TWD: Hungarian Shortbread

Shortbread is probably one of the best inventions ever! Althoug I am living next to Hungary I never recognised it's also a hungarian speciality.

The Hungarian Shortbread is two layers of shortbread dough and self-made rhubarb-jam in the middle. The rhubarb gives a perfect contrast to the sweet dough. I love rhubarb and it is just the perfect time of the year for it, because it grows everywhere at the moment. My jam didn't get the red colour, but that does make no difference for the taste.

I made only half the batch and reduced baking time tehrefore, probably a bit too much because it turned out almost too moisty. But besides that this is just great! I thought it's a bit time-consuming (the recipe is assembled fast, but you have to wait for the jam to cool down and the dough needs chilling, so it takes breaks) but still I am for sure going to do this again and angain!

If you want to find out about the recipe have a look at our TWD-hosts of the week: Lynette of 1smallkitchen and Cher of Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler… or just buy the book "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan and turn to pp.327/328.

TWD: Salt&Pepper Cocoa Shortbread

 When I read "shortbread" I was all excited. I love shortbread, I love baking it, my colleagues love eating it - perfcet.
When I read "salt&pepper" I was even more excited. Savory shortbread! Can it get any better?
When I read "cocoa" my excitement was all gone. Cocoa? With salt and pepper? In shortbread? Why?? Why spoil them?

I was very much tempted to leave the cocoa out and exchange it for grounded nuts or just use more flour. But in the absolute very last minute I thought - stop. No. Don't. very often the recipe that do not sound that appealing turn out best. And I learnt so far that it is mostly better to stick to Dorie's recipes, because she is always right.

So. Salt&Pepper COCOA shortbread. The recipe was chosen by Tia for this week's TWD. Go to her page "Buttercream Barbie" to find the recipe or have a look in Dorie Greenspan's book on p 128.

As all shortbread it takes some time for chilling the dough thoroughly. I rolled the dough too thin (What happen always when I do shortbread. Learnign effect? Me? Never!) I opted for not making logs and round shortbread but to cut rectangles and use my Eiffeltower- and Statue of Liberty-forms.

The first batch was spoiled, but it was all my fault. I forgot that the line between "still too soft" and "burnt" can be very thin and be passed in half a minute. So, the first batch was for the trashbin. But the second one turned out fine.

The verdict? Well. I like them. Compared to my expectations - I like them a lot. My colleagues on the other side where excited, thrilled, ardent. Why? I guess because me - I knew what was in the cookies. They didn't. So they really had a surprise-moment when they found out that these shortbread cookies, with their chocolate-colour, are not that sweet at all, and have a savory after-taste. Therefore - they are a winner!

TWD: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (and catching up with the Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp)

(Lenten season is over - hooray! So I can finally get back in track and bake along with the Tuesdays with Dorie-group, instead of doing some sugar-less rewind...)
And what a re-start - shortbread! I am a huge shortbread fan, and some of my colleagues (who are always the beneficiaries of all my baking) are, too. So, thanks a lot to Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine for chosing Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies. For the recipe, go to Valerie's page or have a look in Dorie Greenspan's fantastic book on page 130.

I used polenta instead of cornmeal (and idea I had stolen from Heather of Sherry Trifle and Cats), merely for getting-rid-of-it reasons. I cooked the polenta, because I thought it would be too granular and hard otherwise. The only other change I made is that I sprinkled about half of them with roasted, chopped nuts. They were great with and without the nuts. But maybe the plain version is even better.

They turned out just great, wonderful, marvelous. But, it's shortbread - what else can you expect?

And here comes a "sorry it is Lenten season, so no baking for me"-related catch-up rewind: I made the Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, chosen by Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands. I HAD to do this as soon as possible, because in spring I merely live from strawberry-rhubarb compote, sometimes with vanilla sauce or joghurt, sometimes with some lemon balm, sometimes just plain. And I am a huge crisp/cobbler fan. So - perfect recipe for me. For the filling I made 1 1/2 recipes, and for the streusel I doubled everything, because for me there can never be too much streusel and I am always afraid it won't be enough. I tossed the sliced strawberries in some lemon-mint-lemonpepper-tinybitofchampagne-juice and let it in the refrigerator for some hours.
For the streusel I exchanged about half the nuts by coconut. I didn't look at the recipe thoroughly enough, so I didn't see it calls for candied ginger, which therefor I did not have at home and just omitted.

For the original recipe, go to Sarah's page or have a look in Dorie's book at pages 420 and 421.

And, btw, this is perfection!! Love it. Hope my colleagues will too, tomorrow. But let's face it: They get strawberry rhubarb crisp and shortbread. If they are not happy with that, I don't know what could please them....

Unfortunately, my pictures are not able to catch the superbness of this dessert.
(If I really have to give the grinch: It was, as often, too sweet. But maybe this is also due to the fact I didn't eat any sugar in the last seven weeks, so my senses are extremely sharpened at the moment).

TWD: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

I had no idea what a Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake as chosen by Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen chose for this week's TWD, should look like. So I did what every decent 21st century women does - I googled it.

Therefore I hope, what I made is pretty close to what it should look like. Anyhow, it did taste excellent, but it was not too hard to convince me, because I adore shortbread. They are really my favourite kind of cookies. Because they are sweets, but more and the fat-and-a-tad-salty taste than on the complete sweet side. And that is just my cup of tea.
The cranberries match perfectly. I am glad I didn't switch to plums - my first intention. Because it is impossible to get fresh or frozen cranberries here. Only dried ones. Dried with a heavy load of sugar. But we have something similar, lingonberry-jam, which is served with deer. So that's what I used. I know, I know, I skipped making the jam myself. But honestly, you cant' really buy fresh lingonberries, only the ready-made jam. I mixed them with some of the dried cranberries, and ended up with a good mix for the filling.

Without the jam in the middle, the cake would be a bit too dry. All in all it was pretty, pretty easy to make (uhm, maybe only because I buyed the jam...) and fast and at least one of my colleagues (and me!) loved it!

You can finde the recipe on Jessicas page or on pages 208-209 of Dorie's book

TWD - Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Gosh, how did that happen, it is Tuesday again!
The last days just ran through my fingers like sand... it is already afternoon and I didn't realize until now, that I haven't made my blog entry for this weeks TWD...

This week it was Donna's turn to pick a recipe, and she opted for these fabulous sablés, the Espresse Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. Shortbread, or Sablés, are really one my favourites. And I am pretty satisfied with the result.
You can have a look at the recipe at Donna's blog Lifes is too short not to eat dessert first" (cool name, isn't it), or in Dorie's book at p. 125.

When I read "coffee" in a recipe I always think "Oh no, I don't like coffee flavour". But funnily, whenever I eat sweets with coffee flavour, especially when it is only a bit of it, and combined with chocolate, I like it quite a lot. Don't ask me why. I just have this image of coffee as not very tasty in my mind, but reality always proofs me wrong.

This time it was the same. I was very tempted to try the "Playing around" version with oats, but decided to stick with the original in the very last minute.

And I am really, really happy with it. And my colleagues were, too.

[If I could only find a way to picture cookies in a better way,  I would be completely satisfied]