cookies

Prize Winning Shortbread Cookies – A Giveaway

11.07.2008 485 Comments

Before you think that this "book thing" is knocking me silly on zee head that I should post "just" about shortbread cookies, I want to tell you about the little gadget that makes cookies a lot more fun….and your chance to WIN IT !!!

One of my little pleasures is to read French blogs, for the recipes as much as keeping in touch with food trends there and more importantly what is the cool slang to use these days. One late (late) night I was reading away I stumbled on a post (can’t remember where, sorry) about this ubber cool toy: the Brigitte-Keks, to imprint on Petit Beurre like cookies.

Allright I have lost you…all that French, English and German in one. Petit Beurre are the simplest most traditional all butter cookie you will find in France. The Brigitte -Keks is one smart cutter that not only will cut to almost the exact shape as a Petit Beurre but will also imprint words like these: WIN ME !!

So there I was….wishing away I could get my hands on one of those. A couple of days later, I was reading Autour De Ma Table where Cathy was organizing a group order to the manufacturer since they are not everywhere. Light Bulb! Call mom, put my name in the order and ask mom to write up the check in the proper Euro amount and tell her I will pay her back 10 times over in kisses, that was a joke because the gadget is really not expensive. Then it just dawned on me that one of you guys might also want to have fun with one of these, so I called mom again and she was happy to help as it meant that I shall pay her back 20 times over now!

You can imprint anything and everything, you can be silly or serious, creative or to the point. We have been having fun playing with it the other day, leaving love notes, to do lists, grocery lists…Imagine that, walking down the store aisles, munching away on your grocery list. I also added "Happy Anniversary" cookies to the loot as B. and I are celebrating 10 years together today! Woohoo! The cutter and imprint are a breeze to use after you separate the little letters apart from their grid. Maybe I should have done so with butter free hands, eh?!! So long story short…

I have one extra – brand spanking – new Brigitte-Keks cookie cutter/imprint for one lucky reader. All you have to do to take this little toy home is to leave a comment between today Friday July 11th and Sunday July 13th (and why not tell me about your favorite cookie while you are at it). You can enter from anywhere in the world, and I will ship anywhere. No rules, just a couple of requests:
– please, please, please, even if you register your comment under anonymous, leave me an initial, a pseudonym, an X…anything. It’s nicer to announce if you win!
– try not to enter twice, it makes it easier for the random drawing
– Mom: you can’t enter the drawing, I’ll make you some cookies with your name on it.

Before I forget, I have tried many versions of Petits Beurre recipes but none that came close to the original so I am giving you my next favorite cookie recipe for Shortbread Cookies. They are not like the Irish shortbread cookies you might purchase at the grocery store, but more like "sables" from Brittany. Use orage flower water for a Provencal twist!

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

In a stand mixer or with hand held electric mixers beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolk and beat until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, flour, baking powder and salt and mix until the dough just starts to come together and form a ball. Stop the mixer and gather the dough with your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a least 2 hours. Flour your work area lightly and start rolling.

To roll dough easily (works with pretty much all pastry dough) : start from the center and roll away from you, then close to you, repeat, lift the dough, flour your area, rotate the dough 1/4 turn and repeat the rolling process. Make sure to sprinkle the flour you work with, not dump it on. A little goes a long way. I usually sprinkle about one teaspoon and brush it away with my fingertips and repeat as a go along. If you try to roll the dough flat in the minimum of moves possible and you keep rolling away, you will warm up the butter too much and the dough will stick and you’ll get mad and you’ll swear off making dough forever…..

So I hope this helps because your homework when the book comes out is to make dough….! Ok, that’s not true but there will be some dough to get rolled!

Anyways…Once your dough is rolled to about 1/2 inch thick, and cut squares or rectangles with a sharp knife or other shapes with the cookie cutter that you like. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

Sugar Cookies For A Good Cause

20.12.2007 17 Comments

I often talk about my neighbor C. and her twin boys and how they are a loving, loud and buoyant pair. What I failed to mention so far is that about once a week, I "borrow" her boys for the afternoon. This expression started over a year ago when I kept the kids occupied one afternoon by teaching them how to make cookie dough while she was cleaning the house top to bottom and had no way of keeping them busy without supervision. They play a lot on their own but believe me we are still amazed at how they made it to seven so far without a broken leg or worse injury: fire, water, engine, anything that rolls, chops, cuts, explodes will find a way into their hands.

Having said this you might think I was crazy for volunteering to have them over. Well, when things start getting heated and borderline out of hand, I give them"the look". My grandfather Rene had "the look", piercing and serious enough to make you melt in your socks and I am glad I inherited that particular feature. One glance and the boys were playing somewhat in a quieter way but not entirely to make a studious afternoon: what fun would it be to make cookie dough without a little play, right? I was merely trying to keep the dough on the counter and not used as putty on the walls and grout on the kitchen floor. After that afternoon last year, their dad joked around and asked if I still wanted children after that experience and I joked "I’ll just borrow yours for the time being", and that’s how the expression stuck around.

Last Friday C. asked me to watch over the boys so she could pack the family’s suitcases for their trip to North Carolina. I said "Great! Let’s do A Drop In and Decorate Party!"…which was received with 6 incredulous eyes and a big "a what party?" I then proceeded to tell C. and the boys how crucial they were going to be in bringing some joys to less fortunate kids their age.
Every year since 2002, Lydia of The Perfect Pantry hosts a Drop In and Decorate Cookies For Donation. When I read about it in November I mentioned it to a few friends but we never seemed to be able to find a suitable baking day. Thus, when I was supposed to borrow the twins last week, it seemed like my last chance to bake for a great cause before the full blown crazy wind of the holidays.

Let’s just say that I spend half my day saying "Don’t touch that with your red hands! Step away from the wall! The first one to open the oven without me has to spell brother backwards, etc…." Interestingly enough, I never have to say these but a couple of times as they are completely into their task and they took their job of decorating for charity very seriously. They had a purpose, they were going to play Santa, they were going to make people smile. I love hanging out with those two because you give them the choice between a video game and piece of wood to go bang on something…they’ll go bang and march down the street to get the other kids involved. But again, that might just be because C. is the coolest mom ever!!

We made a plain sugar cookie dough, rolled cut and baked about 8 dozen cookies, and iced them with an icing from Dorie Greenspan found on Epicurious. The best I ever worked with so far, smooth, shiny and spreadable, very easy for the kids to handle. They kept one dozen to give to friends at school, and I kept one dozen for friends too, the rest went to "Helping Hands" which provides safe shelter to victims of domestic violence and their children. Victims there are in immediate danger from verbal, emotional, physical or sexual abuse. I am familiar with the place as I go there about once a month for baking or cooking demo with another chef friend of mine and we teach women there how to come up with good and wholesome meals while on a tight budget and with minimal equipment. There are a lot of women and children who are so disheartened with the basic notion of love, self and kindness that I really wanted to help put a smile on their face. Saturday morning we dropped off all the cookies, trees, sugar men, snowmen and visited the shelter for about an hour…long enough for me to almost "lose" the twins who were busy outside making mounds of dirt for "make believe sleigh rides"…their words, not mine! Where do they get such ideas?!!! Anyways…mission accomplished. The whole experience was profitable to all on so many levels, so if you don’t know what to do with the family visiting and all the kids getting in your way this weekend, sit them down at the kitchen table and make them decorate a bunch of cookies for a good cause. Chances are you will be visited by the Spirit of Christmas…

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 1/3cups sugar
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp. baking soda

In a large bowl, mix the flour,baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together the utter and sugar until light and airy. Add the egg and whisk until well incorporated. Add the flour mix and whisk until incorporated.
Divide the dough into two balls, flatten them out and wrap them in plastic film. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight, until firm.
Remove one dough ball from the fridge and roll the it out in between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out as man shapes as desired. Reroll the scraps, and refrigerate that smaller dough until firm again. Work with the other dough ball in the meantime.
Bake the cookies until they just about turn gold around the edge,8-10 minutes at 350F. Let cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing, adapted from Dorie Greenspan,via Epicurious:

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 large egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
Assorted food colorings (optional)
Makes about 2 cups

Using electric mixer, beat the powdered sugar and egg whites until thick and shiny, adding more powdered sugar by tablespoonfuls if mixture is too thin to spread, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice. Add more powdered sugar if the icing is too thin for your taste. Divide icing into portions. Add different food coloring to each,according to what you plan to decorate. Cover until ready to use. You can refrigerate the icing for a couple of days if necessary.

Meeta's Monthly Mingle this time around is centered around the event created by Lydia, so the cookies in the above picture are also virtually going to Germany!

Pistachio Cocoa Nibs Cookies

13.12.2007 33 Comments

Are you ready for Christmas? I am not, but my kitchen is! My oven has been rehearsing its favorite carols and humming a happy Christmas Cookie song. You don’t know the Christmas Cookie song? Goes something like this:
"99 Christmas Cookies in the jar, 99 Christmas Cookies in the jar. Take one down and pass it around, 98 Christmas Cookies in the jar.
98 Christmas Cookies in the jar, 98 Christmas Cookies in the jar. Take one down and pass it around, 97 Christmas Cookies in the jar.
…..
No Christmas Cookies in the jar.
Crank the oven on and bake some more, 99 Christmas Cookies in the jar."

And now you know how I get through an entire weekend of baking for us, the neighbors, the family, the friends, clients and patrons. Cookies, macarons, truffles, you name it. My fridge and freezer look like some kind of nut case replaced all food groups by just one, sugar. It leans towards that trend the other months of the year, but really I had a chuckle earlier when I reached for the veggies I needed to make ratatouille. I need to start making my holiday boxes and deliver/mail them soon or I am going to break down and start eating them all!

I like to include a variety of down home treats like chocolate chip cookies, marshmallows, biscotti, and more delicate things like truffles, macarons, madeleines, etc… I like bringing my heritage into a bit of everyday style baking. I know I am not the only one and I love all the family recipes popping around on blogs during the holidays. I am learning so much about holiday traditions from other countries and other people. It’s like food traveling somewhere new everyday. Thanks to all of you out there sharing with me/us. And if you wish to find a list of tried and true Christmas Cookie recipes, visit Susan’s Food Blogga blog where these Pistachio Cocoa Nibs ccokies are heading for her Christmas Cookies From Around The World Event.

Now here is a recipe I tried recently that I think will become a regular in the Christmas cookie repertoire. I found it while reading one of my favorite blogs "Cake On The Brain". Her posts are funny, from the heart and always challenging her self and the way I think about things I deal with everyday. Sometimes I feel jaded by the world I bake for: catering, restaurant, private parties,etc… Her fresh and vibrant perspectives recharge my battery quite often. Go look at her latest macaron creation…with grated dried raspberry on top…how ingenious!! The original recipe is from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet calling for pecans, cocoa nibs and bourbon, which she adapted and which I adapted a little also by using pistachios and Cognac. The result, a delicate crumb, a punch from the cocoa nibs (thanks Lisa for the stash) and a little flavor from home with the Cognac.

Pistachio Cocoa Nibs Cookies:

Makes about 2 dozens

1 cup raw skinned pistachios, finely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa nibs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tb. Cognac

Combine the butter and sugar, in bowl of electric mixer and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy (1 minute). Add the vanilla and Cognac. Beat in the pistachios and cocoa nibs. Add all the flour at once. Beat on low speed until flour is incorporated.
Form dough into 12-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap in parchment and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. At this point you can freeze the log for up to 3 months.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges. Let cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Try to save some for the day after, they taste even better 24 hours later. The cookies can be stored in airtight container for at least 1 month.

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Two more very important things:
The first one is a shameless plug for a friend: Hannah from Bittersweet just published her first book, My Sweet Vegan.

I am among the lucky few to have received a preview copy and I have to tell you to run and get it, regardless of your dietary preferences. I am not a vegan and yet I am wowed by the delicious recipes she wrote. I made her Lemon Lime Sunshine Bundt cake last night and could not stop nibbling on it all day long. Congratulations on your first book Hannah and I can’t wait to see what is up next!

The second one is to tell you about Menu for Hope. Although I realised too late the deadline to send in a participation item, I still urge you to go and donate. The amount raised will go to support the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa.

Amaretti…Or My Adventures In Italy

23.07.2007 27 Comments

One night that I was reading a post by my favorite Cream Puff about a beautiful dessert called Lucia’s Walnut Cake. Her post was a beautiful tribute to her grandmother as well as an introduction to a soon to be published cookbook, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover, by Faith Heller Willinger. Cath from A Blithe Palate had been given the opportunity to get a first look at the book before its release and had contacted Ivonne about it. Together they decided to create a blogging event of some sort around its release, sending copies to other bloggers with the sole instruction to make something from it and share their experience in a post, no book reviews necessary. I so wanted to be in the loop that I visited Cath’s site, left her a comment ( Did I beg? maybe…!) and a couple of weeks later I was sitting down on the back porch with an espresso and my own copy of the book.

This book represents everything cooking and baking is for me and my family. There is not a dish I make that does not have a story, a person or a name behind it. Some of the dishes I cook revolve around family holidays or special events, some remind me of the people who crossed my path and made me the person and baker I am today. Faith Willinger has the same approach in this book. All the recipes invite you to in somebody’s home, life and cooking. Little of the foods I make are Italian per se but they bear similarities having lived a good part of my life so close to the area, and I was very excited with the ability and ease this book provided me to broaden my horizons.
Out of all the recipes in the book, my thoughts came coming back to the Amaretti one. I have always admired this delicate cookie and yet, I probably only had it a couple of times in my life.Amaretti are cousins to the macarons in a way: same ingredients, different baking method and no filling. Their white and delicate appearance makes me think of weddings and summer days, long strolls on the beach and fragrant coffee. What can I say…I am a romantic.

The first time I had an Amaretti was during a memorable trip with my parents to Turino. Twenty eight years ago, my parents and grandparents bought a chalet in the southern Alps, a stone throw away from Italy. We would go across the border and get pancetta, coppa, pannetone, grappa and sometimes we would stay for lunch. On one occasion, over 20 years ago, we decided to have lunch at a tiny restaurant with one large dining area painted with a beautiful fresca of Italian coutrysides. It was late already, middle of the summer, hot outside. The chef was on his own, his aides and waiters gone on their daily siesta. We were starving, but well behaved, the chef was making everything from scratch, and plates were coming out one at a time. Our meal was a feast of ravioli, cold cuts, pizza, fish and other delicacies. We decided to make good fortune and the four of us shared each plate that was coming out of the kitchen when it was coming out. We slowed down after the first bites of ravioli filled our tummies with warm rich and cheesey tomato sauce. I don’t think my memories are failing me when I say that I truly believe we had the greatest time as a family that afternoon. The chef was kind and loved the way our little group chatted and feasted. Towards the end, we motionned for him to take a seat with us but he said he could not, he wanted to do the dishes and clean up before the Mrs. would come in and give him a hard time for serving "after hours"! He brought my parents espressos, spearmint syrup and water for us and a plate of amaretti. My first ones! I hesitated as they looked so delicate. My brother ignored his for a while…long enough for me to eat mine and half of his plate! I asked the chef how he made them and he said "I don’t make them, my mother does and she only told me the ingredients"….well, come on man! Dish it out!!! He hesitated for a second, then he replied "ok, well, it’s almonds, sugar, egg whites and a pinch of salt" That was it?!

It took me all this time and this book to finally make them. I don’t know the name of the restaurant that day many moons ago, and I surely do not know the name of the man who cooked us that fabulous meal, but the cookies were just as I remembered. Crisp and delicate, perfect with coffee or mint tea.

Thank you Ivonne and Cath for the opportunity. There are many pages of the book already bookmarked and other recipes already tried like the olive oil brownies that are out of this world. If you would like the recipe for the amaretti, contact me via email(marinette1ATcomcastDOTnet) and I’ll be happy to send it to you.