After a couple of weeks of more involved cookies, we get back to the basics with this shortbread recipe. Just five pantry staples: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt. At first I was underwhelmed with the idea of doing this recipe. It didn’t seem that interesting but after consuming more than my fair share of cookies, this recipe now sits very high up on my go-to list.
C is for Cookie
There are a couple of cookies I consider classics, one being Chocolate Chip and the other, the Oreo. Thomas Keller’s Oreo or TKO for short is a much more sophisticated sandwich cookie. The dark exterior comes from the cocoa powder in the dough and Chef Keller asks for cocoa noir or black cocoa to get a deep, rich flavor that is not as sweet as the traditional Oreo. The cookie is balanced with a sweet, white chocolate ganache filling that is smooth in contrast to the chalky consistency of the store bought version.
UPDATE 1/14/13: Serious Eats has featured this recipe on their blog with permission from Chefs Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel. You can view the recipe here
It was a warm fall day in October and I had a table reserved by the window at Craftsman & Wolves. I was out to try their new afternoon tea, launching a year after the shop opened up in the Mission. Already a fan of the rebel, I was excited for the tea experience and happily photo-documenting what I ate.
The classic Nutter Butter made better? Thomas Keller’s recipe consists of a delicate buttery peanut cookie with oats and chopped roasted peanuts and is paired with a peanut butter buttercream. Making this cookie is a bit more time consuming as you have to prepare the dough, chill it for at least 2 hours and then proceed to roll, cut and bake. I did the recipe over the course of two days and it didn’t seem so daunting.
The past couple of months I’ve found it hard to write a post without mentioning Paris. Truthfully I’m restraining myself because I could go on and on and I’m trying to space out my entries so as to not overwhelm. I compare myself to parents whom constantly show baby pictures. For being patient and understanding, I decided to give my friends a little token from my trip as a part of their holiday gifts. I made my own Tahitian vanilla extract with beans I brought home with me.
