I've had cardamom on the brain recently. And I blame Padma Lakshmi.

We weren't even talking about food--we were discussing jewelry for a Wall Street Journal fashion piece, for heaven's sake. 

But then the "Top Chef" host started describing a long gold chain that she liked that's flecked with little gold nubs. "Like cardamom pods," Padma explained.

I immediately began thinking about cardamom cookies and haven't stopped since.

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Bay LeavesDid you know that this week is National Herb Week ?  Herbs contain a wealth of health-boosting properties and it is unfortunate that most Americans use fresh herbs so little in our cooking.  With so many of us relying on pre-packaged, frozen and ready made meals, our food is a bit anemic when it comes to fresh herbs and their nutrients.

When you think of herbs, you might not automatically reach for the cookie recipe book, but you can create a wonderful variety of sweet to savory cookies using herbs such as rosemary (great for preventing headaches), spearmint (a wonderful digestive aid) and many more.

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High-end fashion and bacon fat.

I couldn't think of two things more disparate and yet, flipping through the pages of the New York Times a few years ago, there it was: Fashion critic Cathy Horyn's  paean to a recipe for Swedish ginger cookies made with bacon grease that she has "cherished for years."

My first reaction: Be still my beating heart, both figuratively and, quite possibly, literally. The cookie seemed like an insane, artery-clogging idea. The first ingredient listed, after all, was "3/4 cup bacon fat, cooled (from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds Oscar Mayer bacon)."

Two pounds of bacon? Cathy was officially my new hero.

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Tangy and spicy ginger is more than just a great addition to many recipes; it is also one of nature's miracles. This ancient spice has many health benefits , such as reducing fever, working as a decongestant, increasing bone health and blood circulation, reducing joint inflammation, aiding in proper digestion, relieving cramps and nausea (even dreadful morning sickness) and lessening the severity of the flu.

Ginger has also been touted as an aphrodisiac since its scent apparently helps establish a connection, arouse desire and enhance sexual intimacy much like pheromones.

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I love food fusions, whether they combine cultural tastes such as Anglo-Indian dishes, bring together unusual tastes such as mustard and chicken fried rice or challenge the structure of two dishes as in Baked Alaska.

The pairing of hearty cookies and creamy cheesecake in this delightful recipe brings together two of my favorite foods,  and I dare you to stop at one of these mini marvels!

The two recipes are remarkably easy, and it is only when they come together that they result in a stunning taste and texture combo that will leave your mouth watering and your fingers reaching for another.  Luckily, their mini size lets you control the calories if you are watching your weight (and are strong enough to resist temptation!).

Mini Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Base:

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• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs

Is there anything cuter than a sugar cookie in a quirky shape?  Whether it is a heart, a butterfly or a cat, cookie cutters can liven up a batch of plain old cookie dough, transforming blah to beautiful.

I remember growing up I always thought that my Mom's flower shaped cookies tasted better than my Aunt's circular ones.  There was something tantalizing about the way the scalloped edges crumbled in my mouth,  as if the unexpected way the cookie crumbled made eating it more of a snack time discovery.

When I began to stock my own kitchen I was both thrilled at the variety of cookie cutter shapes available, and dismayed at the high prices that often accompanied them.  So when I stumbled across an adorable and affordable range of mini cookie cutters at

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Proust had his madelines, and Wall Street Journal reporter Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan has her grandmother's pineapple tarts. "The salty, buttery, bite-size circles topped with quarter-size dollops of dense, homemade pineapple jam were an obsession for me," she says.

She always assumed that one day her grandmother would teach her how to make the tarts, using her secret family recipe. Sadly, her grandmother died when Lu-Lien Tan was 11 years old, leaving her to attempt making the tarts on her own.

Lu-Lien Tan found that cooking was more difficult than her grandmother made it seem. "My failures were legion." On a recent trip to Singapore, she managed to gather together a troop of "aunties," elderly relatives who knew The Secret Of The Cookies. They walked her through the process, which was arduous and labor-intensive. (For one thing, the recipe begins with the production of pineapple jam, which requires quite a lot of prep work.)

Lu-Lien Tan's article is an homage to family recipes, and a poignant tale of remembering a woman through her heritage of cooking.

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The Baby Boomers Café in Des Moines, Iowa is doing a raging business in their signature chocolate chunk cookie, which the Obama family fell in love with during the campaign. According to the Associated Press, ever since the cookie hit the scene as Obama's favorite, "the small downtown restaurant can't bake them fast enough."

Last summer, Obama's main Iowa campaign office was situated next door to the Baby Boomers Café, which provided ample opportunity for sampling the café's offerings.

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The Associated Press has reported that all eight Girl Scout cookie varieties are free of the salmonella which has tainted national supplies of peanut butter. None of the Girl Scout cookies use peanut butter from the Peanut Corporation of America, which was inadvertently responsible for distributing salmonella tainted peanut butter across the country.

From Peanut Corporation of America, the peanut butter was sent to production facilities used by many national companies. The tainted peanut butter was not sold as a stand alone product for consumers to buy at the store, so jars of peanut butter are safe. Instead, it was used strictly as an ingredient by other companies such as Kellogg and Little Debbie, which have recalled the relevant products.

The salmonella outbreak actually began last September, but it has taken until now for the source to be identified. Many of the people sickened by the salmonella did not specifically recall eating peanut butter, perhaps partly because it was only an ingredient in the items that they did eat.

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January 26th is Chinese New Year, and what better way to celebrate than with a batch of homemade Fortune Cookies?  These fun and tasty treats are bound to be a hit with family and friends, and make a wonderful (and cheap) gift for birthdays, anniversaries or any other occasion.  They are also a really fun project for kids.

You can match the fortunes to the event,  making then fun, humorous, wise or romantic.  Include famous quotes, bible verses or short poems.  You can even tailor your messages for a specific person.  Send your kid to college with a batch of cookies filled with reminders to 'Call Mom', 'Work Hard' or 'Do your laundry'.  Or use inspirational and encouraging messages to support someone going through a difficult time to remind them that you care.

Once you have mastered these easy to bake novelty cookies, the possibilities are endless.

Bake Your Own Fortune Cookies
The key to this recipe is timing.  You need to bake the cookies long enough so that they be

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