TWD: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection of Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (page 130 of Dorie Greenspan's: BAKING From My Home to Yours) was made by Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine.



Now I'm a BIG fan of thick, crumbly Scottish shortbread (think Walkers), so I was a little disappointed in these cookies. They were a little too thin and a little too sweet, so they just didn't "taste" like shortbread. And those little buggers spread like crazy. For the second batch I even pre-cut the squares and chilled the dough before baking, but I still got the same mis-shaped results. Yes, I know I'm whining.



If these cookies had been called sugar cornmeal cookies or sweet butter-cornmeal crisps, I would have raved about their taste and the surprisingly pleasant texture that the cornmeal adds, but I was fixated on the traditional and my mind couldn't cope with this different spin on shortbread. I know, I know, the problem is with me and not the cookies.



But one thing I simply loved about this recipe was the awesome tip about rolling out the dough in a zip-lock bag. No mess, no fuss, and best of all no clean-up.

Simply genius. Thanks Dorie.





And thank you, Valerie. Your selection really was tasty.

TWD: Caramelized Apple Shortbread Cake

A few days ago I discovered Dorie Greenspan's Cranberry Shortbread Cake, and I like it so much I decided to make it again, this time with apples.


First I caramelized the apples with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I wish you could get a whiff of the smells coming from this skillet. Warm, spicy and oh-so Fall-like. Happy, happy, days.


After the apples had cooled, I grated my frozen shortbread cake dough into the pan and topped it with the apples. Yes, grated. I read somewhere that grating the dough creates a lighter, more delicate crust and it is true. Next time give it a try, you won't be sorry. Just watch those finger-tips!

A layer of Apple Butter...

And the rest of the grated shortbread dough. Note: I used too much dough on the bottom, so the top layer looks a little bare.

And if it wasn't sweet enough I topped the finished cake with cinnamon glaze. Can anyone say sugar coma? But hey, what a way to go.



Caramelized Apple Shortbread Cake

Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours pg 208-209 & 408


For the Cake:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• With an electric mixer beat the butter on medium speed until soft and smooth.
• Add the sugar and continue to beat until the sugar dissolves into the butter.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eat, beating until it is absorbed.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture and using a sturdy rubber spatula mix only until it is incorporated.
  
• Divide the dough in half, pat into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until solid.
  

For the Caramelized Apples:

Ingredients:
3 medium apples, cored, peeled and sliced
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Ginger

1/4 - 1/2 cup Apple Butter (optional)


Directions:

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat melt the butter, then sprinkle the sugar over the melted butter.
• Cook the butter and sugar for 1 minute or so. You want the sugar to caramelize but not burn.
• Add the sliced apples and spices to the skillet and toss to evenly coat the apples with the spices, and butter/sugar. Cook until they are tender but not soft, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the apples and buttery liquid to a plate.

Assembly:

• When the dough is frozen solid, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line the bottom and 2 sides of a 9 x 5" loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing 2-3 inches to extend over the 2 sides. Lightly butter the parchment paper and non-covered side of the pan.
• Remove one ball of frozen dough and grate into the prepared pan. Distribute evenly.
• Spoon the caramelized apple on top of the bottom layer of dough.
• Cover the caramelized apples with the Apple Butter (optional).
• Grate the other half of the dough on top of the apples.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly golden brown.
• Cool for 20 minutes. Run a blunt knife on the two sides of the cake not covered by parchment paper. Lift the cake from the pan using the parchment paper sides as handles.
• Add a glaze if desired.
  

TWD: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

This week’s Tuesday with Dorie was selected by Donna of Life’s Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First.

Now I’m not a fan of coffee flavored desserts, but these weren’t half bad. A little less coffee/espresso and a little more sugar and these chocolate shortbread cookies would have been perfect for my coffee-adverse taste-buds.



And I was really WOWed by the tip about rolling out the stick dough in a zip-lock bag. Why has it taken me 40+ years to learn that trick? Thanks Dorie, I’m always learning something new from you.



Update on the job front: Only one week till I start my new job!!! Yea!!!

I’ve been working as a “temp” since I was laid off in June. It is/was a good job except for the fact it offered no benefits. And being uninsured really had me worried. I must have had a hundred nightmares about getting into a car accident and having to pay hospital bills out of pocket! Yikes! Come on September 7, I need a good night's sleep.

TWD: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

This week's Tuesday With Dorie assignment was "Thumbprints for Us Big Guys".

Sigh, I must have done something wrong, because here are my cookies before baking...


and after...

Before, After. Before, After. Please scroll back and forth and as you view my latest baking misadventure make soothing sounds of pity and comfort. On days like this I need all the pity and comfort I can get.

Honestly I don't know what went wrong. The dough went together with out any mishaps, and (as instructed by Dorie) I rotated my two cookie trays half way through the suggested baking time. When my timer went off at 14 minutes (suggested baking time was 15-18 minutes), I checked my cookies and found confusing mix of results. Some of the cookies were round and puffy with a nice little depression in the middle, while others were as flat and crispy as tuiles. Even on the same cookie tray some were showpieces and others were flops. Huh????

Was the butter the culprit? If I didn't mix the butter and flour well enough would random chucks of butter cause some cookies flatten during baking? I guess that is a question for Dorie and other baking gods and goddesses out there. Hellooooo anyone out there?

But from my two trays I did find a few cookies that were presentable. Here they are sprinkled with powder sugar and waiting for the jam to be poured into the thumbprint depression.


One great trick I did learn from this recipe was to fill the cookie depression with boiled jam. The heat liquefies the jam so that it pours like water.


And once the liquefied jam cools, it jells into a smooth, mirror like surface. Amazing. Astounding. Jam-marvelous. Isn't astounding the things you can learn from cooking blogs?

TWD: Sables

I wanted to catch up on some TWD assignments that I had skipped for one reason or another, so yesterday I baked a batch of Sables (page 131-133 of Dorie Greenspan: Baking From My Home To Yours).

Can I say WOW!

Sables, oh Sables where have you been hiding all my life? Buttery, crumbly, and melt in your mouth good. These little gems were a cross between shortbread and sugar cookies and for added oomph they were encrusted in crunchy grains of coarse sugar. Delicious.

My pictures don't the cookies justice, but believe me they tasted amazing. I devoured/inhaled five cookies in less than two minutes. Yikes, a minute on the lips, a life time on the hips.

The cookies were really easy to mix. Just lightly blend the butter and sugars, and then add the egg yolks.


Next dump the flour in all at once, and mix just until incorporated. According to Dorie, the secret to light, crumbly Sables is not to over mix the flour.


Roll the dough into a log and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. I left mine in the refrigerator overnight and the log was as hard as a brick when I took it out. Brush the log with whisked egg yolk, which acts like glue, and then coat with coarse sugar.


Slice the log into 1/3 inch cookies and bake on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheets for 17-20 minutes at 350 degrees F.


I only baked my cookies for 14 minutes and I had a problem with the edges of the cookies browning too much.


I also noticed that on some of the cookies, the decorating sugar slid off as the cookies baked. I think I used too much egg wash, and, yuck, the pure yolk gule left a yellow film on the side of the cookies that was still visible even after baking. Next time I'll use a milk wash instead of yolks, and I'll squish the coarse sugar firmly into the side of the dough log. I'll also lower the oven temperature to 325, and bake on a baker's stone instead of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Hopefully I can get the outside of the cookies to look as perfect as the inside tastes.

Whipped Shortbread Cookies

"Uncle Bill's" recipe for Whipped Shortbread cookies has been sitting in my "to bake" box for ages. I found the recipe on Recipe Zaar and at the time of this posting there were 227 review of the recipe with 99% of them being positive. With all of those 5 star ratings I decided to give them a try.

The ingredient list was very basic: butter, flour, icing sugar, vanilla. And the cookie dough came together quick and easy.


They look simply scrumptious unbaked...


But honestly I was a little disappointed in the finished product. The cookies were tasty, but they were so tender and delicate that they crumbled and dissolved as soon as they touched my lips. I had no chance to bite down on the little buggers and chew. Big disappointment. To me chewing slowly and reverently is a huge part of the whole "cookie" experience.

I also wish mine had come out a little thicker. My dough was a little soft and sticky (I should have added more flour), and the cookies spread substantially during baking. They ended up big and round and flat as pancakes.



Christmas is right around the corner, so I'm going to try these cookies again. Hey, 200+ positive reviews on Recipe Zaar can't be wrong! But this time I'll add a little more flour (to give the cookie more bulk) and substitute half the icing sugar for regular granulated sugar (so they are not as delicate).

I'll let you know how it goes.

Raspberry Filled Almond Shortbread Cookies

I've made these Raspberry Shortbread Cookies several times and I'm always amazed by their tender texture and delicate balance of almond, butter and berry flavors. Delicious.

The only thing I don't like about these cookies is how much they spread! The edges thin during baking and turn brown and crisp. From an visual point of view the brown edges aren't very appealing, so I trim them away using a knife or cookie cutter. But don't throw the crispy scraps away! They make a great topping for ice cream.



Any suggestions on how to stop these cookies from spreading? I've tried re-chilling the raw cookie dough balls after filling them with jam but that didn't help.

I've baked them on aluminum pans, baking stones, on parchment paper and silpat, but they spread everytime.

HELP!

But regardless of the spreading phenomenon, they taste darn good.

Eary Grey Tea Shortbread Cookies

"Coffee?"
"No thank you, but I would like some hot tea. Earl Grey or
Blackcurrant if you have it."

I'm a tea drinker, there I've admitted it. I don't like coffee, cappuccino, or even chocolate covered espresso beans. I just don't like it taste or even the smell. I think it all goes back to one memorable Mardi Gras (that year the gang was dressed as Commodes of the Rich and Famous) when I was guzzling coffee and eating bananas in the hopes of sobering up. I did sober up but it had more to do with… well no need to go there.

So here I am 20+ years later and I stumble upon a recipe for Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies on the Food Network website. Be still my anti-coffee heart. I didn't have any Earl Grey on hand, so I used my second favorite tea, Twinings Blackcurrant (Twinings Vanilla is my favorite). Boy did they turn out good. Crisp on the edges, slightly soft in the middle, and oh so buttery and smooth. Yummm…

The blackcurrant tea also gave the cookies a faint berry taste/aroma that was elusive as well as addictive. My guest devoured all 2 dozen cookies in 10 minutes flat and still couldn't pinpoint what gave the cookies their unique taste. In the words of one guest, "They're bloody good."

I used the Food Networks version of Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies, (take a moment to read the comments associated with the recipe. There are angry accusations of recipe theft, plagiarism and a rehash of Cindy McCain's cookie recipe debacle. What a hoot!)

But Martha Stewart's has a version

As well as several on RecipeZaar

Whichever recipe you use, I'm sure you will enjoy them.