A couple of my teachers spent a lot of time writing me letters of recommendation for college, so I decided to thank them with a note and some homemade cookies. We had just gotten the latest Bon Appetit magazine that had some holiday cookie recipes in them. I saw the recipes for “Chewy Ginger-Rye Cookies“ and “Alfajores With Coconut Dulce de Leche” sandwich cookies (I modified it to use toasted coconut instead of plain). It was a little risky to try recipes I had not never tried before, but I went for it. These cookies were also a bit on the sophisticated side. I did this baking between writing essays for said college applications, one which was due by midnight… Since baking relieves stress for me, it was a good distraction. All of it somehow got done!