No respect, I tell ya

Salt and pepper often don't get the respect that they deserve.  How many times have you run across a so-called "5-ingredient recipe" only to discover that it's really more than that, because they don't count salt and pepper and water as ingredients?  Water is actually the one that bugs me most.  Sure, I understand not counting the water that you use to cook pasta, for instance.  But it drives me crazy to read the ingredient list for a recipe, then get down in the directions and discover that you need to add a specific amount of water.  If you need a specific amount, list it as an ingredient!  I've run into the same thing with salt--the ingredients may list a type of salt, but not a specific amount.  Yes, I know you're supposed to read through the whole recipe before you start, but even with doing that, sometimes I get distracted partway through...

Okay, done ranting. =)  Now on to a baked good that does give salt and pepper a starring role, even in the recipe title.  For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, Tia of Buttercream Barbie picked the Salt and Pepper Cocoa Shortbreads for us to make.  The nice thing about these cookies is that the dough is easy to mix up.  I do recommend that you assemble all your ingredients ahead of time (mise en place) so you don't forget any... like the egg yolk.  I realized as I was putting my logs of cookie dough in the fridge to chill that I had totally forgotten the egg yolk.  (That's a bit ironic, since I started making the dough because I was looking for a way to use up egg yolks.)  However, I've made plenty of shortbread recipes that don't have any egg in them, so I decided to just go with it. 

After chilling the dough for a few hours, I cut it into thick slices with my serrated knife.  I baked the cookies for about 15 minutes, I think.  It's hard to say for sure, since I continued with my forgetfulness and didn't set a timer at first.  Fortunately, I've baked enough cookies to be able to go by how they looked and smelled to figure out when they were done.  

The verdict?  These turned out to be quite good, despite the forgotten egg yolk.  Like a lot of shortbread, I found that these were actually better the second day than the first.  I probably should have used a little more pepper, since I couldn't really taste it.  The fleur de sel definitely came through, though.  I really enjoy the little bursts of saltiness with the chocolate.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy these as well.

If you'd like to give this recipe a try for yourself, head over to Tia's blog.  And to see what everyone else thought of the shortbread, check out this week's Links.

Lingering over dessert

So how many of you stock up on stuff to make sure you don't run out of a favorite ingredient?  I'm not talking about things like flour and sugar, though I keep those well-stocked.  I'm talking about the 4 or 5 jars of raspberry fruit butter in my pantry.  And the extra couple bottles of golden syrup.  The four cans of pumpkin.  (Is that enough? Maybe I need to buy some more.)  Combined with the staples I keep on hand, it's amazing what I can whip up at a moment's notice.   I should clarify--I'm just talking about baking.  For instance, I once had no problem making a pumpkin ginger pound cake at the last minute for an occasion at work, but the same night had trouble coming up with something that I could actually cook for dinner. =)  

Last December, I added cranberries to the list of ingredients that I hoard.  It was the end of the season, and I was able to pick up a bunch of bags of them for a good price.  I picked through them (since a few were clearly past their prime), bagged them up, and stashed them in the back of my freezer.  So I had no problem making the cranberry upside-down cake for Tuesdays with Dorie a couple months ago.  And I was all set for the recipe that my blogging friend Jessica picked for this week.  She chose a recipe that I didn't even realize was in the book, Not-Just-for-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake.  

I think it takes longer to say the name than to actually make this dessert. =)  That worked out for me, since I had to work last weekend and didn't have much time to bake.  I made the filling Sunday night, so it would have time to cool.  It was basically like making cranberry sauce.  The filling mixture consists of cranberries and sugar, along with zest, juice and chopped segments from an orange.  These are all boiled together into a thick jam.  I let it cool overnight, and finished making the cake Monday night.

The cooled filling is sandwiched between a couple layers of what is more or less cookie dough--butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, salt and baking powder.  The recipe calls for a 9" round springform pan, but I changed that.  Dorie mentions in the recipe notes that a double batch can be baked in a 13"x9" pan, so I figured a single recipe would fit nicely in an 8" square pan.  (I used a Pyrex one.)  (I also saw that my blogging friend Pamela used a square pan successfully.)  For the bottom crust, I didn't roll out the dough, I simply pressed it into the pan.  I put the pan and the dough for the top layer in the fridge to chill while the oven was preheating.  When I was ready to bake, I spread the cranberry filling over the bottom crust.  Then I rolled out the second portion of dough between a couple of pieces of waxed paper and carefully laid it on top, tucking in the edges as necessary.  I sprinkled the top with sugar, and baked the whole thing for 35 minutes.

The verdict?  As many others have said, this recipe was surprisingly good!  Not because I expected it to be bad, more because I didn't really know what to expect.  The finished dessert reminds me of a couple other things I've made--Bakewell Tart and the Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake (another long TWD recipe title).  I think there was a really nice contrast of tart and sweet between the filling and crust.  As for everyone else, well, Gillian loved it while Brianna did not.  No surprise there.  I took a bunch to work and it got rave reviews there as well.  I'll definitely be making this cake again; I can't wait to try some different fillings.

If you'd like to try this one yourself, you can find the recipe on Jessica's blog.  And to see what everyone else did, check out this week's Links.  

Cookie buzz

As far as caffeinated morning beverages go, coffee (in its many variations) is not my cup of tea. =)   I like the smell, but not the taste.  I don't care for most coffee flavored things (e.g. ice cream) either.  But as a result of all my baking, I have come to appreciate instant espresso powder.  In particular, I love the little boost it gives to chocolate desserts.  But in most of those recipes, you don't really taste the espresso, it just intensifies the chocolate flavor.  So I was a bit uncertain when I saw this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick.  Donna of Life's too short not to eat dessert first chose Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies for us to make this week.  But with the addition of chocolate, I figured they were worth a try, especially since I love shortbread.

Shortbread cookies have a pretty short list of ingredients and are easy to mix up.  You start with lots of butter, some powdered sugar, vanilla and all-purpose flour.  I added salt (1/2 a teaspoon).  These particular cookies are flavored with instant espresso powder dissolved in a bit of boiling water.  Finally, mini chocolate chips are folded into the dough.  

Where things get interesting is in the shaping technique for these cookies.  You put the dough in a gallon-sized ziploc bag, and flatten it out.  You roll out the dough inside the bag until it pretty much fills it.  Then you chill the dough for a few hours.  When ready to bake, you simply slit the bag open and cut the dough into squares.  I was being a bit lazy and made bigger squares than usual (2" square before baking).  I baked them for 17 minutes and ended up with about 2 dozen.  To dress them up, I tried dipping some of my cookies in chocolate.

The verdict?  I liked these more than I expected to, since coffee isn't my favorite flavoring.  They were well-received by everyone I shared them with (I took some of them to work).  The humidity around here had a bit of a negative effect on the texture of the chocolate dipped ones (I really need to learn to temper chocolate), but they were still tasty.  I don't know if I'd make these again just for myself, but I can certainly see making them again as gifts.  I do want to try Dorie's alternative of Oatmeal Spice Shortbread--I completely missed the variation until someone mentioned it on this week's P and Q.

If you'd like to try these for yourself, head over to Donna's blog for the recipe.  And check out this week's Links to see what everyone else thought of these cookies.  

12 Days of Cookies - Day 8 - Chocolate-Glazed Mocha Fans

Okay, I'm definitely running behind now...  At this rate, my 12 cookies are going to take at least 13 or 14 days.  But it's not entirely my fault. =)  And it's not the only thing I'm behind on.  I think it was Sunday when I mentioned the naked Christmas tree in my living room.  It finally got lights on Tuesday and Brianna and Gillian added some ornaments on Wednesday evening.  We might get it done before the weekend...

Anyway, back to the main reason why it's not entirely my fault that I'm behind.  I'm blaming it on my recipe choice for Day 8.  The Mocha Fans weren't originally on my list, but I was looking for something easy so I could get caught up.  The fans are basically wedges of chocolate shortbread (all baked in one pan then cut--easy!) topped with ganache.  So I mixed up the dough, pressed it into my 10-inch tart pan, popped it in the oven, and let it back for 35 minutes.  When I opened the oven door to check on it, I was very disturbed by what I saw--the contents of the pan was bubbling.  A lot.  Very disturbing for something that was supposed to be shortbread.  I left it in the oven for a little while longer, but it didn't improve.  So I took it out and left it on the top of the stove to cool overnight.  (Thank goodness I'd put the tart pan on a baking sheet--there was butter everywhere!)

When I checked on it Wednesday morning, things had not improved much.  Instead of pools of melted butter all over, I had patches of congealed butter.  I took a piece out of the pan, and it had an odd, bendy texture.  Not good eats.  (Guess what I've been watching as I'm working on this post...)  And very frustrating.  I thought about it throughout my day (mostly while driving to work and to pick up the girls in the evening), and I think I figured out some of what went wrong.  The ratio of ingredients seemed to be off.  I took a look at my usual shortbread recipe.  For a cup of butter, it calls for 2 cups of flour, while this recipe only has 1 1/2 cups for the same amount of butter.  There is cocoa powder, but not enough to make up the weight of the missing flour.  Also, most shortbread recipes don't have much sugar, be it granulated or powdered.  This recipe calls for a full cup of brown sugar.  I suspect that's responsible for the funky texture.  So I decided to try the recipe again.  I reduced the butter and brown sugar--you can find my final ingredient measurements below.  I baked the shortbread as directed, let it cool overnight, and dressed it up with some ganache.

The verdict?  My doctored recipe turned out quite good!  I didn't have a chance to try it right away, since I pretty much took pictures this morning then ran out the door to work.  But I took some of the fans with me to see what the guys would think.  They all thought that it was good, though very chocolatey.  (The sablés I took were a big hit, too.  Amusing note--I just labeled the container "chocolate shortbread and vanilla butter cookies" since I figured mocha fans and vanilla bean sablés would just be way too confusing for them.)  I was finally able to sample one with my lunch, and I really liked it.  The shortbread wasn't too sweet and had a good texture.  I used 70% chocolate for the ganache, and it might have been just a bit too bitter--I'll probably go with something in the 60% range next time.  But I do think I'll make my modified recipe again.

If you want to try these for yourself, you can find the original recipe here.  Maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did.  Here's the ingredient list that I ended up using:

6 3/4 ounces (1 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour (King Arthur, here)
1 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
5 ounces (about 2/3 cup) brown sugar

And be sure to check out the other bakers participating in the 12 Days of Cookies to see what they've baked up for yesterday and today!  =)

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes

(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Michelle of Big Black Dog

RJ of Flamingo Musings

Sandy of At the Baker's Bench

Tiffany of The Nesting Project

12 Days of Cookies - Day 4 - Cinnamon, Brown Sugar and Walnut Shortbread Diamonds

Okay, now that I've found a recipe with an even longer name than yesterday's... =)  Well, the first three days of this weren't bad.  I had several cookies baked before the 1st, so it was just a matter of taking pictures and writing posts.  Now things get interesting, as I try to bake more recipes and do everything else as well.  I had the best of intentions on Thursday.  I had the day off, so I thought I would be able to get at least three more recipes knocked out.  But I ended up with less time to bake than I planned.  All for a good reason, though.  My boss, who is currently on maternity leave, called me early in the morning.  I ended up having lunch with her and her adorable 6-week-old son.  Then I did a bit of shopping (Target, nothing exciting) and decided to pick the girls up on the early side since I was already out.  Sounded better to me than going home for a bit and then going back out.

Brianna and Gillian were actually pretty good--not driving me as crazy as usual.  So I figured I'd still be able to get some cookie baking accomplished.  And I had planned ahead a bit--I mixed up the dough for the shortbread before heading out to lunch.  So it had plenty of time to chill and was good to go.  I did run into a small problem.  The recipe actually says to cut the dough into crescent shapes.  I tried three different places and could not find a crescent cookie cutter anywhere.  So I decided to go with diamonds instead.  That plan had the added benefit of not having to deal with a lot of dough scraps.

Like most shortbread, the recipe only has a handful of ingredients.  To start, you whisk the flour with cinnamon and salt.  I used my strong cinnamon in these (higher oil content), since I figured the cinnamon should be prominent.  I added a bit more salt as well--the recipe calls for a generous 1/4 teaspoon, and I went with 1/2 a teaspoon.  You cream together butter and brown sugar, then mix in the dry ingredients and finish up by mixing in finely chopped toasted walnuts.  I usually toast my nuts in the oven while it's preheating, then chop them in the small bowl in my food processor.

The dough gets wrapped in plastic and chilled for at least a couple hours.  Without that fridge time, the dough would be too soft to roll out well and would spread too much in the oven.  In fact, after cutting the shapes and putting them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, the pan goes back into the fridge so the dough will be nice and cold when it hits the oven.  I baked my cookies for 25 minutes at 300 degrees F.

The verdict? The aroma from the baking cookies was amazingly good.  The whole house smelled fantastic, and Brianna asked me if I was baking another apple pie.  =)  They tasted pretty good, but like a lot of shortbread, I think these cookies need a little bit of time to age.  Not long out of the oven, my thought was that the cookies didn't taste as good as the dough had.  I do like them better the second day (which means yes, I sampled one for breakfast with my tea...).  And I think I'll skip the chocolate drizzle in the future--I really just don't like cinnamon and chocolate together.  Both girls had one for dessert last night and seemed fine with the chocolate, though. =)  I still have half the dough in the fridge, so I can experiment with other toppings, too.

If you'd like to try these, you can find the recipe here.

And be sure to check out the other bakers participating in the 12 Days of Cookies to see what they've baked up for today!

Andrea of Andrea's Recipes

(honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Michelle of Big Black Dog

RJ of Flamingo Musings

Sandy of At the Baker's Bench

Tiffany of The Nesting Project

Nuts about shortbread

I mentioned a couple days ago that I had a TWD rewind in the works.  I actually made these cookies several weeks ago, not too long after everyone made the Coconut Butter Thins that Jayne picked.  I didn't get a chance to make them in time to post on the correct day.  And then there's the fact that I don't like coconut, either.  Several people said that they couldn't taste the coconut, or that they liked the cookies even though they don't like coconut.  Sorry, that doesn't work for me.  I detest coconut.  The flavor, the texture, the smell...  Can't stand it.  As in, won't even let it in the house.  You know the boxes of assorted chocolates you can buy?  Well, I always break the pieces open before I eat them because I'm so afraid of biting into a coconut cream-filled one. =)  And this is one of the few food dislikes where Jamie agrees with me.  (He eats pretty much anything but coconut and lima beans.)  Gillian and Brianna may decide someday that they like it, but they won't find that out here. =)

So I decided to make the shortbread; the next question was what sort of flavoring to use.  I looked through my Dorie book, and realized that the recipe for the coconut thins was pretty similar to the one for Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread.  That was the first recipe that Laurie made, so it was one that I missed.  I ended up sort of making my own version of the shortbread.  I used the brown sugar instead of white.  Instead of pecans or macadamia nuts, I went with roasted and salted cashews.  And for spice I used cardamom.  

The dough was simple to mix together in my stand mixer.  Once it was ready, I put the dough into a gallon zip-top bag as directed and spread it out until it filled the bag.  Then it went into the freezer, and ended up staying there for a couple days until I found time to bake the cookies.  I let the dough thaw in the fridge before I cut it into squares.  I eyeballed it, rather than using my ruler, so the squares weren't exactly square, or quite the same size.  Oh, well. =)  I baked the cookies on a parchment lined pan in two batches.  The second pan was in the oven a bit longer, so the cookies browned more. 

The verdict?  I definitely can't make these too often, because I managed to eat most of them myself.  Boy, were they good.  I love shortbread to begin with.  This shortbread was terrific, with a bit of a caramel taste from the brown sugar.  The salty cashews were a great addition.  I liked the second batch better, since it had a stronger browned-butter taste.  And they were excellent with a cup of tea.  I will certainly be making these again.  (Everyone else here seemed to like them as well, which is not too surprising, since everyone really likes cashews.)

For the recipe, start with the one on Jayne's blog, here.  I used 3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar instead of the 2/3 cup white sugar.  I substituted cardamom for the coriander and left out the lime zest.  And I used the same amount of cashews in place of the macadamia nuts.  Try my version, or make up your own!