Almond Butterscotch Drop Cookies

Firstly, let me apologize for taking a bit of a break from the posting - getting a masters degree really gobbles up your time!

On with the cookies...

For me, drop cookies evoke so many memories. I remember sitting on the bright red countertop, watching my mother make her famous chocolate-chip cookies, eagerly waiting for her to turn around so I could snatch a secret "taste-test". Despite my attempt to stealthily run my finger along the edge of the bowl and quickly pop the dough into my mouth, she always knew what I was up to. And yet she would always pretend to take a little extra time gathering her ingredients or getting the spatula so I could try to sneak one more delicious dollop. 

Drop cookies are homey and rustic, and they also make a wonderful holiday treat. These cookies are extremely easy to make and don't require a lot of time or effort - perfect for holiday parties, a tasty little treat with hot cocoa, or a secret midnight snack. 

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butterscotch sauce*
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

*Click the link for a delicious bourbon butterscotch recipe. If you're pressed for time, you can use store-bought butterscotch. 

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and butterscotch together in a large bowl until fluffy. 
3. Add the salt, vanilla, and egg and continue to beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Slowly add the flour and beat until just incorporated, do not over-mix.
5. Add the almonds and with a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until the almonds are evenly incorporated. 
6. Using two spoons (one to scoop the dough and the other to easy it off the spoon onto the sheet), drop about a tablespoon of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2" of space between each cookie. 
7. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and enjoy while still warm!

Yield: about 20 cookies

Sweet Potato Danishes with Strained Yogurt Cream

I must say, I've outdone myself. It's not often that I praise the things I make - I always seem to find something that can improve, but these are simply marvelous.

These danishes are deliciously sweet and hearty. The sweet potato is perfect with a hint of spice and brown sugar and the cream is delicately tangy and light. These are the ultimate in rustic breakfast pastry. They do take a little time to prepare, but it is well worth it. Serve them on a snowy Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee and eggs. For an explanation about Strained Yogurt, check out my previous recipe, Strained Yogurt and Almond Tart.

The dough recipe is courtesy of Williams Sonoma Baking Cookbook.

What You'll Need
For the Pastry:
1 package active dry yeast
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 whole egg plus 1 yolk
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 cups all purpose flour

For the Butter Package:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/8 cup all purpose flour

For the Filling:
2 medium or 3 small sweet potatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup heavy cream

For the Topping:
1/4 cup strained yogurt or cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

To make the dough, in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and a punch of the sugar in warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining sugar, salt, melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined. Add the yeast mixture and then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Mix just until the dough clings together in a rough mass. If it is still very soft, add an extra 1/4 cup at a time until it is no longer sticky.

Turn the dough onto a floured cookie sheet and pat into a rectangle, about 1" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, make the butter package. Use a rolling pin or the heel of your hand to knead the butter on a work surface. Flatten it and warm it so it is pliable but not mushy, adding the flour as you work to keep it from sticking to your hands. Shape the butter into an 8" by 7" rectangle. If the butter becomes too soft as you work, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator.

Time to laminate the dough. A laminated dough is simply a dough that is created by pressing together alternating layers of pastry and butter. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rectangle, roughly 10" by 16". With the short side facing you, place the butter package on the lower half, leaving a 1" margin. Fold the upper half over the butter and press the sides together. Next, roll the dough out into a 12" by 20" rectangle. With the short side facing you, fold the bottom third up and the top third down, as you would a letter. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat this rolling and folding process 3 more times. After the 4th turn, refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight before shaping.

While the dough is chilling, let's make the filling. Bring a large pot of boiling water to boil over high heat. Peel and half the sweet potatoes and place them in the boiling water. Cook until very soft, about 30 minutes. When a fork is inserted in each potato it should go all the way through with ease. Strain the potatoes and place them in a medium sized bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla and allspice and beat with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until mixture is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

As the potato mixture chills, in a small bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Remove the potato mixture from the refrigerator and add a forth of the cream and mix it in to lighten the potatoes. Once fully incorporated, add the remaining cream and gently fold it into the potato mixture until fully incorporated.

Time to form the danishes. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 16 equal pieces. Form each piece into a disk and roll it out until it is about 1/4" thick. Place about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each disk, leaving about a 2" margin on all sides. Using your fingers, twist the margin of dough along the edges to bring it up to the filling. This is not a science, you can really do whatever you think looks best. Repeat this until all the danishes are formed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the danishes with a warm kitchen or tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 45 minutes. Place in the oven until the pastry becomes golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool slightly.

As the danishes cool, prepare the topping. In a medium bowl, combine the strained yogurt or cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and continue to beat until the mixture is very airy. Scoop the mixture into a plastic bag and snip the tip.

Pipe the filling over the danishes - you can do swirls or stripes. Top with a few sliced almonds and powdered sugar.

Whew!

Yield: 16 danishes

Strained Yogurt and Almond Tart

"What is strained yogurt?" you may be thinking. "And why would it make a good tart filling?" All of these are good questions. My wonderful sister, Jen, has recently been exploring fermenting vegetables as a way of preserving them. the main ingredient in this process is whey. So she purchased a 16 oz. container of yogurt and strained it through cheesecloth to separate the whey. Once the whey is strained out, the remaining milkfats and cultures are called, simply, strained yogurt. The consistency is a cross between greek yogurt and cream cheese and the flavor is light and somewhat tangy. My sister abhors anything that even remotely resembles cream cheese, so she gifted the strained yogurt to me...and then it dawned on me - why not use this delicious cream cheese-like stuff to make an almond tart!

What You'll Need:
For the Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon heavy cream

For the Filling:
1 cup (or 8 ounces) strained yogurt*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-pupose flour
2 large eggs
1/8 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds

*Any yogurt will do - you can even use low fat yogurt. Simply place a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl and strain the yogurt through cheesecloth. Reserve the whey and use it to make my Sweet Whey Bread recipe.

To make the crust, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor and whisk or pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse and resembles cornmeal. If using a food processor, pulse a few times until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine the egg yolks and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk with a fork. Drizzle the egg mixture over the flour and butter mixture. Using your hands, work the egg into the dough until the dough comes together to form a ball. Again, you can also just pulse the processor a couple times until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disk, wwrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

To prebake the crust, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a clean, floured work surface. Gently lay the crust over your tart pan and press it into the pan. Be sure the pastry is securely up against all edges, otherwise the pastry will shrink. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the crust and fill with rice, beans or pie weights. Place the crust back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the crust from the fridge and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes are up, gently lift one corner of the foil. If it sticks, the crust is not ready. Return it to the oven and check thereafter every 2 minutes. If the foil does not stick, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes with the aluminum foil and weights in place. After 5 minutes, remove the foil and weights and let cool. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.

While the crust is cooling, let's prepare the filling. Combine the strained yogurt and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. The longer you beat, the fluffier your tart will be. Beat in the flour. Add 1 egg at a time and beat after adding each one until fully incorporated. Add the cream and extracts and beat until the mixture is light and smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and sprinkle the almonds on top. Place the tart in the oven and bake until filling is set, about 35 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool. The tart will puff up substantially as it bakes, but it will fall as it cools - this is what you want. Serve chilled with blackberry preserves.

Lemon and Almond Tea Cake with Dandelion Glaze

My husband and I hosted a lovely Mother's Day Brunch this morning. As I was putting the menu together, I knew I wanted to serve a dessert of some sort - something light but flavorful that would satisfy our pallets with a hint of refreshing sweetness. This little cake did just that. I whipped it up in a jiff and no one could resist a second piece (see my Dandelion Jam recipe for the glaze).

What You'll Need

3/4 cup cake flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons almond extract
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup Dandelion Jam

*If you do not have cake flour, substitute with 5/8 cup of all purpose flour and 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan and set aside (the wider the pan, the shorter the cake).
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and white sugar. Beat on high speed until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. Do not over-beat. Add the almond extract and 3/4 of the zest. Set aside.
Pour the flour into a small bowl and whisk. Set aside.
In another separate bowl (I know... this recipe uses a lot of bowls, but it's worth it, I promise) beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. This means that when you lift the mixer out of the whites, the peaks left behind fall over gently to one side.
Add 1/3 of the whites to the yolk batter and gently fold in. Add 1/2 of the flour to the egg mixture and fold in. Repeat this until all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let's prepare a space for the cake to rest. Place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet.
When the cake is done, take it out the oven and run a knife along the edges. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
While the cake is cooling, we can prepare the glaze. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the rest of the zest, the lemon juice, jam, and brown sugar. Stir and heat until the jam has melted and the glaze is smooth.
Next, take the cake out of the pan and place it on the cooling rack. Pour the glaze over the cake, making sure every inch is covered. Let the excess glaze run off the cake onto the cookie sheet below.
Let the cake stand until the glaze has solidified.
Serve with fresh fruit.