This is a special post dedicated to Alyce, the mother of my good friend Alan Levine. Alyce, who passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago, would get up every Sunday morning, bake cookies, and hand them out during the week to anyone who looked like they could use cookie-inspired happiness. You can read more about her here in Alan’s lovely farewell post.

A couple of days later, Martha Burtis threw together Cookies for Cogdog, inviting Alan’s friends¹ to bake cookies and share them as a tribute to Alyce.²
So last Saturday I got up early and made an enormous batch of sugar cookies,³ coating myself, my kitchen, and far too many kitchen implements in flour. The six dozen or so cookies I made lasted all weekend. First I brought the cookies to a potluck at my school, sharing them with AST faculty, staff, and their children. They were a big hit, disappearing in a matter of minutes, and the kids gave me requests for next time. (“A blue T. Rex!” “A pink heart with pink sprinkles!” “Chocolate chip!”) The following day I brought the rest to the surprise picnic for Mustapha’s sisters. I saved the cookies till the end, which made it a double surprise!

I made lots of shapes, but enjoyed my rookery of penguins⁴ the most.

And a plate of sunflowers, with chocolate sprinkle seeds and almond petals.

On Sunday, Mina eats the first cookie.

A penguin takes a suicidal leap into Mustapha’s mouth.

Meanwhile, my penguin shares a similar fate.

Even stoics love their cookies. Despite the grouchy countenance, she ate more cookies than anyone else!

A cookie vampire appears.

The last cookie.

Thanks, Alyce, for bringing a little more happiness to Morocco.

1. Or anyone. Even if you don’t know Alan, it’s a wonderful project. Join us and bring some cookie love to your part of the world. [↩]
2. Take a look at the whole story here. The response has been amazing, and renews my belief that an online community of dedicated individuals can be just as warm, supportive, and loving as a community in your neighborhood– sometimes more. [↩]
3. Using my Dinosaur Cookies recipe, but without the icing because corn syrup seems not to be a thing in Morocco. [↩]
4. See one of my favorite Wikipedia lists, “List of collective nouns“. [↩]