Cinnamon, orange and clove sablés and goodbye, "Mad Men"

Unlike my other favorite TV shows, my relationship with Mad Men was never steady: I loved it at first and could not have enough of it, only to get disappointed with the fifth season, then I got excited again with the sixth season and last week, when I watched the series finale, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it: I liked a couple of things, hated others and wanted to punch Don in the face two or three times (definitely a love/hate relationship).

I guess that anyone who watched Mad Men felt like punching Don in the face at least once, and not only in the series finale.

[to avoid spoilers here I invite you to discuss the finale in the comments, if you’re interested]

As much as the finale wasn’t as great as I’d expected Mad Men was indeed a really good show and it was worth watching every bit of it – I’ll certainly miss Peggy (my favorite character), Roger, Joan, Don, Sally, and maybe even Pete: they all had great moments, great scenes to remember.

As I was watching the Mad Men’s finale I munched on these sablés, and they turned out so delicious I had to share the recipe with you: I might not have been too crazy about the episode, but these sablés did not disappoint me – great texture and great flavor, not to mention they will make your kitchen smell wonderful when you bake them.

Cinnamon, orange and clove sablés
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Patisserie at Home: Step-By-Step Recipes to Help You Master the Art of French Pastry

250g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
75g icing sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, add the orange zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and beat until creamy and light.
Beat in the vanilla extract, then the yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally). Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients, then mix on low speed just until a dough forms – do not overmix.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours (the dough logs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper - I like Beyond Gourmet a lot.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets over wire racks.

Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature.

Makes about 40

Almond sablés - delicious simplicity

I guess that the simplicity of certain things can be very surprising sometimes, and that is a good thing – while searching for a good cookie recipe, I bumped into Alice Medrich’s cookbook on cookies and since the woman can do no wrong I decided to bake one of her recipes. I had chocolate in mind, but I decided to give her almond sablés a go for I had a package of almond meal in the fridge.

As I read the recipe and saw that Alice’s suggestion of sandwiching the cookies with dulce de leche I thought of the dulce de leche left from making the churros cake and knew that was the right recipe to try.

I prepped the dough, formed it into cylinders and placed them in the fridge, always thinking of how simple those cookies would be. I baked them a day later and as the first batch cooled on the wire rack their simplicity became more visible – “yes, this is a plain cookie”, I thought, no chocolate, no spices, no dried fruit. But as I took the first bite I was in awe: they tasted so delicious I could not believe it! Yes, they were simple, but they were amazing, too. The nutty flavor from the almonds turned them into something extra special.

I sandwiched some of the cookies with dulce de leche and they were indeed delicious that way, but don’t worry about that: the cookies taste great on their own, too, and pair beautifully with a cup of coffee.

Almond sablés
slightly adapted from the wonderful Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (100g) almond meal
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened, chopped in chunks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons Amaretto (optional)
270g all purpose flour

Place sugar, salt and almond meal in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium speed just to combine. Add the butter, vanilla extract and Amaretto and mix on medium speed until creamy. Add the flour and mix on low just until a dough begins to form. Finish stirring with a spatula.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours (the dough logs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper - I like Beyond Gourmet a lot.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets.

Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. They can be sandwiched with dulce de leche, if desired.

Makes about 50 cookies

Sugar-crusted chocolate cookies for a budget-friendly Easter

Easter is around the corner and I haven’t figured out yet what I’ll make for lunch, but one thing I’m pretty sure of: I won’t be buying chocolate Easter eggs – they’re too expensive! :(

I think that creativity is an important tool in moments like this, when money is short and we want to give gifts to the people we love, that is why I loved these cookies: they taste amazing, are dead easy to make and wrapped in a plastic bag tied with a pretty ribbon they become a really good gift – and one can make tons of cookies with the same amount of money one would buy only one Easter egg.

I hope you like my delicious yet budget friendly Easter suggestion! :)

Sugar-crusted chocolate cookies
from Food & Wine magazine

1 ¾ cups (245g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa
pinch of salt
1 stick + 2 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

In a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa and salt. Add the butter and process until sandy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla extract and process until a firm dough forms. Divide the dough in half, place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper - I like Beyond Gourmet a lot.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the fridge). Unwrap the log, brush it with the egg white and roll in half the sugar, pressing it to help it adhere. Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until just firm to the touch. Cool completely on the sheets. Repeat with the remaining log.

Makes about 45

Whole wheat currant sablés

My blog can’t be considered a very healthy source of recipes – yes, I’m aware of that :) – but I do like to use healthy ingredients and it’s not like I’m living on sweets (I’m not, I swear). :D

One ingredient I like using is whole wheat flour, and to be honest I would love to use it more often in my baked goods. My favorite recipe with this type of flour is Nigel Slater’s wholemeal apple and marmalade cake, followed closely by Alice Medrich’s wheat and chocolate pound cake – they’re both delicious. These sablés, also by Alice Medrich, are made with a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour and turned out really good – not to mention they were super easy to make and gave me a chance to put my huge stock of currants to good use.

Whole wheat currant sablés
slightly adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
120g whole wheat flour
14 tablespoons (196g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) currants

Whisk flours together until evenly mixed, then set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar, vanilla, and salt for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Add flours and mix just until incorporated, then mix in the currants.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the refrigerator until very firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the fridge). Cut into 5mm thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies edges are slightly golden (10-12 minutes). Cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 35 cookies

Cheese and oregano sablés

Of all the baking I've been doing lately these savory sablés were a great surprise: they are delicious - especially still warm from the oven - and perfect to be served with drinks before dinner; I can assure you they're wonderful with cold beer, prosecco and champagne, and if you try them with something else I would love to know. :)

Cheese and oregano sablés
slightly adapted from the fabulous and beautiful Scandilicious Baking

1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold and diced
150g parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 medium eggs* + 1 egg, extra, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing the sablés
2-3 tablespoons whole milk, cold
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano, for sprinkling

In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, pepper and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and blitz again, then with the motor running add the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the milk and process just until a dough starts to form – add more milk if necessary. Divide the dough in half, then transfer each half to a large piece of baking paper, shaping each into a log. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Lightly brush each slice with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the oregano. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm to touch and their bottoms are evenly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and cool completely. Repeat the process with the other dough log.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

* I used 1 very large egg instead of 2 medium eggs

Makes about 40

Nibby whole wheat sablés

I’ve been having lots of fun with this beautiful book lately – Anh, Ana Elisa and I will probably start a fan club for Alice Medrich any day now. :D

Besides being a terrific baker, Ms. Medrich has a great sense of humor: it’s written on her recipe that these (delicious) cookies can be stored for 1 month – like they are going to last that long. :D

Nibby whole wheat sablés
from Pure Dessert

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
scant 1 cup (112g) whole wheat flour
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (200g) caster sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cacao nibs

Whisk the all purpose and whole wheat flours together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix in the cacao nibs. Add the flours and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead with your hands a few times, just until smooth.
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log – each should be 5cm (2in) in diameter. Wrap in baking paper – look how Martha does it here – and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Use a sharp knife to cut the logs of dough into 6mm (¼ in) slices. Place the cookies on the prepared sheets 1.25cm (½ in) apart. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking. Let the cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack using a wide metal spatula.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Makes 48 – I halved the recipe above and got 23 cookies