Almond Linzer Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart
8 - 10 large cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup raw almond - finely ground 

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup strawberry jam

Sit flour and baking powder in a bowl - set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add confectioners' sugar,salt, ground almond, and cinnamon - mix further.

Add vanilla and egg.
Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture - mix until combined.
Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out each dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick.
Refrigerate 20 minutes.
Cut out rounds. Cut out centers.
Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Bake for about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Heat jam in a small saucepan until reduced and thickened.
Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar.
Spread jam onto uncut cookies.
Top with cutout ones.
Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

I'm not a big fan of peanut butter .... Have never been able to acquire a taste for it. My kids love it ... specially, peanut butter cookies. I use this recipe but I add a little Nutella to the batter. I do enjoy these cookies once in a while.... but my kids love them! 

Adapted from Saveur

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup nutella
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Sift flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl - set aside
In a bowl of a standing mixer, beat on medium speed butter, sugar, brown sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add peanut butter, nutella, egg and vanilla. Beat until until just smooth.
Stir in flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated.
Cover dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
With a small ice cream scooper, place dough on baking sheets - 2 inches apart.
Use a fork to flatten dough and make a grid pattern on top.
Bake until golden brown - 11 minutes.
Store cookies up to 2 weeks in an air tight container.

Perfect Chocolate chip cookies

Today, I was at the grocery store rushing like a mad woman to get all the necessary ingredients for tonight's dinner - I feel like I'm always rushing - really need to learn to slow down once in a while . I  only had 30 minutes in there before rushing back home to meet a dear friend for coffee. While I was going a 100 miles an hour in the store, rushing through the aisles, getting all the necessary ingredients, standing in line to pay, only to realize that I forgot the main ingredient, leaving my spot in the long line, going to the meat department and picking up couple of chicken ... and then I stopped. In front of me stood this young mother, pushing her shopping cart with her 2 year daughter in it. I see mothers and young children on a daily basis - it really doesn't affect me. But for some reason, it felt different today. I had a flashback of when my daughter was 2 and I used to take her grocery shopping with me - actually, I used to take her everywhere with me!. Today, I felt a strange and puzzling emotion I had never felt before .... Was it a feeling of desperately wanting to hold a baby in my arms? a feeling of growing older? a feeling that life is going by too fast? I wonder .... Maybe, it's a combination of all those feelings and the fact that I miss those sweet years when my kids were home with me all the time. 

After this strange experience at the grocery store, I rushed back home, baked some chocolate chip cookies, enjoyed coffee with my dear friend before enthusiastically rushing to pick up my 8 and 11 year olds from school.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

About 45 small cookies

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted butter)
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Adjust oven rack to middle position.
Heat oven to 375 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk flour and baking soda
In a skillet, over medium high heat, melt 10 tablespoons of the butter (avoid using nonstick skillet)
Continue cooking the butter until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma - 1 to 3 minutes
Transfer butter to a heatproof bowl
Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter, stir until completely melted
Add brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla to melted butter
whisk until fully incorporated
Add egg and egg yolk.
Whisk until mixture is smooth, with no lumps remaining - 30 seconds
Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for another 30 seconds.
Repeat the process of whisking and resting 2 more times.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until combined - 1 minute.
Stir in Chocolate chips
Give the dough a final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
Using a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop, place dough  1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are golden brown, still puffy - 9 to 10 minutes
Transfer cookies to a wire rack.
Let cookies cool to room temperature before enjoying!

Pierre Hermé - Viennese Chocolate Sablés

These cookies are absolutely delicious - soft and buttery.
They make the perfect pairing with a cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 sticks plus 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectionery sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons lightly beaten egg whites


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Fit a pastry bag with a open sized tip.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
Whisk flour and cocoa powder, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk butter until light and creamy.
Whisk in sugar and salt.
Add egg white.
Gradually add flour-cocoa and blend well.
Spoon dough into the pastry bag.
Pipe zig-zag shaped cookies, about 2 inches long, 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes - NO MORE!
Transfer cookies to a rack and cool.

Enjoy!!

Madeleines

 

Once a week I make little Madeleines for my children.
They absolutely love them!

Here's a very easy recipe of Madeleine.
I've made my own adjustments from Lenôtre recipe.

18 - 20 Madeleines
Ingredients:
3 Eggs
130 grams Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
Pinch of Salt - I use Fleur de Sel

150 grams Flour, sifted
5 grams Baking Powder
Grated zest of 1 Lemon
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
125 grams Butter, melted

Ganache:
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup Heavy cream

For the Ganache:
Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Pour the cream over chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula. Let the Ganache rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour Madeleine pan. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, honey and salt until volume doubles in size - about 3-5 minutes.
Carefully add flour, baking powder, lemon zest and vanilla extract.
Gradually add butter and mix well.
Chill the batter for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Using a piping bag, pipe the batter into the madeleine molds 3/4 full.
Bake for 4- 5 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 350 degrees, bake for another 3-4 minutes.
This process will create the domes on the Madeleines.
Remove and cool on a baking rack.
Dip the bottom side of the Madeleines in the Ganache.

Très simple et vraiment délicieux!