Cookies Archives - Page 10 of 16

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks, A Tale of Two Wedges

By threejamigos | March 26, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Last week was a busy work week and several evening commitments were on my to-do list. One of the realities of living in the Bay Area is the exceptionally ugly commute (up 1.5 hours to go 25 miles-yeah-go figure) so my commute has taught me to ALWAYS VOLUNTEER TO BRING DESSERT since I invariably run late. So my plan was to make cookies, I could make them in advance, bring them with me to work, go directly from work to each function, and be forgiven for being late because who gets mad at anyone who brings homemade cookies?!

I needed a vegan option as well as a regular sweet bite for the meetings. I decided the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread (it’s my flavor of the month cookie) would be my non-vegan cookie. The vegan option was going to be a bit trickier, I am a butter-believer. As luck would have it, a recipe for Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary and Chocolate Chunks from Smitten Kitchen Every Day Cookbook popped up on my feed. Hmmm, now how did Facebook know I needed a vegan dessert recipe?

Not funny? Too soon?

Surprisingly (at least to me), the rosemary and chocolate meshed well. The flavors really stand out and I didn’t think about the no butter factor. The sprinkling of turbinado sugar on top provided a nice crunch while the cookie itself had a nice fine crumbly texture.

I changed the baking method for the Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread, my non-vegan option. Wanting a more traditional shortbread and keeping with my wedge theme, I baked it in a round pan and cut it into wedges right out of the oven. Unlike the first time I made them, this version had a casual, rustic appeal. While the cutout version had a fine crumb and crisp edges. These are a bit softer, almost cake-like, without the crisp edges. Still delightful, just different. Putting on my ATK hat, made sense due to the differences in baking methods. I consider this a bonus, 2 cookies for the “dough” of one.

Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread Post

Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary & Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients

Smitten Kitchen /every Day by way of Food52
1 1/2 cups 195 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 60 grams powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 25 grams, plus 1 teaspoon (5 grams) turbinado (raw) sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup 120 ml mild olive oil
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup 85 grams semisweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 egg white beaten until loose (optional not vegan 🙁 )

Instructions

Heat the oven to 325° F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, and the salt.
Add the olive oil and rosemary and stir to combine.
Add the chocolate chunks and stir again.
Gather the dough with your hands into one mass.
Roll out the dough to an 8- to 9-inch roundish slab between two sheets of parchment paper. Remove the top sheet and use the bottom to slide the cookie round onto the back of a large baking sheet.
If desired—it merely provides a little shine—brush the cookie with the egg white. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Slide the cookie round carefully onto a cutting board while the cookie is still totally hot. Cut with a sharp, thin knife into desired shape(s). Let cool completely, then separate.
Do ahead: This dough keeps well in the freezer. Baked cookies keep for 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature.
Note: For a milder flavor, replace half of the oil with a neutral/flavorless one. You can cut this into shapes with cookie cutters, too, but the chocolate provides a little resistance.

JJ, Good Times, High School Daze

By threejamigos | March 25, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

Back in high school, there were certain kids everyone gravitated towards, the student body president, quarterback, class clown, their sheer exuberance for life attracted people to them. My classmate, Jeanette, falls in that envious category. JJ for short, she lit up a room when she walked in. Her energy and her smile were magnetic. She was smart, sassy, outspoken, boisterous, a total gas to be around. (Wow, that’s dating myself). After we graduated from high school we lost touch only to reconnect at our 5-year high school reunion. Promises to keep in touch and get together tumbled out our mouths…well, fast forward to our 40th reunion, the next time we would see each other again and catch up. That’s how life goes but thanks to social media we won’t have to wait for another reunion to reconnect. Anyways…

She became a bum. JUST KIDDING. Not surprisingly she approached grown-up life with the same zest she had in high school. She became a pediatrician, TV personality (a regular on the Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family show), Water Advocate, Mom…I give up..let’s just call her Superwoman. What can I say? KIDDOCJJ – We were high school buds.

And now she has set her sights on the food world-teaching cooking classes, blogging, writing, advocating for healthy lifestyles. She has combined her knowledge of science and medicine with her passion for food. Check her out at KIDDOCJJ. Her recipe for Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread popped up on my FB feed and of course, I had to try it. All I can say is, they are DELICIOUS and a snap to make. The hint of citrus with a slight bitter tinge from the grapefruit plays well with the buttery cookie and the sweet icing made of powdered sugar and grapefruit juice. This recipe is a keeper.

The recipe calls for using a food processor. If you don’t have one, a mixer will also work. But the food processor does make quick work of this dough. Though the recipe calls for softened butter, if you use a processor you can start with cold butter. Pulse the butter, zest, thyme, and vanilla until blended, add the powdered sugar, process till combined and then add the flour. Process just until the dough clumps, try not to overprocess.

My first go around I decided to tweak her recipe just a bit. Instead of spreading the dough in a springform pan, I rolled out the dough and cut out the cookies, just a bit more work than smooshing it in a pan. I scooped the dough into a Ziploc bag and rolled it into an 8 x10 rectangle (a Dorie Greenspan trick), roughly 3/16 inch thick, and tossed it in the fridge to chill for an hour. A scalloped edge cutter did the trick to create the just too cute finished cookies. Since the cookies were cut out they required less baking time, start checking at 10-12 minutes.

The cookies were light, tender and packed a nice grapefruit punch, definitely not timid in flavor. Perfect when you need a “fancy-schmancy” cookie. I also made them as JJ suggested in a pan and the results were surprisingly different which you can find in my next post. Either way, these cookies are delightful. Put them on your baking list.

Grapefruit Thyme Shortbread

A thymely twist on shortbread with the addition of grapefruit

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword grapefruit thyme shortbread

Prep Time 1 20

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2 TB finely grated grapefruit zest save the fruit juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Into the bowl of a food processor, stand mixer, or if you're in for a little workout, a regular bowl, place the butter, vanilla, salt, grapefruit zest and chopped thyme.
3. Add the powdered sugar and pulse (if using a processor), or beat on medium with a paddle (if using a stand mixer), or mix with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth.
4. Add the all purpose flour and mix just until flour is incorporated.
Your mixture should look - a little on the dry side, but well blended together.
5. Butter a springform pan or pie tin.
6. Using an offset spatula, spread the dough evenly in the pan.
7. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. This is called "docking."
8. Refrigerate for an hour (or put it in the freezer for 30 minutes).
9. While your dough is getting cold, squeeze out about 2 TB of grapefruit juice into a bowl. Add 3/4-1 cup of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. 10. Once the dough is cold, put in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
10. Once the dough is cold, put in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
11. Remove the collar from the pan. Immediately cut the shortbread into 8 or 16 wedges.
12. Transfer wedges to a cooling rack set over a plate.
13. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the shortbread, and gently spread to the edges with an offset spatula. Once cool you can serve it!

Notes

See post for making cutout cookies instead of wedges.

Classic Lemon Bars

By threejamigos | February 15, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

This is the lemon bar of your childhood..tender, buttery, melt in your mouth crust, lemony bur sweet filling, and topped with a snowfall of powdered sugar. I love them and if I were being nostalgic or feeding a room full of kids, this is the bar ncookie I would make. But we all grow up, our taste change, we get a little bolder and crave a twist to childhood favorites. Luckily I found a “grown-up” version, Alice Medrich’s Lemon Bars to bake. A crisp, buttery crust and filling with enough lemon to make your tastebuds pucker up, so good.

There is absolutely no reason you can’t have both! If you’re feeling like a kid bake this version, if you’re feeling hipster-ish and sassy, bake Alice’s version, Lemon Bars with attitude.

When I am in a hurry I will make the crust for these bars in my food processor. Put flour and powdered sugar in FP bowl. Pulse to combine. Add butter (if you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt) and pulse until it looks like powdery, loose crumbs. It should not come together. Pour the mixture into an 8×8 pan and press evenly. Don’t worry, it won’t look like dough, but will bake into a tender lovely crust.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. I have used just lemons, a combination of lemons and limes (2/3:1/3), Meyer lemons and oranges. Experiment!

Imperative to pour the filling on a hot crust which helps set the filling. The filling will keep baking after it comes out so a slight center jiggle is ok when you take it out of the oven.

Classic Lemon Bars

Kid tested-Kid approved version of Lemon Bars. Tender, buttery crust with a sweet, citrusy lemon curd topping. A classic from the SF Chronicle Food section.

Course bar cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword bar cookies, Dessert, lemon, Lemon Bars

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Servings 16 squares

Ingredients

Shortbread crust

1 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Filling:

1 cup sugar

2 T flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 T lemon juice

2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated

2 large eggs

Instructions

Adjust the rack in the lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch square pan.

To make crust: Briefly blend the flour and sugar in a medium bowl to combine. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles oatmeal. Using your fingertips, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until pale golden.

To make filling: Whisk flour, sugar and baking powder together. Blend eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour filling over partially baked crust and bake 25 minutes. Cool, sprinkle powdered sugar over top and cut into bars.

Options: Can add additional 1/2 T lemon juice or substitute 1/3 of juice with orange or lime juice and zest. Cut down on baking time ( 25 minutes to 15-20 minutes depending on pan size.)

Rice Krispy Treats (Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun)

By threejamigos | January 31, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Oh Snap

It’s the last day of January and in order to avoid total embarrassment… here is the last cookie to complete my 12 Days of Cookies list. I give you the stupid easy, childhood favorite- Rice Krispy Treats! Wait, do not roll your eyes and think “lame”. This is not your mama’s, on the side of the Snap, Crackle and Pop box, recipe. This is Rice Krispy Treats with a twist that is not for the faint of heart.

Little Crackle

No, there isn’t booze in these treats. The recipe comes by way of Smitten Kitchen (love that site). I had been looking for a way to jazz up this childhood favorite (not just add multi-colored sprinkles) and bring a bit of pizazz to them. I found a couple of recipes that were just crazy, too much stuff, too complicated, just yuk. At the end of the day, a riff on Rice Krispy Treats should still transport you back to the ones you ate as a kid but at the same time your brain should be going “holy cow-what did she do to these!”

The Pop

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…

SALTED BROWN BUTTER RICE KRISPY TREATS

Yep, the exact same ingredients as the original recipe plus a sprinkle of flaked salt and well, DOUBLE the amount of butter. Yep, mo’ buttah, mo’ betta.

And if that wasn’t enough, you kick it up another notch by browning the butter! Great balls of butter! You end up with a Rice Krispy treat that is gooey, sweet and salty, nutty and buttery. YES, scream it from the rooftops, DOUBLE BUTTER!

Up your Krispy Game, reserve half the salt to sprinkle on the treats at the end. Use Fleur de Sel or grey salt, your hipster friends will ooh and aah. Oh, snap.

That’s it folks, cookie number 12. Drop the mic, done.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treats (Smitten Kitchen)

Not your mama's Rice krispy treats! Brown butter and more marshmallows madke these devilisly delicious

Course bar cookies, cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword rice krispies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter 4 ounces
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon flake salt such as Fleur de Sel or Grey Salt or coarse kosher salt
1 10 ounce bag of miniature marshmallows DO NOT BY FANCYSCHMANCY ONES, they don't work
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

Instructions

Butter a 9x9 inch square pan, set aside.
In a large saucepan or pot, melt butter over medium heat, The butter will begin to foam and the milk solids will start to brown. Watch it like a hawk, you don't want it to burn. It will smell nutty and toasty. Serious Eats has a great tutorial on brown butter
Remove pan from heat, add marshmallows and salt. Stir continuously until the marshmallows melt and blend with the butter into a homogenous mixture.
Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated.
Pour into 9x9 inch prepared pan and press firmly to compress. If you want, decorate with Sprinkles on top.
Cool, run a knife around the perimeter of the rice krispies, invert pan and tap the bottom. The rice krispies should release fairly easily from the pan. Cut into approximately 2 inch squares.
Enjoy!

Want A Bakehouse Pecan BLONDIE – CALL ME

By threejamigos | January 28, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel…Cookie #11 and it’s a good one. Bakehouse Pecan Blondies from Zingerman’s Bakehouse Cookbook.

Ipso Fatto posted her review of these delicious Pecan Blondies which then began the usual dance in my head I like to call the Cookbook Tango. Like mental Pong, do I or don’t I, should I or shouldn’t I? Really, I don’t need another cookbook… but it looks so good. Well, I could “kick the tires” so to speak beforehand, try some of the recipes, see if I like it. Okay, I’m gonna be tough and really scrutinize the book before getting it. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Who am I kidding, it took one recipe and I caved.

In my defense, Bakehouse Pecan Blondies are absolutely fabulous and justifies my quick surrender. Why? You take pecans, toast them in butter and salt, then toss them in a simple sugar-water caramel. Once the pecan-sugar mixture cools and hardens it literally turns into pecan crack. Chop it up and fold the pieces into the blondie batter and shazam, deliciousness is born! Pecan praline the zinger in Zingerman’s blondies.

The batter is simple and comes together quickly-melted butter, eggs, brown sugar (you can use dark brown sugar for the Muscovado brown sugar) and flour. Fold the pecans in, bake, dunzo. It’s not as dense as a brownie and not as airy as a cake. It’s just right.

Let’s get busy baking!

This is a beautiful book, filled with great stories about the bakery and the folks that are or have been a part of Zingerman’s tradition. This is not cutting edge, new wave fou-fou food, more like all-American homey food, desserts and artisanal bread done really well and with love. Photos for most recipes are included and informative crib notes on the side. The recipes are organized well and include both volume and metric weight measurements (yay!). Definitely making more treats out of this book soon!

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Want A Bakehouse Pecan BLONDIE – CALL ME

Ingredients

Praline

2 Tbs 57gm unsalted butter
1 cup 115gm pecan pieces
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs 27gm water
1/2 cup 115gm granulated sugar

Blondies

1 cup + 3 Tbs 230gm packed Muscovado brown sugar
1 cup 230gm unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups 200gm all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

For the praline

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, spray a 9x9 square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray
Brown the butter: Haven't done that? Serious Eats step by step is really good
When butter is browned, remove from heat and add pecan pieces, salt and vanilla and toss to coat nuts.
Toast the pecan mixture on a sheet pan at 325 degrees for approximately 12 minutes until they are toasty brown. Start checking at 8 minutes. Set aside.

Caramelize the sugar: Stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until it is caramelized to a rich reddish-brown. Careful not to burn or go to dark, it will take on a bitter taste. Immediately add the pecans and stir to combine and then spread pecans evenly in the prepared 9x9 pan. The praline will start to harden so work quickly and spread as thin as you can. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove pecans from pan and chop into small irregular pieces, 1/4-1/2 inch size. The praline can be made ahead and stored in a cool, dry spot.

Blondies!

The easy part of this recipe
In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until mixture is homogenous and thick.
Add dry ingredients to butter-sugar mixture and stir to until it is homogenous. Add the chopped pralines, stir to combine.
Pour batter into prepared 9x9 pan, spread evenly and bake for approximately 45 minutes until puffed in the middle and golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
Cut into rectangles and serve with ice cold milk, coffee, tea..just about anything and wait for the smiles.

Mui-road trip to Ann Arbor from Minneapolis is on the bucket list!

Happy New Year! Bouchon’s Gougeres

By threejamigos | January 21, 2018 | Comments 1 comment

Happy Gougere!

What?! Too cheesy?

I had writer’s block when I sat down to compose this post. Staring at my screen, fingers poised on the keyboard, sipping a glass of wine and munching on these cheese puffs I had just pulled out of the oven, I was drawing a blank. Then my cell phone rang, “Happy New Year!” blurted a voice at the other end. Ta-da! Blogger’s block gone.

Continuing with my exploration of the Bouchon Bakery book I ooh-ed and aah-ed my way through the chapter on pate a choux (aka cream puff pastry). Dreamy cream puffs with a crackle finish, Chocolate Eclairs, Paris Brest-all looked exquisite. I wanted something simpler plus I had a wedge of Comte cheese in the fridge so I chose his recipe for the humble Gougere. Cheese, finely shredded, is added to choux pastry to create a savory, airy, small bite, perfect with wine or champagne. My next happy hour nibbler board will definitely include these little gems.

The recipe is straightforward. Be sure to have all your ingredients out and prepped before you begin. Water and butter are heated to which flour is added and stirred until it forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pot. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl, blend briefly to release heat and moisture and add eggs a couple of tablespoons at a time. NOTE: TK uses weights for measurements in this book. Very helpful to have a scale.

The batter will look like this after adding eggs and blending.

I cheated. I didn’t have the silicon round pan so I used my non-stick donut hole pan instead (yay, I used it for something!) It worked well though they needed to sit a couple of minutes before I could remove them easily. I also didn’t have a pastry bag handy so I used a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and snipped off a corner. Piping directly onto parchment or a Silpat probably works just as well.

Next time I make these I may change up the type of cheese (gruyere cheddar), add chili pepper instead of black pepper and add chopped chives or green onions, yum! The batter freezes well so you can keep a supply of shaped ones in the freezer for impromptu get-togethers.

Stretching the boundaries, I’ve decided to make this Cookie #10 on my 12 days of holiday cookies list. They’re small and bite-size just like a cookie. I’m tackling Bouchon’s Cream Puffs one of these days!

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Happy New Year! Bouchon’s Gougeres

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp water
2.2 ounces unsalted butter 4.5 Tablespoons
1/2 + 1/8 tsp kosher salt
0.3 grams freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 tsbp all purpose flour
150 grams eggs approximately 2 eggs-crack eggs into a bowl, blend eggs and weigh out amount
scant 1 cup aged shredded gruyere cheese
options: Add chopped green onions or chives to batter 2 T, sprinkle tops with additional shredded cheese

Instructions

Combine the water, butter, salt, pepper in a medium saucepan, place over medium heat and stir until butter is melted. Once the butter has melted, increase heat to medium-high and then bring to a simmer, then remove pan from the heat, with a wooden spoon, stir in all the flour.
Continue to stir for 1 1/2 minutes until the mixture has a paste-like consistency, then place over medium-high heat and stir rapidly for 1 minute, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean. The dough should be glossy and smooth but not dry.
Immediately transfer the dough to a mixer bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to release some of the moisture. Slowly begin to add the eggs, 50 grams at a time, beating until each addition is completely absorbed before adding the next one. Continue adding the eggs, mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl pulled with the paddle but immediately grabs back on again.
Increase speed to medium for 15 seconds to ensure that all the eggs are incorporated. Stop the mixer. When the dough is lifted, it should form a bird's peak- it should hold it's shape and turn down on itself but not break off. Add the cheese and pulse to incorporate (I used my mixer and blended the cheese in quickly)
Put batter into pastry bag. Pipe into molds (I didn't have molds, I used my donut hole pan) Or pipe little free form balls, slightly less than 1 inch in diameter onto a baking sheet, spread about 1 1/2 inches apart. When finished piping, I used my finger dipped in water, to push down and get rid of the little tip that is left on top of each one from the piping.
Freeze the gougeres for about four hours until firm.
If you want to bake some right away. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
If you are baking from frozen: Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with frozen gougeres, leaving about 1 inch between them. Spray lightly with water. Place in the oven, immediately lower temperature to 350F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

Bouchon’s Shortbread Cookie

By threejamigos | January 16, 2018 | Comments 5 comments

This month’s Food52 Baking Club pick is Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery Book. A gorgeous, very heavy (a workout just lugging it around) opus on all things delicious. My copy has languished on a shelf for quite some time but this gave me a reason to take it off the shelf and dive in. Let the baking games begin.

I start with a cookie recipe. After all, I still need to complete my holiday cookie list (wow, that’s embarrassing). I open the book and what do you know, the first chapter of the book is all about cookies. Fate. I peruse the chapter and settle on, drum roll, please……..Bouchon’s SHORTBREAD cookie. Surprised? Didn’t think so.

This is a tall order as I am convinced I already make the perfect shortbread. A recipe saved from the long out of print Cuisine magazine has become a non-negotiable tradition in our house. The recipe was accompanied by the story of the author’s father making shortbread each Christmas. An homage to her father and to traditional Scottish shortbread. Crisp at first bite, meltingly tender, slightly sweet, and oh so buttery. The perfect cookie.

Yep, tall order.

The trial:

I used a European butter for it’s higher fat content after reading several comments that the dough was dry and crumbly. With a little kneading (in a Ziploc bag), it came together nicely.

The The recipe calls for shaping the dough into a 5×5 inch block and chilling it before rolling it out. I opted to roll the dough into the final 9-inch square before chilling as the dough was easier to work with at this stage. After chilling the dough, cut it into 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inch pieces.

Use a pizza cutter and ruler to cut the dough, you could get fancy and use cute cookie cutters instead. Though the recipe calls for granulated sugar, I used sanding sugar which gave the cookies a nice sparkle. Sugar bling.

The verdict:

Buttery? Yes. Crisp? Yes. Sweet? Yes. The dusting of sugar adds sweetness and a delightful crunch. Better than the shortbread I already make? No, but I am biased. I might try this with salted butter to see if it adds even more depth of flavor. These cookies are simple and sophisticated. Totally worth making a batch to enjoy with a cool glass of milk or a hot cup of tea depending on your mood! *The flavor improved, this was a better cookie a day later than right after baking.

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The Path of Least Resistance TK Shortbread

Buttery, sandy texture, melt in your mouth Shortbread from Bouchon

Course cookies

Cuisine American, European

Keyword biscuits, butter, cookies

Ingredients

180 grams unsalted butter, room temperature 6.3 ounces
90 grams granulated sugar 1/2 Cup
2 grams Kosher salt 5/8 tsp-3/4 tsp
5.9 grams vanilla bean paste 1 tsp
270 grams all-purpose flour 1-3/4 Cup plus 3 T
2 to 3 Tbsp sanding sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until smooth. Add sugar and salt and mix on medium-low for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix for 30 seconds.
Add half of the flour, and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the second half of the flour.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter, and mound the dough on top of it. Form the dough into a 5 inch by 5 inch block. Wrap it with the plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
or
Roll dough into 9 inch square in between parchment, or in a Ziploc bag. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
Roll the dough out to a 9 inch by 9 inch square between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. You may have to pound it a bit with your rolling pin to get it to roll out. If it gets too soft, you can put it back into the refrigerator to firm up.
When ready to bake, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
With a sharp knife, and using a ruler, score the dough into four 2 1/4 inch wide horizontal strips. Next, score the dough into six 1 1/2 inch vertical strips. Sprinkle the dough with sanding sugar or granulated sugar.
Cut the dough along the scoring into 24 individual rectangles. Place the rectangles about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet.
Place sheet in oven and bake, using convection, for 13 to 15 minutes, or if not using convection, for 17 to 19 minutes.
Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, and then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to three days.

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies Revisited

By threejamigos | January 15, 2018 | Comments 2 comments

I reserved some of the Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie dough to bake knowing I would be going to Monday morning coffee with the moms. Who can resist freshly baked cookies? Having scooped out all my dough on the first day, I had cookies ready to bake in the fridge. I came home from the gym (New Year’s Resolution number 1), turned on the oven, plopped the little doughboys on a sheet and popped them in the oven. Easy peasy-freshly baked cookies in a jiffy. I had lined the cookie sheet with a Silpat and whoa, what a difference. This latest batch was much more reminiscent of a Mrs. Field’s cholate chip cookie (who remembers those, lol), a bit denser, definitely softer and lacking that lightness and crispy edge from the first day.

The moral of the story: If you like crisp and light, bake on parchment and after 12 hours of chilling. If you like a classic chewy cookie, bake on Silpat and chill the dough for longer. The next time I bake these I will test my theory again.

Cookie on the left baked after 12 hours of chilling time and on parchment. The cookie on the right after 48 hours in the fridge and baked on a Silpat mat.

But do bake these cookies, they are absolutely scrumptious!

“Open Sesame” Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Revealed

By threejamigos | January 14, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Holiday Cookie List: Number EIGHT. Very LATE. But worth the WAIT!

My friend Mel mentioned a recipe she had tried recently from the NYTimes for Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies. She could not stop raving about them, light, crispy, buttery, hint of sesame, they sounded scrumptious. Always on the lookout for riffs on classic cookies, I immediately made a mental note to put the recipe on my Cookie Bucket List.

I checked out NYTcooking and noticed the recipe contained only granulated sugar which may account for its crisp texture. I like a crispy and chewy chocolate chip cookie so I googled chocolate chip tahini cookies. Judging by the number of recipes that popped up in my search, this cookie is a winner. The grand dame for this cookie recipe appears to be from Danielle Oron’s Modern Israeli Cooking: 100 New Recipes for Traditional Classics. I settled on Davie Lebovitz’s version which calls for both granulated and brown sugars. Perhaps the moisture in the brown sugar would add a bit of chewiness to the cookie.

Sherlock Wanna Be

My aspiration to be an ATK food investigator. I baked the first sheet of cookies on parchment paper and the second on Silpat.

The difference was small but noticeable. The cookies baked on parchment were just a bit thinner and had a crackly top. The Silpat cookies did not spread as much and the top did not have the crackly appearance. Both were delicious and texturally quite similar. Of note about a minute before the cookies were done I rapped the pan on the rack which causes the cookies to deflate giving them the signature crackly top. The parchment-baked ones appeared to have more cracks. A trick I learned from SaraBeth’s Kitchen baking book.

CCC with Tahini parchment or Silpat? — Cookies on the left were baked on parchment, the cookies on the right on Silpat

It is super important to chill the dough. The dough is very soft and light and benefits from the time in the fridge. I used a 2 tablespoon scoop for a bit smaller cookie and baked the cookies for approximately 12 minutes. As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, sprinkle them with a mix of fleur de sel or flaky salt and black and white sesame seeds. Cool on a rack.

BAKE THESE COOKIES NOW

They are delicious. Crispy edges, a little bit of chewiness in the center, buttery, chocolatey (there’s my fake word again) with a subtle hint of sesame. So, so, good. The Tahini seems to lighten the cookie. If you want a crisper cookie I would use granulated sugar only. A definite keeper.

“Open Sesame” Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Treasure Revealed

A delicious twist to chocolate chip cookies by adding tahini

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie, cookies

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Ingredients

The Stuff to be Creamed First

8 tablespoons 115g, 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup 120ml tahini, well stirred
1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
1/2 cup 90g packed light brown sugar (For a crisper cookie omit brown sugar and use 200gm granulated sugar or 1 cup)

The Wet Stuff

1 large egg at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Dry Stuff

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP FlourThe 150g
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher Diamond Crystal or sea salt (DL uses a french sea salt which is similar to a kosher salt, it is not like our sea salt, if using table salt use 1/2 teaspoon, if using Morton's kosher salt use 3/4 teaspoon)

The Bling

2 cups 280g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks (I used TJ's chocolate chunks)
flaky sea salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel
black and white sesame seeds

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and kosher or sea salt, set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, tahini, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy.
3. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the egg, the yolk, and vanilla, and continue to mix for another minute, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl during mixing
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined, then add the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
5. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Form the cookies into rounds using an ice cream scoop. For small cookies make each 1 1/2-inch (3.5cm), for larger cookies, 2-inches (5cm) diameter. Place them evenly spaced on the baking sheets, 3-inches (8cm) apart.
8. Bake one sheet at a time, so you can keep an eye on them, use themiddle rack of the oven.
9. Bake the cookies, turning the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still pale in the center. For small cookies, about 12 minutes, for larger cookies, about 14 to 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven, sprinkle cookies with a bit of flaky sea salt and sesame seeds.
11. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.
Storage: These cookies will keep for two or three days at room temperature, but are definitely better the same day they're baked. The unbaked dough can be refrigerated for up to one week, and frozen for up to two months.