Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

If ever you take away anything from this blog, anything at all, take away this: NEVER BAKE WHEN YOU ARE DROP DEAD TIRED.

Just don’t do it! You’ll end up deciding to make a quarter recipe of cookies and while doing the math in your head, you carefully measure most of the ingredients and then everything is mixing merrily along until the dough doesn’t come together. And then you realize you added twice as much cornmeal as you were supposed to. Then you decide to hell with it and just make half of the recipe and decide to dump everything else in and hope for the best. All the while knowing that your tiredness just compromised the texture of these cookies. And THEN to top it off, you realize that you don’t have any lemons. Not one. And you hope that lemon extract will suffice.

So don’t be me. Don’t bake while tired.

While I’m at it, don’t drive while drunk. This concludes my public service announcement.

These cookies are pretty good. They are a bit weirder than I am used to but I think that’s mainly my fault for using stone ground cornmeal; you can certainly sense the grittiness of them. Other than that, they are a pretty decent cookie.

For the recipe, head on over to Valerie’s beautiful blog, Une Gamine dans la Cuisine. (Click here to be taken directly to the recipe).

A Tourtely Apple Tart – TWD

At this precise moment in time, the following things are 100% true and undeniable:

I am sunburned which renders any itch on my arms or legs unscratchable. I am watching a soap opera with the grams and I am not ashamed. I had half a bagel for breakfast but all I can think about is having a second breakfast (such a thing exists, no?). And to top it off, I’m worrying about what everyone thought of this tart.

Making this choice was a lot less painful than I thought it was going to be (definitely less painful than this sunburn, ack). If there’s one thing that I’ve learned with my time as a part of the TWD gang, it’s that you can’t go wrong with baked apples and buttery tart dough.

Was I right in my assumption? Please say yes, I’d really love to not worry about this anymore

Making Dorie’s tart dough is so simple: toss everything into my food processor, give it some whirls and I’m done! The most taxing step in making the filling is peeling 5 apples (and I’ve gotten pretty darn efficient at that). From there just assemble it all and bake away! Serve a slice (or two, who’s counting?) with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream and you’re in business.

As a few of my dear TWD friends have pointed out, these really do resemble the apple pies you can get from McDonald’s. Now whether that’s a culinary stab to the great Dorie herself, I don’t know. But I DO know that if you love the cinnamon-y pies from the golden arches, you’ll love this pie as it is a dressy, grown up, flaky version that makes you swoon.

A Tourtely Apple Tart

Tourte is the French term for a covered tart, and it wasn’t until after I created this sweet that I realized that I had created a tourte. What I had in mind when I went into the kitchen to start baking was a slimmed-down apple pie, something not quite so generous as the all-American favorite, not so high, not so fully packed and not so rustic looking. What I ended up with was a trim, sleek but still come-hithery double-crusted tart with the warmth and appeal of an applesauce cookie. The crust is made from almond sugar cookie dough and, if it were cooked down just a tad longer, the filling, which is spiced, spiked with cider and smoothed with browned butter, could be grandmother’s best applesauce.

Ingredients:

A double recipe of Sweet Tart Dough with Nuts (recipe below)

For The Filling

2 pounds (about 5 medium) tart-sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2tablespoons apple cider, apple juice, or water
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup ground almonds
¼ moist, plump raisins (dark or golden, optional)
Pinch of ground cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, allspice and/or salt (optional)

To Make The Crust: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Divide the almond tart dough in half. Wrap one half and refrigerate it. Press the remaining soft dough over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan, allowing the dough to extend just a bit above the rim. Butter a piece of aluminum foil and press it, buttered side down, lightly against the crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When the second packet of dough is chilled enough to roll, place it between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and roll it into a circle that is between 1/8 and ¼ inch thick. Using a pot lid as a guide, cut the dough into a 10-inch circle. Use the wide end of a piping tip or sharp knife to cut a small circle (a steam vent) out of the center. Slide the dough onto a cutting board or a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

To Bake The Crust: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Fill the foil-covered crust with dried beans, rice or pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until just lightly browned. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

To Make The Filling: Put the apples, brown sugar, cider and nutmeg in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cover and bring to a boil. Check the heat — you want the mixture to stay at a medium bubble – and continue to cook, still covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are so soft you can almost, but not quite, mash them with the back of a spoon. While they’re cooking, stay close by – the mixture has a tendency to boil over. Remove the cover and, stirring constantly, cook until the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes more. Scrape the filling into a bowl, and wipe out the pan.
Put the butter in the pan and set the pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter boils and turns a deep golden brown. Don’t walk away – the time between brown and burned is quick. When the butter is brown and smells nutty, stir it into the apples, along with the vanilla, almonds and raisins, if you’re using them. Taste the applesauce and decide if you want to add the additional spices and/or salt. Press a piece of plastic wrao against the surface of the applesauce and cool. (The applesauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the over to 425 degrees F. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Fill the crust with the applesauce and smooth the surface. Lightly moisten the edges of the crust with water and place the chilled top crust over the tart. If the top crust is very cold and therefore a little brittle, let it stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes before proceeding. When the crust is still cold but pliable, run a rolling pin over the top crust to seal the tart; trim off the excess dough.
Bake the tart for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cover the tart loosely with a foil tent. Continue to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes (total baking time 40 to 45 minutes), or until the crust is golden. Transfer the tart to a rack and cool until just warm or at room temperature before serving.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Serving: This is a winner topped with crème fraîche or plain vanilla ice cream.
Storing: Tarts are best served the day they are made, but this one is good served chilled the next day.

Sweet Tart Dough With Nuts:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, pecans, or pistachios)
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, ground nuts, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.
Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in — you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas.
Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses — about 10 seconds each — until the dough, whisk will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.
Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change — heads up.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and , very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

For many more versions and beautiful pictures of this tart, head on over to the TWD bakers page.

Thank you all for baking along with me!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp – TWD

Rhubarb is one of the least utilized fruits in this house next to papayas.

I’m not averse to it. Heck I’m the girl who used to run around the house with a stick of it and a small bowl of sugar and closely follow my fool proof rhubarb eating regimen: lick rhubarb, dip in sugar, bite, swoon.

But that was a long time ago. I haven’t had fresh rhubarb since I was a little girl and a little part of me rejoices when a rhubarb dessert is chosen. I usually use frozen rather than fresh as it’s much more accessible here.

This crisp was delicious. Not one, but TWO layers of oatmealy, nutty crisp and in the center a wonderful combination of strawberries and rhubarb bubbling merrily away. Top that with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you’ve got yourself a winner.

For the recipe head on over to Sarah’s blog Teapots and Cakestands (click here to be taken directly to the recipe)

Tune in next Tuesday for my TWD pick!! A billion years of waiting and it’s finally my turn

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

If sitting indian style on my kitchen counter eating a sliver of this goodness while typing out this blog post is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!!

I won’t keep you for long. I am very well aware that you’ve seen the picture and now you want nothing more than for me to NOT run off on a tangent and disrupt you from the recipe… well THAT worked out.

This is essentially a giant chocolate chip cookie baked in a cast iron skillet until golden and irresistible.

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a while and for some reason or another I’ve been pushing it off. Opportunity knocked when Tracey was available for a Twitter bake-along and she was as indecisive as I usually am. But for some reason I remembered this recipe, she was in and we were off.

A quick mix of the cookie dough, another minute to press the dough into the skillet and it is ready to pop into the oven. The best part about this (aside from the fact that it’s delicious) is that you are encouraged to eat it warm out of the oven!! That’s right, no waiting for it to come to room temperature or to chill.

Also encouraged: plop a giant scoop of ice cream on top and drizzle it with caramel sauce! OR decorate it with yummy frosting and give it as a cookie cake for a special someone’s birthday!!

Either way, this is good stuff!!

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
From Martha Stewart

Makes one 10″ cookie / 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 9 oz) chocolate chips (I used bittersweet and semisweet)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mix until fully incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute.

Transfer the dough to a 10-inch ovenproof (I used cast-iron) skillet, and gently press to flatten in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. If the dough sticks to your hands try lightly spraying your hand with baking spray and continue.

Bake until the edges of the cookie are brown and the top is golden, about 40-45 minutes. Don’t overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. (My wire rack can’t support my cast iron skillet so I just placed it on pot holders to cool.)