Polvorones de Naranja (Orange Butter Cookies)
A few months ago I bought Joseluis Flores book Dulce. Dulce is a collection of desserts from Latin America. This week I made Polvorones de Naranja (Orange Butter Cookies.) I used a Valencia orange from Chile for authenticity. The result was a refreshing orange flavor that cleared the palate. I was really pleased with the result.
Polvorones de Naranja (Orange Butter Cookies)
Makes 60 cookies
12 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange extract or 1 1/2 teaspoon orange oil
1 large orange, grated for zest
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, set on medium speed, cream butter and 3/4 cup of granulated sugar for about 8 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the orange extract, orange zest, and egg. Mix until incorporated. Add flour, milk powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix for 8 more minutes until the dough is smooth. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll dough between wax paper to 1/3” thickness. Cut into 1 1/2” rounds and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2” apart. Sprinkle cookies with remaining sugar. Bake 12 to 15 until cookies puff in the center and edges are brown. Remove cookies to rack to cool completely.
Peach Shortbread
These delicious peach cookies from Smitten Kitchen use browned butter for extra flavor.
Peach Shortbread
Makes 24 cookies
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)
Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.
Read MoreAlmond-Apricot Granola Bars
I am a big fan of granola bars. This one is very easy. I like the idea of using almond butter to add nutrients and flavor. This recipe is gluten-free and was adapted from the Minimalist column of the New York Times.
Almond-Apricot Granola Bars
Makes 16 to 20 granola bars
1/2 cup almond butter or other nut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup gluten-free crispy brown rice cereal
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for greasing
Grease a 7- or 8-inch square baking dish with a little oil and line it with plastic wrap.
Put almond butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until they melt together; whisk to combine.
Put the crisp brown rice cereal, oats, almonds, apricots and salt in a bowl and add the mixture of almond butter and honey; stir well to combine.
Spread the granola mixture evenly into the baking dish, pressing down gently, and cover with more plastic wrap; refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Once set, remove by lifting the edges of the plastic wrap out of the dish; peel off the plastic and cut the bars to any size you like.
Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies
Wondering what do with those ripe peaches? How about a fresh peach cookie? This delicious recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Cookies. It uses fresh peaches and peach jam.
Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies
Makes about 48 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/3 cup peach jam or preserves
2 tablespoons fine sanding sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375F.
Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Add peaches and jam, and beat until just combined.
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. (If not baking all of the cookies at once, refrigerate dough between batches; dough can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.) Combine sanding sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle each cookie with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Read MoreInside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies
Late last year, for my birthday or Christmas, I received the 1008-page “Gourmet Today” cookbook. It is a gigantic cookbook, with way to many recipes to absorb in a year. Since I am still studying it, I took it with me on my vacation and studied the chapter Cookies, Bars, and Confections. Some of the recipes, like Moravian Crisps, I recognize from the Christmas cookies published in past Gourmet issues. In this vast array of cookies, there were a few that grabbed my attention. One of these was Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies.
Inside-out carrot cake cookies transform carrot cake ingredients into delicious cookies sandwiched together with cream-cheese and honey filling. They are yummy, easy to make, and the recipe makes only a small batch, perfect for a chilly late-summer night.
Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies
Makes about 12 sandwich cookies
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped
1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup honey
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, and then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie, spacing 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth. Spread a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling on flat side of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.
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