Man Does Not Live By Bread Alone or It's Too Hot To Bake!

Finally home after some more traveling and family business.  Home and right into a heat wave.  July in New York is traditionally hot.  These past few weeks have been down right brutal.

Not only do I not want to bake, but I don't even want to eat.  That should give you an idea of just how high the mercury has risen, because I can't think of too many times when not only do I not want to eat, but am just too lethargic to eat.

But there are things that I do like to eat when it gets hot.  Salads, lots and lots of salads with fresh ingredients from the farm stands here on Long Island.  Wonderfully bright and tasty homemade salad dressings to finish off the greens perfectly.  Crusty bread and a glass of wine--Long Island vintage, of course.  Honestly, after three or four nights of that, I'm right back where I was when I started--too hot to heat and now, bored.

When I first began my professional career, I worked at a gourmet shop in the Hampton's.  Wildly popular, they sold salads, breads, cookies, cakes, ducks and chickens by the boat load.  There were always freshly made soups in the cooler, ready to be taken home and warmed and served with a salad and crusty bread, you had a light and delicious meal.

One of those soups was the summertime favorite, gazpacho.  Or as it was first described to me; cold vegetable soup.  Yeah, my eyebrows went up.  That's such an awful way to describe such a delightful combination of vegetables and juice.  And it's perfect for these days when the thermometer reads 100.

I have always been partial to Ina Garten's recipe for gazpacho.  Very identifiable vegetables, the best tomato juice and no bread base for thickening.  Another plus, this comes together quickly with the help of a food processor.  No food processor, use your blender, but be careful to not over process the vegetables.  Or you can chop everything finely by hand or use the blender to just liquify it all.  It's up to you, but I do like the chunky style of this soup.  

I do make a couple of changes to this already great recipe; I add several dashes of hot sauce and I serve the soup with a small wedge of lemon.  I find the splash of fresh lemon wakes up the flavors and adds a nice note to the soup.  Served in a martini glass with slices of baguette on the side, you have a perfect summer meal; light, refreshing, cool and you don't have to heat up the kitchen to make it.  Even better, make it a day ahead of when you want to serve it, it tastes better the longer it sits.

As the heat continues to rise this summer, make a stop at your local farm stand or your favorite produce department and come home with the ingredients for gazpacho.  Treat yourself to a quick, satisfying meal, easy to make, cool and refreshing.

And dessert?  Ice pops of course!

Gazpacho (Adapated from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook)

1 hothouse (English) cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion--I use a large red onion, but add to your taste
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 cups good quality tomato juice--I used Sacramento, use what you like

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
8-10 dashes hot sauce--optional

lemon wedges

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Pulse each vegetable separately in a food processor until it is coarsely chopped. 

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and hot sauce, if desired. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.  

Serve in martini glasses with a wedge of lemon.  Squeeze the lemon over the gazpacho, stir and enjoy!

 Printable Recipe

Mocha Cappuccino Bars

Summer officially begins this Friday, June 21, 2013.  With the beginning of summer comes the end of school, the beginning of long, lazy afternoons, family barbecues, vacation trips or a sunny afternoon spent with the windows of your car down, the wind whirling the warmed scents of fresh cut grass and summer flowers through the air.

And whatever you're doing with your summer, sometimes you want a fast, easy and delicious treat, something you don't have to spend hours and hours making, something that's grab and go but can also wow your family and friends that drop by unexpectedly or for that family barbecue.

Mocha Cappuccino Bars fit into that description nicely.  Easy to make, they store nicely in the refrigerator and freeze  perfectly for unexpected company, or if you're feeling ambitious and want to pack your freezer with treats for an upcoming family party or trip.  These are what I consider to be an 'adult' treat--a hefty portion of espresso powder flavors the dough making these a splendid dessert with a tall iced coffee in the afternoon or in the evening with a cup of coffee--they are eminently dunk-able.  They are finished with a thin glaze flavored with cinnamon--the perfect topping for a cappuccino!  I found this recipe in a book by Barbara Myers called, "CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE" and have made these bars since I first purchased the cookbook in 1983; they have seen summers from California, Florida to New York and they have never failed to gain faithful fans wherever they have been served.

Loaded with butter and brown sugar, these bars are very rich.  Each bite reveals a chocolate chip along with a warm burst of espresso and vanilla.  I find one of these delicious bars to be quite enough to satisfy a sweet craving, but I've seen coffee fans tuck away several in a seating!  I typically cut these 1 1/2 inches wide by 3 inches long, a generous portion.  I personally don't like them served in the typical 3 X 3 bar because of how rich they are, but feel free to serve them as you like.

Made without eggs, they are crisp without being hard.  Not exactly like biscotti or cookie brittle, but a little biscotti, brittle and cookie rolled into one.  If you freeze them or store them in the refrigerator, bring them to room temperature before serving them.

They travel beautifully.  They can be wrapped and given as a little something extra to a lucky friend.  Toss some in a bag for an impromptu drive, wrap them in wax paper and put them in a lucky someone's lunch.

Another plus in my book for this bar is it's one bowl and done.  Cream butter and sugar, add the espresso and vanilla (I always mix mine together), the flour, salt and baking soda.  Mix very well, making sure you incorporate the flour at the bottom of the bowl.  This is a heavy dough, I do recommend a mixer for this.  Add the chips and when they are mixed throughout the dough, you're ready to pan.

Line a sheet tray with parchment and evenly distribute the dough over the pan.   Press the dough evenly into the pan, pushing as needed so there are no large mounds of dough.  I always fold the excess parchment over to round the edges of the dough so they don't overcook, but if you forget, you can always trim the edges and enjoy them as chef's treat!

Bake these bars in a moderate 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, depending upon your oven.  This is where your keen nose comes into play--you want the center baked but the edges not overdone.  Keep a watchful eye and you'll be rewarded with lovely browned bars.

I let them sit while I mix up the glaze--butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon and half and half--then pour the glaze over the hot bars.  Use a brush or a small offset spatula to spread the glaze over the bars.  I cut them while they are still warm, it's easier.  Let the glaze completely set before removing them from the pan.  You can easily stack these in a container, just layer parchment between the bars to they don't stick and ruin the glassy sheen of glaze on top.  

The recipe as written is for a 15 X 10 X 1" cookie sheet.   It makes between 30 and 40 bars, depending how you cut them. 

Make these and share them with your co-workers, your family and friends.  Everyone will be glad you did.

Enjoy!

 Mocha Cappuccino Bars (Adapted from CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE By Barbara Myers)

1       cup (2 sticks)   Butter, unsalted at room temperature

1       cup                  Brown sugar, packed

1       tablespoon      Instant espresso.  I use Madaglia d'Oro Instant Espresso Powder.  If you use instant coffee, just make sure it is a powder and not crystals.
1       teaspoon         Vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups                All -purpose flour (scoop and sweep method)

1/2    teaspoon         Baking powder

1/2    teaspoon         Salt

2       cups               Chocolate Chips

Glaze

1       tablespoon     Butter, unsalted at room temperature

1/4    teaspoon       Cinnamon

3/4    cup               Powdered sugar

2       tablespoons   Half and half or milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line your pan with parchment paper or grease the pan well.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  In a small bowl, mix the espresso powder and vanilla together, then add to the creamed mixture.  Mix well.  

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and add by the 1/2 cup full at a time to the creamed mixture.  Make sure you incorporate all the flour by stopping the mixer and scrapping the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add the chocolate chips.  If using a heavy duty mixer such as a Kitchen Aid, mix the chips into the dough on low.  If you're using a hand mixer, stir the chips in by hand.

Divide the dough in the pan then press evenly with your fingers and heel of your hand.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending upon your oven, until golden brown.  Remove from oven.

Make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients together until smooth.  Pour over the warm bars and brush the glaze over the bars with a pastry brush or an offset spatula.  Before the glaze sets and bars are warm, cut into serving size.  When completely cool, store in airtight container.

Printable Recipe

Rustic Shortbread

Before I post this week's offering, let me explain where I've been.

For the past month, I've been in San Diego helping my sister and brother with our Mom's care as she was under going chemo treatments for cancer.  Mom had a rough time with the regimen and was quite sick throughout.  I extended my stay for an additional 2 weeks, coming home in the middle of May.

Now, we're preparing to head to South Carolina and a drive to Florida for an interment service for my husband's father.  To top it off, my husband--who has a deficit in his right leg from spinal surgery--fell and injured his knee.  It's been a little hectic here to say the very least.  I offer my apologies for not keeping up with the blog, but I hope you'll keep checking in or subscribe so you can follow along with me.  You've heard the saying, 'life is what happens while you're busy making other plans'?  I can most certainly attest to the truth in that statement!

Now, Rustic Shortbread!

When I was in San Diego, my sister in law, Chris, told me she loved shortbread.  What's not to love?  Rich, buttery bites of crisp cookie goodness.  The only problem I had was my mother's oven is broken!  Chris brought over her toaster oven, but I must confess that I didn't try to bake during my time at home.

Shortbread is one of the simplest recipes.  Flour, sugar, butter and a bit of salt.  No vanilla, the rich buttery flavor is front and center here.  Google shortbread and you'll find pages and pages of entries; some with rice flour, others with corn starch, some with eggs and others with an assortment of other ingredients.  I have two favorite shortbread recipes, one with the required flour, butter, salt and brown sugar and this one in which I use white sugar in place of the brown and I add ground toasted oatmeal.

The use of rice flour is to keep the gluten down in the dough, giving you a crisp, flaky cookie.  I think the rice flour causes the finished cookie to be too brittle to really enjoy.  I'm also not crazy about the taste of the rice flour, but that's personal preference on my part.  The replacement of a bit of the all purpose flour with corn starch does the same thing, and I have used that for years professionally.  But I have to say that I prefer to replace a bit of the flour with ground, toasted oatmeal.  Not that I have any proof, but I think it's probably more authentic.

Bits of processed toasted oats fleck the shortbread dough

What makes this 'rustic'?  I don't process the oats down to a fine powder.  I grind them down, but there are a few larger cut flakes.  When I make this particular recipe, I always shape them in fingers instead of the very fancy petticoat tails.  This is a cookie for a mug of coffee or tea; a little something barely sweet in the morning before lunch or with coffee after dinner.

When you think of shortbread, the first thing that comes to mind is butter.  That's why it's really important to use the best butter you can find and afford.  I used Land O Lakes in this recipe as that's readily available in my area grocery stores.  Challenge brand on the West Coast is another fine butter.  If you can find Plugra, a European style butter with a higher fat content, by all means use that.  It's also important to use unsalted butter.  When I attended culinary school, pastry chef Nick Malgieri taught us that unsalted butter is made from the highest quality cream, giving you a superior product.  I've always followed that advice and it's never failed me.

Another important tip is to freeze the butter and then grate it into the dry ingredients.  Why?  It keeps the dough cold (reducing the chances of a tough, dense cookie) and it incorporates quickly.

Grated butter

I use my food processor to grate the butter.  Can you do it by hand?  Sure can, but you will melt the butter as you hold and grate it. Work quickly.  I also grind the oatmeal in the food processor, though you can use a blender if that's what you have.  If you'd rather not leave any larger bits of oatmeal, feel free to grind it down to a fine, flour-like consistency.  As long as you have 1/4 cup, you'll be fine.   To toast the oatmeal, put the oats on a baking sheet and toast in the oven just until the begin to lightly brown, about 4-6 minutes.  Just keep an eye on them.  You can also do this stove top in a small skillet, but be very careful--they'll easily burn.

I use my mixer to incorporate the butter and flour, just to keep things cold.  Then I pull it together by hand, quickly, pat it into a rectangle and place it on my cookie sheet.  I have this handy, dandy little tart rolling pin, but you can just pat it into shape or use your regular rolling pin.  I don't add any additional flour--something the dough cold allows me to do--and when finished, I use the side of a spatula to score the dough before popping it into the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes.

These are baked in a relatively slow oven, 300°F.  I baked these for an initial 15 minutes before testing and adding another 8 minutes.  At 15 minutes, the cookies were just beginning to brown but the top was puffy but soft underneath, telling me the dough was not baked through.  

When baked, the cookies will have baked together, leaving only a hint of the lines you cut.  I use the edge of the spatula again to re-score and cut through the cookies and then let them cool on a rack before moving them.  They are delicate and can easily break when still warm. 

Finished shortbread--a light golden brown. Tender, flaky goodness.

These can be dipped in chocolate if you desire, but I like the crisp, buttery bites all by themselves.  Pure buttery goodness with a toasty, slightly salty finish.  

My sister in law, Chris, has excellent taste when it comes to cookies!

Mmmmm!

Rustic Shortbread

3/4     cup         All Purpose Flour, scoop and sweep method

1/4     cup         Ground, toasted oatmeal (a 1/3 cup whole is a bit more than 1/4 cup ground)

1/4     cup         White sugar

1/4     teaspoon  Salt -- preferably finely ground sea salt

1/2     cup         Unsalted butter, 1 stick, frozen and grated

Mix the dry ingredients together and add the grated butter.  Mix until well incorporated--it will not be dough-like.  
Squeeze the dough together, much like pulling pie dough together.  When you have a ball, shape into a rectangle, place on papered or silpat sheeted cookie sheet and roll until 1/4 inch thick.  The edges will be rough, that's okay--it's Rustic Shortbread!  With the side of a icing spatula, score the dough.  Place in freezer for 10-15 minutes.  If you want to make petticoat tails, shape into a circle, score the dough into pie shaped wedges.  You can flute the outer edge of the dough if you want to make the cookies really fancy.
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 300°F.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Check and extend baking time if needed.  The top of the dough will lose it's shine when baked through and will not easily yield to pressure.  The sides will be a lovely, light golden brown.
Remove and cool.  While warm, re-score and cut the cookies with the side of the spatula.  Allow to cool completely before moving.  Store in an airtight container.  These can also be frozen up to 3 months.

  
Printable Recipe

My Favorite Scones

Right after pastry school, I apprenticed in an extremely popular gourmet shop in the Hampton's on Long Island's East End.  Summers in the Hampton's can be crazy, to put it mildly, for anyone in the food business.  I wasn't alone in this insanity, I worked alongside a bread baker who made the shops baguettes, breads and muffins in the wee hours of the morning.  It was here in Sagaponack that I had my first scone.

The bread baker made a mean french baguette, but he had a heavy hand with scones and biscuits.  While the scones were pretty good right out of the oven, you could play hockey with them by the time they cooled.  They went fast so there were never any complaints.  But they put me on the hunt to find the perfect scone.

It took me a little over ten years to find what I believe to be the perfect scone.  A crunchy outer crust with a tender interior, a scone of substance but not heavy.  A perfect basic recipe that can be altered with the addition of fruits, nuts, herbs and cheese.  And while the recipe is a winner, technique is what matters here--no overworking the dough.  See my rant on the mixing of Irish Soda Bread last month and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

The secret to the perfect scone is in the mixing.  I rub the butter into the flour with my fingers until it 'feels' right.  It should look like heavy corn meal which tells you that the butter has been incorporated into the flour.  I add whatever I'm adding to the scones--in this case chocolate chips, bananas and toasted walnuts--and then I slowly add in heavy cream.  That's right, cream, not buttermilk.  Cream, having a higher fat content helps to 'tenderize' the scones crumb.   If it's a dry day, you may need to add in a bit more cream.  You're looking for the dough to just come hold together, not be pourable.  It looks like pie dough before it's pulled together into a disc, or better yet, cookie dough just before dropping it onto cookie sheets.

Now my favorite scones have chocolate chips, fresh bananas and toasted walnuts in them.  All I can say is "yum"!  I use just ripe bananas, they're still a little firm and don't mush when mixing.  They stand up to baking, doing all the lovely things a baked banana does when baked; gets all sweet and tender.  A perfect bite of chocolate, banana and walnut is sigh worthy!

 Note the size of the flour and butter mixture in this photograph. 

When mixed, the dough looks a little 'raggedy'.  That's okay, it's perfect.  I use a half cup ice cream scoop or just a half cup measuring cup to scoop up the dough.  I give each scoop a light press, just to make sure that the dough will hold together, because it can blow apart when baking, meaning a side can slip and present a less than perfect baked scone.  It still tastes amazing, but may be the ugly duckling of the batch.

Scone dough ready to scoop

 Scoop of dough ready for sheeting

Ready for a brush of cream and sugaring

When the scones are sheeted, if you want, brush your scones with heavy cream and sprinkle a cap of sugar.  This extra step adds a lovely browned top and a bit of crisp sweetness to each bite. 

Bake the scones in a hot, preheated 425° F degree oven.  Bake them for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your scones.  When finished, let them cool as long as you can wait before serving them.  The scones will be golden brown, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  Split and add more butter or strawberries and softly whipped cream--yes please--and enjoy!  If there are any leftover scones, store them in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate them.  Warm them slightly and enjoy them again!

Scones

• 3   cups all purpose flour

• 1   tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 cup cold, unsalted butter cut into small bits

• 2 just ripe bananas

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts

• 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half (may need more if dough is dry)

• Additional cream for brushing tops of scones

• Sugar for sprinkling over cream brushed scones

Preheat the oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Add the butter bits and rub the butter into the flour mixture.  The flour should look like cornmeal.  Add the bananas, chocolate chips and walnuts, toss to mix.  Add the cream and turn the dough over in the bowl to combine.  If there is too much dry flour at the bottom of the bowl, add a bit more cream, just to moisten.  Continue to turn the dough until it looks like chocolate chip cookie dough or pie dough--not too wet.  

Using a 1/2 cup ice cream scoop or 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop the dough and give each lump of scone dough a light squeeze, just to hold the dough together.  Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.  I line them up, about 6 to 8 per sheet, giving them plenty of room.  If desired, brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, longer if necessary.  Remove and cool slightly.  Serve with butter or strawberries and cream.  These are wonderful eaten just as they are--no embellishment needed.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.   

Printable Recipe

Pink Posies for Nicole: Big, Soft, Frosted Sugar Cookies

My son's girlfriend is a lovely young woman.  Smart, generous, funny, sweet, fashionable, fiercely loving and all packed into the teeniest of tiny ladies.  And let's not overlook that she's beautiful too!  Her birthday was this week (Happy Birthday, Nicole!) and I decided to make her cookies. 

I also have a confession to make:  I had an ulterior motive in making this recipe because I LOVE these cookies!  I cannot resist the grocery/big box store soft, frosted sugar cookies.  In making these, I got double the bang--pretty and tasty cookies for Nicole and pretty and tasty cookies for me!  It's good when that works out like that.

This isn't any fancy pastry chef recipe, it's one I like as a basic, soft sugar cookie that's easy to work with.  It's been on the internet for quite some time and has made the round of food blogs.  Its staying power points to just how tasty these cookies are, and even better in my eyes, how reliable the recipe is when made by a multitude of bakers. 

There are some tips when working with a rolled cookie dough.  Chill it!  Chill it really well!  I divide the dough, form it into discs, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for several hours or overnight.  Why?  First, it's too sticky to work with when just made (but actually makes a nice base for bar cookies when pressed into a sheet pan) and secondly, all that mixing creates gluten which makes baked good tough.  I won't get crazy (See Alton Brown of the Food Network for the definitive explanation of gluten) about the ills (and benefits) of gluten other than to say that gluten in bread is good, gluten in soft cookies is not so desirable. 

Chilling your dough helps to relax the gluten strands that were formed when mixing the dough.  When the dough is relaxed, the resulting product is tender.  Another trick to to use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough, turning your dough so you're not rolling over the same spot and finally, planning your cutting of the dough to minimize re-rolling scrapes.  I only re-roll my dough once, any more than that results in tough cookies.  

I use a floured cutter and line these babies up on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake them in a pre-heated 350° F oven for 12-15 minutes.  They should only be the palest of pale golden on the bottom when they're ready to be removed from the oven.  Let them cool on the sheets before moving them to a rack to completely cool for finishing.  

I made the frosting a little stiffer (less cream) than usual because I wanted the sharp edges when piped.  If yours is softer, you can add a bit more powdered sugar or just spread it on with a spatula.  Either way, these cookies will taste delicious.  I also added just a light sprinkle of pink sugar crystals, just for a bit of bling.  All for Nicole!

Big, Soft, Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

• 4 1/2  cups           all purpose flour
• 4 1/2  teaspoons   baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon        salt
• 1 1/2 cups            unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups            sugar
• 5 teaspoons         vanilla
• 3 large                 eggs

Measure flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Whisk to incorporate and set aside.  

In the bowl of your mixer, add butter and sugar.  Mix until well combined and fluffy.  Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.  Scrape down the bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating to mix well.  Mixture may look curdled at this time--it's okay.

Slowly add flour mixture, mixing after each addition.  I generally add mine in three additions, mixing after each until the flour is just incorporated.  Mix just until final all flour has been incorporated, using large spatula to finish mixing if any flour remains.  Divide dough in half, form each into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to  350° F.  Remove one dough disc from refrigerator.  Lightly dust table with as little flour as possible (too much flour can make your cookies tough).  Unwrap your disc and lightly sprinkle flour on top of dough and begin to roll out your dough.  I roll in one direction, from the center out, turning the dough a quarter turn so as not to rollover the dough too much.  Roll the dough a true 1/4 inch (thick) and using a floured cutter (I just dip mine in flour) cut the dough, spacing to reduce the need to re-roll as little of the dough as possible.  Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets, carefully gather remaining dough and re-roll.  If any dough remains after this rolling, I throw it out--the resulting cookies will be tough and taste of flour.  Repeat with remaining disc of dough.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms are a very pale golden brown.  Do not over bake.  Let cookies cool on the sheets before moving them to a rack.  Make the frosting.

Frosting:

• 5  cups                powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup                unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon        vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon        salt
• 8-10 tablespoons  heavy cream (you can use milk if desired)

Place powdered sugar in the bowl of mixer.  Add butter and vanilla and salt.  Mix together, keep mixing until incorporated--it will look like powdered sugar pebbles.  Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until you have a spreadable frosting.  If you make it too thin, add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time.  I stop adding cream when I lift the beater and the frosting remains standing.  It is spreadable at this point. 

I used a Wilton star tip, #21 to make the frosting rosettes.  Fill your piping bag or baggie, and frost.  Let the frosting crust and store in an airtight container.

I like these cookies best the day after they've been made; the cookie is soft, the icing is just right--crusty on the outside and creamy on the inside.   

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

I absolutely adore the National Cherry Blossom Festival held in Washington D.C.  Love it!  My husband and I made the journey to D.C. several years ago and were lucky enough to see the trees at peak bloom.  They truly are stunning!  And to back up that claim, I personally took pictures of nearly each and every cherry tree around the Tidal Basin.  Seriously.  

Photo by Laura

So when spring rolls around, I get myself to the National Cherry Blossom Festival website and check the progress of the blooms.  I become obsessed with all things cherry blossom.  My desktop sports the blossoms, my iEverythings are the same.

Photo by Laura

And while I am confessing my complete and utter fascination with all things cherry blossom, I have to tell you that I personally find many cherry recipes to be bland. 

If I do happen across a really good batch of cherries, they find themselves promptly baked in a pie.  But that can be hit or miss at the market.  And when you want to feed an obsession, boring, bland or out of season cherries just don't make the grade.

 

That's why I like to bake with dried cherries.  They're available year round and are quite versatile.  And best of all, they're packed with bright cherry flavor.  They can be a little pricey, but thankfully this recipe calls for a half cup of chopped, dried cherries.  And since cherries pair well with chocolate, I'm pulling out deep, dark chocolate.  I love the sweet-tart taste of cherries paired with the intense flavor of dark, nearly bitter chocolate.  And just to warm things up, I spice these cookies with pepper.  Pepper has not only that bit of heat, but paired with chocolate and cherries, pepper shows off a lovely spicy note; not sweet, but one that will leave you guessing what it is.  I use white pepper, but only because I like the aesthetics of it, but don't feel you have to run out and buy white pepper if you don't have it, just use finely ground black pepper.

This cookie is a based on a classic shortbread recipe.  Butter, sugar, flour--that's shortbread.  Shortbread is a workhorse in a baker's recipe box because you can take the basic recipe and change it with an addition of this zest or candied ginger, add chocolate, spice, fruits or nuts and no one would know it came from the same butter, sugar and flour shortbread recipe.  Feel free to experiment--and best of all, you get to eat all of your cookie trials.

A few tips about adding chocolate to a recipe where you want to see the chunks and not color the dough.  I add the chocolate chips--in this case Ghiradelli 60% Intense Dark chocolate bars cut into pieces--just before the final turn or two in the mixer.  This mixes the chocolate into the dough without breaking the it and keeps the chocolate from coloring the cookies.  I also add the cherries at the same time.

At this point you can form the dough into a ball, wrap and chill it for an hour or so before rolling it out.  I prefer to form the dough into a cylinder, wrap it in some parchment, mark it and chill it.  You can also wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for future use.  When I worked summers in the Hamptons on Long Island, I always had cookie doughs in the freezer, ready to use at a moments notice. 

A trick bakers use to get the dough into a nice, tight roll is to place the dough on parchment.  Form it into the shape you need, fold the parchment over the dough and with the edge of your cookie sheet, spatula or even the flat of your hand, press against base of the dough, forcing the paper to tighten against the dough, smoothing it and shaping it into a lovely cylindar.  Wrap the ends, mark the dough and chill, or cover and freeze.  Cookies at hand whenever you need them!

 Place dough on parchment.

 Form into log with hands.

 Fold parchment over dough and push against the dough at the base.  Dough will form into log, smoothing and lengthening as you press.

 Smooth log ready to wrap and chill.

 Roll dough in parchment and twist ends. 

Write name of dough and date if you intend to freeze. 

When the dough is chilled, usually within a couple of hours, I cut the dough in half and score the dough before I cut it into discs to bake.  No rolling, no loss of cookie dough, no mess--I love this recipe!

I like my shortbread thick, you can cut yours half the size I have here.  Just shave some time off when you bake them.  These are cut approximately 1/2 inch thick and they take 20 minutes to bake.  If you cut yours 1/4 inch thick, they should be ready between 12 and 15 minutes.  Watch the bottom for color.  Shortbread should never really get a deep brown color, but they will get a lovely golden edge to them.

Should the edges of the disk break because you've cut through a chunk of chocolate, just push it back into shape and place it on the cookie sheet.  Bake these in the oven at 325° for 20 minutes, 12 to 15 for thinner cookies.  Let cool on sheet and store them in an airtight container. 

If you'd like to dip these when they're cool, melt 1 cup of dark chocolate chips with 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream, stirring to combine.  Dip edge of cookie, lightly wiping bottom across rim of bowl to wipe excess from the cookie.  Let the chocolate firm up before serving--if you can restrain yourself!  If you'd like give the chocolate a helping hand, put the tray of cookies in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.  

I like these with a nice cup of coffee to play off the dark chocolate and cherry flavor.  Mix up a batch, enjoy my obsession with all things cherry blossom.

Chocolate Cherry Shortbread 

• 1        cup   unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2     cup   white sugar
• 1        teaspoon  pure vanilla extract    
• 1 3/4  cups  all purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4     teaspoon white pepper (if desired)
• 1/2     cup   coarsely chopped dried cherries 
• 1/2     cup   coarsely chopped dark chocolate (I used Ghiradelli 60% Intense Dark Chocolate

Preheat oven to 325°.  Line cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat Mat.

Place room temperature butter and sugar in bowl of a mixer.  Beat until well combined.  Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Add flour, salt and white pepper (if desired) and mix just until nearly combined.  At this point, add the chopped cherries and chocolate and mix on low just until combined.  This should only be a couple of turns of the beater.

Scrap dough onto parchment and form into log, or shape into disc, wrap and refrigerate.  Chill until dough is firm, about 2 hours.

Cut into discs and place on lined cookie sheets.  If rolling dough, roll with using a little flour as possible to keep the cookies from absorbing the extra flour and becoming tough.  Cut with cookie cutter and place on sheet.  Continue to roll until all dough is cut.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes if making thicker cookies.  If you have cut your cookies thinner, bake 12-15 minutes, just until bottoms are a pale golden color.  Allow cookies to cool and dip in chocolate if desired.

16 1/2 inch cookies or 32 1/4 inch cookies.

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