Great Expectations

It's really hard to work against expectations.

If I said "biscotti," you might think about the teeth-chipping, ridiculously hard cookies served at your local Starbucks.  (No real offense to Starbucks--it has its place.  In airports, primarily.)  It's typically a long, slender cookie that takes a dunking in a hot beverage to become really good.

Or, even more menacingly, it is a cookie coated so liberally with chocolate that your fingers are smeared before it even approaches a hot beverage.

I'm not a fan of either option, but when you tell people you've made biscotti, they expect one of those two things.  Whereas these biscotti will delight your senses--I've never smelled dough quite this fragrant, I kid you not--but they are round, a little soft and look nothing like what people have come to expect.

I'll stand by the authenticity of the consistency and shape of these cookies, which are adapted from a recipe by Lidia Bastianich.  The flavors?  They just happen to be what excited me on Sunday morning.  A batch went to the neighbors who have been nice enough to lend us their snowblower these last few snowy weeks, and another batch came to my office, where no one knew what to make of them until they had one, at which point they were sold.

Because my Sunday was busier than expected, I made the dough that day and refrigerated it overnight.  The result was very hard and very cold, which meant that I could roll it out and then skip the step of returning it to the refrigerator before baking.  If you do it this way, just roll it out quickly and pop the cookies into the oven.

Orange-Toasted Pecan Biscotti

Technique from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

1 large orange, zested and juiced

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until pale yellow.  Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs individually, mixing well after each addition.

Add the vanilla, lemon and orange juice and zest and mix just to combine, then add the nuts.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and securely cover with plastic wrap.  Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight.

After the dough is chilled, divide it into four chunks and roll each out into a log about ten inches long on a floured surface.  If you have only chilled the dough for an hour, it will probably be soft by this point--you will need to return it to the refrigerator for about twenty minutes.  If you chilled the dough overnight, you can skip this step and cut each roll into half-inch slices.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the slices on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.  Bake for eighteen to twenty minutes, switching out the cookie sheets halfway through.  The cookies will be done when pale golden brown.

Makes approximately sixty cookies.

Messing with a Classic

Am I ever not prepared for it to be Monday. 

Love, Loss closed yesterday after a great run.  I'm really going to miss those ladies--it's one of the best times I've ever had acting in a show.  At the cast party on Saturday, the actress who played Gingy said "You know, I really like those cookies you made a couple of years ago."

I'm sure you've had this happen;  cue the guessing game where it takes about five minutes to determine exactly which cookie the person is talking about, both because it was years ago and because you have made so many different types of cookies that it isn't immediately apparent which one it could be.  In this case, it turned out that it was madeleines.

I've never read Proust, but I'll give him credit for fixating on the madeleine.  It's a soft, buttery cookie with a hint of lemon and, ideally, a little bit of a crisp brown texture to the exterior.  In short, it's a little bit of sunshine in cookie form.



When well-chilled, the batter develops sort of crust on top that
gives when you push down on it.  That's a good sign that it's ready to go.

The key to madeleines is to chill the batter really well, for at least three hours.  The batter takes all of ten minutes to put together, and then you want to make the cookies right away.  However, chilling the batter gives it a consistency that really makes a difference in the cookies. 

Although I had the ingredients for a classic madeleine, I wanted to try something a little different and substituted grapefruit zest for the lemon and honey for part of the sugar.  The result had a slightly floral quality from the honey, although the grapefruit substitution wasn't obvious. 

Grapefruit Honey Madeleines

Adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp. honey

4 tsp. vanilla extract

10 tbsp. melted butter, at room temperature

Zest of one large ruby grapefruit

Combine the sifted flour and baking powder in a small bowl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and eggs until they are pale yellow.  Then add the grapefruit zest, honey and vanilla and mix briefly.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour/baking powder mixture.  Then fold in the butter mixture--it will look like it doesn't want to incorporate, but eventually will.

Press a large piece of plastic wrap right onto the batter and refrigerate the bowl for at least three hours.

When you are ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Depending on the type of mold you are using, prepare it--I have a silicone mold and just spritz it with a touch of baking spray with flour.

Fill the molds almost full with batter.  The great thing about these cookies is that you don't have to spread the batter in the molds particularly well--the batter will spread to fill the molds while baking.

Bake for approximately 13-14 minutes, until the cookies have risen and turned golden.  If you touch the cookie, it should spring back a bit when done.  Cool the cookies on a baking rack.

Makes 24 madeleines, enough for David to take to a Super Bowl party and to feed a cast and crew of seven.

When Life Gives You Lemons

I read yet another article yesterday, this one in the New York Times, about how eating raw cookie dough is bad for you.

Well, sure.  Raw eggs can contain E. coli and other bacteria.  But get this--the article was about how raw flour can be tainted.

Oh great, another thing to worry about while I continue to eat raw cookie dough.  I can't help it, and let's face it, neither can you.  Are any of you not susceptible to eating it?  I'm looking around and I don't see any hands.  OK, that's because I'm working late and there's no one else here.  But still.

I am particulary partial to sweets that aren't that sweet.  Contradiction?  Not really.  Give me tangy hard candy, tart gelato or a lightly sweet pastry and I'm happy.  Sickly sweet sweets need not apply to be my dessert.

When David and I hosted the Inspecting Carol cast and crew dinner a couple of weeks ago, we were too crazed making the main course for me to spend a lot of time making dessert.  I finally settled on these cookies.

The dough was irresistible, but the cookies were phenomenal.  Cakey, slightly crumbly and just the right degree of sweet to follow a big meal.  Definitely a keeper, with or without the sugar glaze on top.

These are glazed, but the glaze is so light-colored that it doesn't show up in the photos.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Adapted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

For the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
8 ounces part-skim ricotta, drained if necessary
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. lemon zest

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup lemon juice, preferably fresh-squeezed

Prehear the oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets by either spraying them with nonstick baking spray or covering them in parchment paper.

Whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixture on medium speed until the butter is light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one until thoroughly combined.

Add the ricotta, almond extract and lemon zest all at once and beat until the mixture is smooth.  Add the flour mixture and beat very briefly on low speed.

Drop small lumps of the dough, about a tablespoon each, onto the prepared baking sheets.  Don't worry if the lumps are not precisely even--that's part of the charm of these cookies. 

Bake for 22 to 24 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden and fluffy.  Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze.  Place the lemon juice in a medium bowl and whisk in the powdered sugar bit by bit until the glaze is thick and pale yellow.  You may not need all the powdered sugar.

When the cookies are cool, dunk the top of each one in the glaze and return them to the racks to dry.

Makes approximately 36 cookies.

Looks like....Bittersweet Chocolate and Sea Salt Shortbread

My mind is in the gutter. 

David and I were invited to a BBQ on Saturday afternoon.  We awoke to a typical gray day with sprinkling rain and sighed.  Or rather, I sighed and headed for the kitchen to think up something to take to the BBQ.  I found the recipe, put the butter out to soften (but not ooze, see here for the dangers of that) and figured that chocolate would make even the most water-logged Alaskans feel better.

Now, I'm not a chocolate person, but if I'm going to have it I want it to be bittersweet and tempered with either heat or salt.  These cookies call for deep, dark chocolate mixed with sea salt--an irresistible combination.

After everything is combined, you'll roll each half of the dough out into a long cylinder.  Here's where the mind in the gutter comes in:

Yes, I am baking in my bathrobe.  And you don't?

I called David in and asked what he thought the dough looked like.  He thought an oosik, and brought out his walrus oosik (they sell them in lots of Alaska Native craft stores) to make a point:

Hmm.  Point well taken.

I thought it looked more like--ahem--something that I won't be photographing anytime soon.  Draw your own conclusions, as I don't want to put you off your food.

This recipe makes about fifty small cookies, enough for a crowd.  They practically beg for a cup of coffee or strong tea.  And wouldn't you know it, by dessert time at the BBQ the sun came out.  I believe there was cheering.

Chocolate and Sea Salt Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

1 3/4 cups plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, brought to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 60-70% cacao, chopped into small pieces
1 egg
1 tsp. good-quality vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. sea salt (my favorite is this one)

With either a hand or a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for two minutes on medium speed, until pale and creamy.  Sift together the cocoa, baking powder and flour and add to the butter/sugar mixture in three batches with the mixer on low speed.

Add the chopped chocolate, vanilla and sea salt and mix until just combined.  At this stage, the dough looks a little like Coco Pebbles--don't worry.  Add in the egg and mix until just combined. 

Lightly flour a work surface.  Take half the dough and roll out into a long, even cylinder approximately one inch in diameter.  Repeat with the other half of the dough and wrap each separately in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate the rolls for at least an hour, or until very firm.

While the dough is refrigerating, line two baking sheets with parchment.  When the dough is almost ready, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

After the dough is fully refrigerated, remove each roll from its plastic.  The dough is stiff and prone to crumbling, so use a large sharp knife for cutting into rounds.  Cut each roll into rounds approximately 1/4 inch thick.  Place the rounds on the baking sheets, keeping about one inch of space between them.  Bake for 15 or 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from front to back midway through.  When done, the cookies will be cooked through but still soft. 

Cool the cookies on wire racks;  they will firm as they cool.

Makes approximately fifty cookies.  They store well overnight in an airtight container.

The Revenge of the Croccante

Clearly the croccante from Sunday's post noticed my frustration, and they get the final word.

After the previously-described Sunday morning misadventure making the croccante, I gathered up the remaining scraps of dough.  Too frustrated to roll them out and make a final batch, I pressed the scraps into a six-inch square approximately 1/8 inch thick, wrapped it in plastic and literally threw it in the fridge.  No rolling it out, no special treatment--nada.  Or niente, if I want to be Italian about it.

Flash forward to Wednesday night, when I open the fridge and give the square of dough the evil eye.  Do I want to throw it out or give it a second chance?  I tossed it on the counter, cut it into rough 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles with a pasta cutter and put the rectangles on a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet.  I baked for less than 12 minutes--way shorter than the previous time--at 400 degrees.  The cookies emerged smelling beautifully of caramel, vanilla and almonds. 

These croccante were not trouble, except for the waistline.  I brought them to work this morning and when I went to take a picture a few minutes ago, only a pile of crumbs remained.

Apparently the dough wants lots of cooling time in the fridge, enough to not ooze over the kitchen counter or get all delicate at the sight of the rolling pin.  The A16 recipe calls for an hour in the fridge--I'd say it should be at least two.  Or, if all else fails, three days--worked for me!

We've Got Trouble, My Friend

Yup, trouble right here,
Right here, in Anchorage,
Trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for "put the damn butter away if you're not going to use it right now."

But I digress.

That's my homage to "The Music Man," a musical I've never particularly liked despite an upbringing in theatre.  Due to an odd set of circumstances, I had Thursday and Friday off this week.  I had Grand Plans--a "to do" list ten items long that I thought I could work my way through on Thursday despite four appointments and working at home.  I thought surely, surely I could make the Croccante--almond and butter cookies--from A16 in my vast free time despite the four appointments, the to-do list and making dinner for six people and taking it to my friend Paul's that night.

I optimistically set out the 8 ounces of butter early in the afternoon.  Then life intervened.

Flash forward to Sunday morning, when I finally have time to make cookies.  The butter was so soft it was practically oozing off the counter, but I combined and stirred and let the dough firm the right amount of time in the refrigerator.  I optimistically then attempted to roll the dough out, only to have it stick to the marble rolling pin, the counter and then dissolve in a big buttery puddle on the counter.

It wasn't pretty, but I managed to cut and bake the cookies.  They took way longer to bake but through a miracle of baking, came out all buttery and almond-y.  Don't follow my example--take your butter out an hour or two before.

Croccante
Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

8 ounces butter (2 sticks), at room temperature but not melting off the counter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

Beat the sugar with the butter until creamy, either with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat to merely combine.  Mix in the flour and salt on low speed, then add the almonds.  Be careful not to overmix.  Then dump the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press into a square, approximately 1/4 inch thick.  Refrigerate for an hour, and make sure the dough is nice and firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two baking sheets and then make sure the dough is the 1/4 inch thickness--roll out if necessary.  Cut into 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles, then space approximately one inch apart on the cookie sheets.  Bake about 12 minutes or until lightly golden, then cool on wire racks.

One of the great things about Italian desserts is that they are small and not too sweet--this is a great example.  Serve with fresh fruit.  Makes about 30 cookies.