Coconut Oil and Pine Nut Cookies

In Judaism the term “Parve” describes food that has no meat or dairy in it. Jewish dietary laws require separation between dairy and meat foods. It includes separate serving and cooking dishes and waiting time between eating one kind of food after another. After eating meat there is a longer waiting time before an observant Jew can have any dairy product. The waiting time varies among the different Jewish communities; Dutch Jews wait only one hour between meat and dairy, while Yemeni Jews wait for six hours, and some Germanic Jews wait for three.

This dietary law developed because of the biblical prohibition to cook a kid (baby goat) in its mother’s milk. This prohibition is mentioned three times in the bible (old testament): in Exodus 23:19, “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk”, in Exodus 34:26 “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk”, and in Deuteronomy 14:21 “Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk”. There is an old Jewish joke about this dietary law and its reason: When God taught Moses the laws of keeping Kosher he said “Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk”. Moses thought for a while and then said in response “You mean that we should never eat dairy and meat together?” “That is not what I meant.” Said God, “I said ‘Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk’, because it is a cruel thing.” “Ah, I got it.” Said Moses, “You are telling us to wait six hours between eating meat and dairy, so the food would not mix together in the stomach.” “Moses, listen to me.” Cried God in frustration “I said ‘Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk’ because it’s not moral, it is inhuman.” Moses considered the rule again then said, “Do you mean that we should have two sets of dishes in the kitchen; one for dairy food and another for meat?” At this point God lost his patience “Damn it Moses. Do as you please….”.

The idea for my coconut oil and pine nut cookies recipe came to me when I wanted to treat a friend who keeps Kosher with cookies that he will be able to eat after a chicken dinner. I found coconut oil to be a great Parve alternative to butter and much healthier than what is commonly used, margarin (which should be banned from all stores). There are two kinds of coconut oils: with aroma and without aroma. For cooking I use coconut oil without aroma because I don’t think fried onions go well with the scent of coconut, but I love the aroma in baking. My favorite coconut oil brand is Nutiva – it has the best coconut aroma.