Murderer’s Thumb Print Cookies

I have very strange looking thumbs. They are flat, and square, and resemble a big toe.

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My thumbs make bowling difficult—how to find a ball light enough for my weak paltry arms, but with a hole large enough to fit my wide toe-like thumb?

I am not the only person in the world with these thumbs. Apparently, according to what I am sure is a very reliable blog, Megan Fox has them too. Apparently they are also problematic for nail salon professionals.

This physiological anomaly is referred to as Murderer’s Thumbs or Potter’s Thumbs, and apparently a lot of people have them. Also, they signify nothing—I am neither a murder, nor a potter. Though I do occasionally like gardening, and I will kill insects that annoy me or my wife.

But more importantly, I’ve launched a new blog—The Gourmale. Here, I’ll write about stuff I cook and eat, and will include the occasional rumination on why I cook and eat what I cook and eat.

Today, I’m baking these almond thumb print cookies—it’s a recipe I found on Epicurious. My mom used to make thumb print cookies when I was a kid (as I suspect yours may have as well) and I have fond memories of them.

For me, it was finally something for which my flat, shovel-like thumbs were useful.

This is likely not anything like her recipe, and I was lacking matzoh meal (which I found strange to see in a cookie recipe) so I followed one of the reviewers comments (sort of) and replaced that with ground pecan meal which (they used almond meal) I bought at the Echo Park Farmer’s Market.

I’m preparing them for a dinner party at my friend Peter B’s house—I’ve instructed him how to marinate a leg-of-lamb in garlic, olive oil and rosemary, and I’ll help him grill it on his extraordinarily expensive Weber grill. The only other time he’s used the grill is when I was there last time to christen it.

Sometimes I wish I had an expensive grill, but then, my Weber kettle seems to work just fine.

Here’s how the cookies turned out. A little flatter and squatter than I remembered them, and one of the centers fell out. Also, I clearly need to buy a cooling rack.

Ah well. Let’s hope the lamb works.