Salted Butter Break-Ups

I made Dorie’s salted butter break-ups several weeks ago, for a friend’s engagement party. Her roommate (my girlfriend) had picked the recipe out of a few suggestions I made, part of our contribution to the spread that would be laid out for the occasion. We were both pretty intrigued by the salty/sweet combination, and by the fact that it is a giant cookie. I also liked that it was called a “break-up” cookie, which was so antithetical to an evening of celebration for a new couple. Sugar and salt, break-ups and engagements. It felt like a good balance of opposites.

The recipe is really quite simple, with just a few basic ingredients blitzed in the Cuisinart, then chilled and rolled out in one big slab. Next time, I will use salted butter, and add even more sea salt, because I don’t like to be subtle with the contrast of sweet and savory. And I will use a little more force in making the lovely cross-hatching, because in the baking, the dough puffed up and sort of erased half of my work. The taste is wonderful, a lot like my mom’s traditional Christmas butter cookies, which we ice with a classic buttercream frosting.

Also pictured are some candied orange peels, which were the aftermath of the orange-almond tart I made back in February. Some of them got tossed in sugar, and some of them got dipped in chocolate. C. also made red velvet cupcakes, and these awesome paint chip cookies, in a veritable rainbow of Pantone colors.

French Fridays, Christmas Edition

My introduction to speculoos was through the Belgian waffle truck. Or should I say the Wafels & Dinges truck. It’s one of the many new(ish) gourmet food trucks in New York that have sprung up and invaded my twitter feed. They make two different kinds of waffles (I like the liège) and offer all sorts of toppings like Nutella and fresh fruit and whipped cream.

And speculoos spread.

The best I can manage to describe this concoction is to say that it tastes like liquid graham crackers. It is about like Nutella in its consistency, so it melts when you spread it on a hot waffle, and if you add some sliced strawberries, you might well decide that you could survive on nothing else for the rest of your life. Good god, it is delicious.

And then I learned that speculoos are actually a kind of Belgian cookie that is traditional around Christmastime. Sort of a cross between a traditional American-style gingerbread cookie and a Moravian Christmas cookie. And of course, because she’s brilliant, Dorie includes a recipe in Around My French Table. So I was very excited that it was selected as one of the December recipes, because I wanted to try it out anyway.

I only have one cookie cutter in my kitchen, it turns out–a starfish–but it more or less works for a Christmas cookie. They are thin and crispy and really quite light. And my favorite cinnamon (from Penzeys) is wonderful in them, along with some ginger and cloves. It should be noted that these cookies are delicious dunked in coffee.

And as a bonus Christmas gift, this recipe taught me the best way to roll out cookie dough: between two sheets of parchment paper. It means that you can easily flip the circle of dough over when you need to, and you don’t need to dirty your counter or roul-pat, or even your rolling pin.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Summer Savory = Magical Goodness

Once upon a time, in a not-so-far-away kingdom called 4C, there was a spice cabinet, and there was an herb garden. The princess of this kingdom was very pleased with these things, and believed herself to be knowledgable in the ways of herbs and spices, both dried and fresh. And then one day all of that changed, with the arrival of a bunch of summer savory.

Although it looks something like tarragon, it smells a bit like thyme, but with a faint lemony top note. The princess took a whiff of this herb, and in her mind was transported back to the first time she tasted Christmas cheese. This, surely, was the secret ingredient that made that marvelous concoction. And now she found herself with a large bunch of the stuff, all to herself. The princess asked herself why there were not entire cuisines based around this delicious herb. And whatever could she make that would adequately express the flavor and aroma of this wondrous plant? The answer was found on Smitten Kitchen, in a recipe for Twice-Baked Shortbread.

First to melt the butter, and steep the savory in it–

before mixing that together with sugar, vanilla, and salt–

and then adding in some flour, and pressing the whole mess into a springform pan.

Let it rest for a couple of hours–

and then bake, cut into pieces, and bake again, like biscotti.

And the princess tasted these treats, and declared them a success, and there was much rejoicing.

more ideas

Zucchini Polenta Tart from Chocolate & Zucchini (why I didn’t look through Clotilde’s site sooner for ZUCCHINI RECIPES is not something I can explain. I’m slow sometimes.)

Savory Shortbread, adapted from Rosemary Shortbread from Gourmet (that is Savory as in the herb, not as in salty)

or then again, most likely adding the savory to the twice-baked shortbread recipe from Smitten Kitchen