#easycookierecipe Archives

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.

Lemon Cookie Very Pretty & The Cookie Is So Sweet (Blueberry-Lemon Shortbread)

By threejamigos | November 10, 2017 | Comments 2 comments

Blueberry-Lemon Shortbread from Miranda Couse’s Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook is a winner. These cookies remind me of my favorite scones which have dried blueberries and lemon zest in them. As soon as I spied the recipe I knew I had to try it. The cookies are made with powdered sugar which helps to create a tender cookie. A combination of lemon juice and lemon zest give the cookies their tart, lemony flavor. Want less pucker? Substitute Meyer lemon or a combination of lemon and orange juice in the cookie. The use of dried blueberries in these delicious morsels intensifies the berry flavor and provides a foil to the lemon. Trader Joe’s carries wild dried blueberries that work perfectly.

The dough is rolled out to approximately 3/8-1/2 inch thickness. I’m sure the dough if chilled, would be firm enough to shape into a log for slice and bake cookies. As I sat munching on one the thought occurred to me that dried cranberries and orange would also be delicious. Can’t wait to make my next batch. If you try a different flavor combination, let me know!

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Lemon Blueberry Shortbread from Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook

Delicious citrus-berry, buttery cookie!

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword blueberry, cookies, lemon, Lemon blueberry shortbread, Shortbread

Ingredients

MAKES ABOUT 12 COOKIES
Prep: 15 minutes Chill: 30 minutes
Bake: 14 to 15 minutes
Shelf Life: 4 to 5 days
½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup chopped dried blueberries Feel free to substitute other dried fruit, great combo would be orange and dried cranberries, use your imagination, like lime and strawberry

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wooden spoon, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and creamy. This will take about 3 minutes if using an electric mixer or 5 to 6 minutes if creaming by hand. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and beat to combine. Add the flour and salt, and beat on low speed or by hand until the dough comes together about 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries until incorporated.
Place the dough between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to an even ½-inch thickness. Wrap the dough in the paper and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Rechill if they seem soft.
Bake 14-15 minutes until edges are golden brown. Start checking at 12 minutes!
Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Like many shortbread, flavors will develop and the cookie will be even better the next day!

Weekend Warrior-Weekend Baker (Toasted Almond Cookies)

By threejamigos | May 4, 2017 | Comments 1 comment

My New Year’s resolution every year is to make a concerted effort to try recipes out of the gazillions of cookbooks I own. I generally cook or bake from only a handful of books I have, my go-tos. One of my favorite blogs, Ipso Fatto, also collects cookbooks the difference being she actually uses hers. Lucky for me we seem to have similar taste in cookbooks. My hubby is convinced its not so much that we have similar taste, its because I buy every cookbook published so of course we would have the same books. Her recent post featured a scrumptious almond cookie from Abigail Dodge’s Weekend Baker. After reading it I spent the next hour rummaging through my bookshelves and mumbling to myself “I know I have that book, where is it”. Eureka, finally found it. Time to make some Toasted Almond Cookies, uh-huh.

Thanks to Ipso Fatto I am now making good on my annual new year’s resolution.

I love these cookies. Not the prettiest cookies on the block but it was love at first bite. They’re buttery with a touch of sweetness and a nice crunch from the toasted almond slivers. I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch. In all fairness the recipe only makes 20 cookies. Yep, just a measly 20 cookies.

Note to self..double the recipe.

These are a snap to make. Toasting the almonds adds flavor and crunch so don’t skip this step. Throw the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes. Easy peasy. As the almonds cool make the dough. The cookies do not spread much so don’t forget to flatten the dough before baking. I used a fork dipped in sugar and pressed each cookie with a criss cross pattern much like the classic peanut butter cookie. I did not flatten the dough enough with the first batch resulting in the edges and bottoms browning before the center was completely baked. The second pan of cookies turned out perfectly, golden crisp edges surrounding a sable’ like cookie and crunchy almonds. Yums.

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Weekend Warrior-Weekend Baker

Ingredients

12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of table salt
1 yolk from large egg
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup slivered almonds toasted

Instructions

1. Position an oven rack in the middle. Heat the oven to 350˚F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer (stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld mixer) on medium speed until well blended. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until combined. Pour in the flour and toasted almonds and beat on low speed until the dough begins to clump together. The nuts will break up a bit, but that’s okay.
3. Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, shape rounded mounds of about 2 tablespoons dough on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 ½”. Using your fingers, press down on each mound to flatten.
4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies look dry on top and the edges are golden brown, about 17 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookies from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.