On December 6, 1939, my dad and his parents arrived in New York harbor from Austria, via Genoa. Their papers were processed at the port, and my grandfather’s brother, who’d been in the country since 1913, drove them to his house, where my young and hungry father proceeded to eat a stick of butter he mistook for cheese. (He also tried to eat a grapefruit with the peel still on, but that’s for another day.) The humble two-family house they moved into was on 8 Delay Street in Danbury, Connecticut.
The neighborhood my father lived in was primarily Italian, but the town was also filled with Polish, Slovak and Portuguese residents who came to work in the hat factories the town was famous for. Where my dad’s house once stood now sits the Comunidade Getsêmani, a church and community hub that serves the large community of Brazilian immigrants. In the neighborhood are also Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian restaurants and a place that specializes in African hair braiding.
Danbury has always been a destination for new Americans. According to the Danbury Museum website, by 1910, the population of the town was all recent immigrants. Today, there are more than 40 languages spoken by public school students, with the majority of the immigrants arriving from Latin America.
According to multiple reports, Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week arrested 64 to 70 immigrants in the town, including parents who had just put their children on the school bus. I cannot imagine the lasting anxiety and terror these school kids will suffer, having arrived at the bus stop at the end of the day to find no one waiting for them, only to learn their parents (many of them legal immigrants) had been taken by ICE.
We know these raids and arrests are being repeated across the country–cruelty is the point–and Stephen Miller has encouraged ICE to raise its daily number of arrests. A quota is in place.
That’s why I was heartened to Danbury’s citizens hold a “Day Without Immigrants” march. Protesters closed their businesses, didn’t go to work, didn’t shop, and were absent from school to show the importance of immigrants to the Danbury economy. The organizers, Danbury Unites for Immigrants, made their purpose clear: “Danbury is a city where all of our neighbors are welcome, and whose strength comes from our diversity. We’re coming together to keep Danbury a welcoming city for all!”
The march won’t stop ICE from kidnapping people. It won’t change the despicable, sub-human conditions at detention centers. It won’t make Stephen Miller wake up tomorrow and decide to transform into a decent, self-aware human who remembers he is the grandchild of immigrants desperate for a new start in a safe place. But maybe it will make a few more people aware of the situation. Maybe it will make a few more people share a kindness with a stranger, maybe with a recent immigrant who is likely on high alert at all times, knowing ICE could show up at any minute.
I’ve seen a lot of ugliness in people this week, which made the march in Danbury all the more meaningful to me.
The recipe below is for a cowboy cookie, which, for the uninitiated, is basically a well-accessorized oatmeal cookie. I’ll be sharing them with the kids on my block who are back to school this week, and I’ll be welcoming my journalism students at Montclair State with cookies. As deeply corny as it sounds, we could all use a pleasant distraction, a kindness, a smile, which to me translates directly to cookie. I’m not saying sharing these cookies will magically fix our broken world, but it might offer a welcome chocolate chip-studded respite.
Baking Notes:
My recipe makes large, thick and chewy cookies. They are packed with oats, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, and dried cranberries, but you can easily leave out what you don’t like and add anything you prefer. Consider butterscotch or peanut butter chips, golden raisins or dried cherries, any nut you prefer or no nuts, and don’t forget my favorite extras: chopped Skor bars or M&Ms.
The cookies maintain their soft chewiness, thanks to the addition of egg yolks, a higher brown sugar-to-white sugar ratio, and a little bit of honey. In fact, the hygroscopic properties of honey mean the cookies will continue to absorb moisture and remain soft and chewy for days.
The cookie dough benefits from a rest in the refrigerator of at least two hours, and preferably overnight.
The recipe makes 24 large cookies, enough for eating and sharing.
Best Ever Cowboy Cookies
Makes 24 3-inch cookies
What You’ll Need:
2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt)
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (226 grams) butter, room temperature
¾ cup, packed (160 grams) brown sugar
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (178 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups (255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (85 grams) shredded, sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup (100 grams) pecans, toasted* and chopped
½ cup (65 grams) dried cranberries
What You’ll Do:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
With a stand- or hand -mixer, mix the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and honey together on low to blend. Then raise the speed to medium-high and beat for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture in two halves and mix until almost all the flour is absorbed. Toss in the oats, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, dried cranberries, and any other thing your pantry has to offer and beat until combined.
Using a ¼ cup dry measuring cup or a large cookie scoop, portion the dough. Cover and refrigerate for two hours and up to 3 days.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place 8 balls of dough on the sheet with 3 inches between each cookie to allow for spread. If you would like social-media worthy cookies, gently shape each ball of dough into a thick, round puck shape. Dot the tops with chocolate chips or M& and Ms.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until light golden. The center should be soft, but not damp (raw!) looking. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
*How to toast pecans: Lay the nuts out on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350°F/180°C oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell sweet and, well, nutty. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Marissa Rothkopf Bates writes about food for the New York Times, Newsweek (RIP) and Publishers’ Weekly among others. Her newest book, “The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies,” is available wherever fine books are sold. Find her on Substack here.
