LAVENDER-LEMON COOKIES, TWO WAYS

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

One cookie dough, two outcomes. Rolled out and cut in circles, or baked in a silicone mold, then covered with chocolate. This approach is similar to a strawberry version I made not too long ago (check it out here).

LAVENDER-LEMON SUGAR COOKIE
(inspired by 100 Cookies, by Sarah Kieffer)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon culinary lavender
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon extract or paste
2 cups all-purpose flour

for the glaze:
1/3 cup milk (you won’t need the full amount)
1/8 tsp lemon extract
1 + 1/2 cup powdered sugar

to coat the roses:
compound chocolate, white
purple oil-soluble food dye, tiny amount

sprinkles to decorate the cutout cookies (optional)

In the bowl of a food processor, process the granulated sugar, lavender and lemon zest together until the lavender buds are broken down. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the lavender-sugar and salt, and beat again on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Remove the dough, form into a circle and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Roll the cookie dough and cut circles, about 3 inches in diameter. Use a portion of the dough to form small balls and stick in a rose shaped silicone mold. Bake the cookies in a 350F oven, circles until lightly golden at the edges (about 15 minutes), small roses until firm to the touch, it might take a little longer than the cutout cookies.

To finish the little rose cookies: Once the roses are cold, place the mold in the freezer for 10 minutes and then remove the baked cookies to a rack. Wash the mold, dry well. Melt white compound chocolate, divide in two portions. Leave one white, dye the other purple (using very little oil-soluble color). Marble them together, pour into the mold and immediately stick the shaped cookies. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes, un-mold and if needed shave the bottom with a Microplane to tidy the edges.

To finish the rolled out cookies: make a glaze mixing the powdered sugar with milk and lemon extract until the consistency is right, not too thick, not too thin. Add the milk, a little bit at a time to the powdered sugar. Coat the baked, room temperature cookies with the glaze, then add sprinkles to decorate, if so desired. Let it set for a couple of hours.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These cookies are very flavorful, the lavender won’t be too pronounced, just right. In the cookbook, she uses a different type of glaze, that did not work very well for me, and she sprinkled the cookies with lavender, that was a bit much for my taste. Do what you feel agrees with your tastebuds.

It is not very easy to get the chocolate coating to be fully smooth, at least I seem to have some problems with it. Maybe pouring the chocolate while warmer and banging the mold a bit on the countertop could help, but keep in mind you’ll need to work reasonably fast, as you will have several cookies to coat at once. I would not try to make more than eight at a time. Even if not fully smooth, these are delicious and I love the way they turned out…

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8Sep2024

CARAMEL SANDWICH COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

Today I share three versions of Caramel Sandwich Cookies. The first recipe (top left) is my default (Chocolate Chipotle Cookies that you can find here). The second version (bottom right) was made using Sweetapolita Bakebook recipe for Dark Chocolate Cutout Cookies which I won’t share due to copyright issues. At any rate, as written the recipe is a bit too strong for my taste, I would advise using less dark cocoa powder particularly if you are baking for kids. The lighter cookie (bottom left) is Cinnamon Orange, and the recipe is below.

CINNAMON-ORANGE SUGAR COOKIE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

1 cup butter (226 g), at room temperature
1 cup sugar (200g)
zest of half a large orange
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 eggs
1 tsp orange bakery emulsion or orange extract of your choice
575 g all-purpose flour (about 4 cups)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and set aside. Mix the sugar with the zest rubbing it well to release the oils. Cream the butter with the flavored sugar, just until smooth and combined. Add the agave nectar and continue mixing for a minute or so.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs and orange emulsion. Add to the butter-sugar mixture and mix at low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture on low-speed, until it forms a dough.

Remove the dough from the bowl, cut in two pieces and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate for one hour, then roll, cut shapes and bake in 350 F oven until golden at the edges, depending on the size of the cookies, 10 to 15 minutes. For these cookies, I used a patterned rolling pin.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Rolling pin available at etsy (click here)

For both chocolate cookies, I used a stamp to create the design on the top portion of the cookie. One of them is available here, the other I could not find any longer, had it for many years.

I have tried two different recipes for caramel filling, but the second one was far better in terms of texture and flavor. You can find it here. I made half the recipe published in the site.

The caramel filling complements quite well both the chocolate and the orange cookies, very versatile, and it has the perfect texture to bite into. I think that embossed rolling pins and springerle-type stamps are a very nice way to embellish sandwich cookies.

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25Apr2023

PISTACHIO SUGAR COOKIES, THE UZBEK WAY

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

I am absolutely in love with this recipe, which I adapted from past adventures to incorporate pistachio flour to the party. It is hard for me to pick a favorite cutout sugar cookie recipe, but this is a very strong contender. Plus, it has the advantage of keeping the shape for patterns from molds, rolling pins, and…. a bread stamp! Yes, this post joins bread with cookies, by using the Uzbek stamp to create a design. I tell you, I am over the moon with these! To see the bread stamp used for its intended purpose, visit this old post of mine by clicking here.

PISTACHIO SUGAR COOKIES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

150 g butter, room temperature
90 g powdered sugar
1 g salt
1 egg (45 to 50g)
30 g pistachio flour
250 g all purpose-flour
1/2 tsp pistachio bakery emulsion (I used this one from LorAnn)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cut the butter in small pieces, add to the bowl of a Kitchen Aid type mixer with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium-speed until creamy and light.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the flavor emulsions. Add to the creamed sugar in low speed, in three additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is mixing homogeneously. Once the butter and egg are mixed, add the flours. Mix on low speed until it starts to form a dough, remove from the bowl and gently knead by hand until smooth.

Form a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough, cut cookies and gently press with the Uzbek stamp tool dipped in flour to prevent it to stick to the dough. Depending on how soft your dough is, you might need to brush a little flour on top before pressing the design.

Freeze the cut and stamped cookies for 10 to 15 minutes before baking at 325F until it starts to get dark on the edges. Fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on your oven. Remove to a cooling rack and paint once the cookies are at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Take a look at that speckled dough! The pistachio flour adds wonderful taste and texture to the cookies. Please give it a try. Cookies will be great even baked without any adornment. Of course, if you sandwich them with some lemon buttercream or a pistachio ganache, I won’t hold any of it against you.

For more ideas on how to paint them, and details on the Uzbek stamp, please visit my cookie blog with a click here.

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30Oct2022

WOULD YOU LIKE A COOKIE OR A BROWNIE?

Posted in Cake by sallybr

HAVE BOTH!

I cannot take credit for the idea, it was something Marlyn posted on her youtube channel, and I thought it was brilliant! She took the concept of colored cookie dough one step further, and used it to top brownies, baking them together. Works like a charm, and the possibilities are endless…

for Marlyn’s version, click here

You can use any brownie recipe you like, mine included walnuts. For the cookies, I made flowers with dough of different colors, and with marbled pieces too.

You then need to place them (FROZEN) over the raw brownie batter. Marlyn placed shapes all over in random spots, and that works too, you just cut through the design once serving the brownie. I decided to space the flowers so that each would end up centered on every piece.

After that, bake as you normally would. The cookies and the brownies have similar baking times, and the brownie batter protects the cookie if you need to bake longer. But for me it was a total of 25 minutes. Let the brownie completely cool, and then slice it in pieces.

This was a huge success when I took to the department to share with our colleagues on a Monday morning. Nothing like starting the week correctly!

I am dreaming of baking a set of blondies with chocolate cookie shapes on top. Once baked, you can even add details with a little Royal icing, like I showed yesterday on my cookie blog (see last picture of this post).

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