Orange, rye and nutmeg slice and bake cookies

Today’s post is about how much I love the Internet and it is probably the 15th time I tell you that. :)

I had been testing recipes with rye flour, but was not very happy with the results: when I made breads, for example, it was fine, but for cookies, muffins and cakes the flour was too thick and the baked goods were not as light as I wanted them to be. So I decided to put the rye recipes aside for a while.

Months later, while browsing one of my favorite Instagram profiles, I learned about a food store that sells spelt flour (which is hard to come by here in Brazil) and there I found a different type of rye flour, called “fine rye flour” – I bought it and retested all the recipes I had made before, and the results were wonderful!

One of those recipes is for these slice and bake cookies, deliciously fragrant from the orange and nutmeg: the rye flour lands them a nutty flavor and a beautiful color.

Orange, rye and nutmeg slice and bake cookies
slightly adapted from Deb’s recipe

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ cup (70g) fine rye flour*
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2/3 cup (93g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
200g (7oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, rye flour, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place sugar and orange zest and mix them together until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and mix until light and creamy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally throughout the making of the recipe.
Beat in yolks, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients and mix only until a dough forms – don’t 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 or overnight.

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 (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

* for the cookies to be light in texture, make sure the rye flour you use is finely ground

Makes about 50

Clementine spiced cookies

I think one can say I am addicted to baking cookies – as you have probably noticed already – and for a good while now slice and bake cookies have been my favorites: they are easy to make and the uncooked dough can spend some time in the fridge or in the freezer waiting for the right moment to be baked.

Even though the dough can be kept for a good while before baking, I hardly ever keep it that long: I prefer to bake lots of cookies at once and eat them and also share them with my family and friends – a “spreading joy” operation, let’s say. :)

These cookies, deliciously fragrant from the tangerine zest and with a kick from the spices, will make your kitchen smell like heaven. The almond meal makes them quite delicate and tricky to be transported, so for a bit firmer – but still wonderful – cookies omit the almond meal and use a total of 175g all purpose flour.

Clementine spiced cookies
slightly adapted from Annie Rigg's breathtakingly beautiful book

1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 2 clementines
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 pieces of crystallized ginger, cut into small dice

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
Put zest and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and using the mixer beat ingredients together until creamy and light in color. Beat in the honey and vanilla. Turn off the mixer and mix in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula just until a dough forms – do not overmix.

Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper; shape into a log. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap the dough log and cut into 5mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Gently press a piece of crystallized ginger in the center of each cookie. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 10-12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30

Mocha slice cookies, for someone that now loves coffee

These delicious cookies, another great recipe from Martha, are called mocha slice cookies, but they could easily be called “in search of lost time cookies” – after years of not drinking coffee (36, to be more precise) and avoiding each and every coffee flavored sweet I bumped into, I got a new job with completely different dynamics from the previous one (a job I had for ten years) and the new routine made me reach for a cup of joe on a regular basis, for I worked so many hours a day it was either having some coffee or sleeping over the keyboard.

I discovered that I love coffee. :)

Because of that, I have been going through my books and bookmarks, searching for the coffee desserts and baked goods I ignored over the past years, and these cookies were one of them – the mixture of coffee and chocolate is one of the most celebrated ones, and not for nothing.

I forgot to roll the cookie logs in sugar before slicing and baking them, but after trying the cookies I thought they were sweet enough without the extra sugar coating.

Mocha slice cookies
from Martha

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
¾ cup (68g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
pinch of table salt
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder – I used 1 Nespresso capsule (Volutto), about 1 tablespoon
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup (60g) cocoa nibs

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, espresso powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle; mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in cocoa nibs.

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 or overnight.

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 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until centers are set, 10-12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 55

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

Slice and bake chocolate chip cookies

Since I’ve been hooked in slice and bake cookies – who can blame me, right? –, I thought “why not make the most iconic cookies in that same way?”

I found a recipe for slice and bake chocolate chip cookies in Fanny Zanotti’s cookbook and it looked wonderful, but I added a bit of whole wheat flour for the nutty flavor, decreased the amount of sugar and replaced the milk chocolate for dark chocolate: the cookies turned out delicious!

They are not super easy to slice because of the chocolate chunks, but I did not find that to be a problem: a bit of fixing with the tip of the fingers before baking and the cookies came out of the oven perfect.

I am sure that the idea of having a batch of chocolate chip cookies minutes away will make everyone reading me now quite happy, probably as happy as I am with the return of Mad Men, even though it is the last season.

Slice and bake chocolate chip cookies
slightly adapted from Paris Pastry Club: A Collection of Cakes, Tarts, Pastries and Other Indulgent Recipes

160g all purpose flour
40g whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
90g unsalted butter, softened
110g light brown sugar
40g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
75g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks – I used one with 70% cocoa solids

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until creamy and light. Beat in the vanilla, then the egg. Scrape the sides of the bowl. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in the chocolate.

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 – if dough is too soft, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before shaping into logs. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 3 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 fridge). Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature or in the freezer for a month.

Makes about 25

Almond and apricot slice-and-bake cookies

Learning new things is something that I deeply love, no matter how simple they are, and I’ve told you already that having this blog has taught me a lot all these years: I’ve learned how to make great brownies, American pancakes, chocolate chip cookies… And that is just the food part.

There’s something else I’ve learned by having the blog: slice and bake cookies – having a cylinder of dough in the freezer that can be transformed in cookies whenever I want was a revelation to me, I couldn’t believe how easy that was. Since then I’ve been making these cookies quite regularly for they are both delicious and a great time saver (like the chocolate sablés I posted the other day).

These almond and apricot cookies are tasty and have a wonderful texture, it’s like they melt in the mouth – feel free to replace the apricots with other types of dried fruit to create your own flavor.

Almond and apricot slice-and-bake cookies
slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (93g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
260g all-purpose flour
60g almond meal
pinch of salt
½ cup (60g) chopped dried apricots

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the flour, almond meal and salt just until combined. Stir in the apricots. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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, 2-3 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 or in the freezer for a month.

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

Golden raisin cookies

One very common dish during the holiday season here is rice with raisins – it is served with the usual meat dishes for Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners. I know people who love raisins in their rice, but most people I know hate it, including my husband and my sister – they’re 46 and 21, respectively, so you can imagine that the hate for rice with raisins is spread throughout different generations. :D

Growing up I was never a fan, either, for I did not understand why people would put something sweet in a savory dish – I thought it was such a waste of something as delicious as rice. :)

I grew up and learned that sweet and savory together in food is actually a good thing, but to be honest I’m still not a fan of rice with raisins: there are millions of other wonderful things to be cooked with rice and I prefer my raisins elsewhere, like in cookies – I used the golden raisins called for in the original recipe, but I am sure that they would be equally great with dark raisins, too.

I found that giving the dough a couple of hours in the freezer instead of the refrigerator is key here because the frozen raisins are much easier to slice.

Golden raisin cookies
from one of my favorite cookbooks

1 cup golden raisins
¼ cup (60ml) dark rum
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (70g) confectioner's sugar
1 large egg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups (235g) all-purpose flour
granulated sugar, for sprinkling

In a small bowl, combine the raisins and rum. Set aside to soak for at least 1 hour.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 1 minute. Add the egg, salt and vanilla and beat until blended but not smooth (dough will look curdled at this point). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. At low speed, add the flour, mixing until just blended. Drain the raisins, discarding the rum, add them to the dough and mix until combined.

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 freezer until very firm, 2-3 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 freezer). Roll dough logs in the extra sugar, coating them evenly, then cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 45 cookies

Citrus and poppy seed slice and bakes, Matthew and Leo

I admire actors committed to their craft who are willing to go the extra mile for a part, but getting fat/thin/ugly to play a character must be part of the preparation, not the only highlight – the physical transformation and the talent to play the part must go in hand. Nicole won an Oscar with a prosthetic nose and not much else, while Christian Bale’s impressive weight lost in The Fighter was part of his portrayal of Dicky Eklund, not all of it.

I watched Dallas Buyers Club last week and though not very impressed by the movie – it is an OK movie with great performances, like Monster – the amount of dedication put into characters by both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto is outstanding. I wish Leto had had more screen time for he’s absolutely amazing as Rayon, and Matthew’s contained yet strong performance is something completely different from the movies from his past, but I think that a better script and a more talented director could have gotten much more out of him (he’s even more brilliant in True Detective, for instance).

Having said that, if I were the one choosing the winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role this year Leonardo DiCaprio would take the award home: he is ten times the actor Matthew will ever be (and the latter has evolved quite a lot in the last few years) and his character is a despicable one, even with the sort of comedy route Scorsese chose for the movie, while Matthew’s character has the empathy/sympathy factor going on for him; the Wolf is a complex character that expresses and ignites several different feelings and emotions throughout the three hours of the movie and Leonardo adds layer after layer to the character, making him hateful yet very interesting, and I did not see that in Ron Woodroof – I think that the character could have been taken to a whole new level by someone more talented, such as the very Leo or Christian Bale.

These slice and bake cookies are delicious, buttery and a snap to make – the original recipe called for lemons only but I decided to use oranges, too, and added poppy seeds to make the cookies even more interesting, for they add crunch and make the cookies look beautiful.

You can omit them, of course, for the cookies will still taste great – let’s say that they will be the Matthew McConaughey version while the ones with poppy seeds will be the Leonardo DiCaprio version. ;)

Citrus and poppy seed slice and bakes
slightly adapted from Epicurious

Cookies:
2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoons table salt
2 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks

Icing:
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice, more if necessary
½ tablespoon orange juice, more if necessary

Cookies: whisk flour, salt and poppy seeds in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, sugar, lemon and orange zest and vanilla in a large bowl, occasionally scraping down sides, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks; beat just to blend. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture and beat, occasionally scraping down sides, just to blend. 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 are firm and golden brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the other log.

Icing: whisk sugar and juice in a small bowl, adding more juice by ½-teaspoonfuls if too thick. Spread or drizzle icing over cookies. Let stand until icing sets, about 10 minutes.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes about 50

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