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake for 25 revolutions. Pour into glass and add garnish.

Short Bread Cookie

(Makes 7 dozen cookies)

1 pound butter

10 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

4 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups ground pecans (optional)

Using a hand-held mixer, cream together butter, sugar, water, and vanilla, gradually adding in flour and salt. Cream until mixture is fluffy and light. Add vanilla and water. Add pecans if desired. Mix together well.

Roll cookie dough in your hands into 1-inch balls. Place balls evenly apart on buttered cookie sheet. Use the palm of your hand to press down each ball.

Bake in 325 degree oven for twenty minutes.

—Jeanne Hinke