f O O d
CHOCOLATE & VANILLA RECIPES
“THE BEST TOOL FOR CHOPPING CHOCOLATE
IS A GOOD SHARP KNIFE. A SERRATED OR CHEF’S
KNIFE WILL DO THE JOB—CHOOSE THE ONE
THAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU. ”
V A N ILLA D ESSE R T SA N D W ICH ES
“M a ke these light a n d delica te cookies an d
the fro stin g ah ead o f tim e a n d assem ble ju s t
before servin g. G round van illa beans are
n ew to the scen e a n d are a b it harder to fin d,
b u t a d d a b o o st o fv a n illa fla vo r" To order
go to
v a n illa .c o m .
PREP: 45 MIN. BAKE: 10 MIN. PER BATCH
CHILL: 30 MIN. OVEN: 350oF
3
cups unbleached all-p urp ose flo u r
2
tsp. cream o f ta rta r
i
tsp. baking soda
/2
tsp. salt
i
cup unsalted b u tte r, softened
1
/2
cups granulated sugar
2
Tbsp. m ilk
1
Tbsp. vanilla e xtra ct
1
tsp. pure g round vanilla beans* o r
2
tsp. vanilla e xtra ct
Vanilla sugar,
pa ge
170
1
recipe V anilla Cream Cheese
Frosting,
right
1
.
In m e d iu m b o w l w h is k to g e th e r flour,
cream o f tartar, b a kin g soda, and salt. Set aside.
2
. In large b o w l b e a t b u tte r w ith an e le c tric
m ix e r o n m e d iu m speed fo r 30 seconds. A d d
g ra n u la te d sugar an d b e a t u n til s m o o th and
cream y. B eat in m ilk , v a n illa , a n d g ro u n d
v a n illa . B e a t in as m u c h o f th e flo u r m ix tu re
as y o u can w ith th e m ixe r. S tir in re m a in in g
flo u r m ix tu re b y h a nd. D o u g h w ill be soft.
3
. D iv id e d o u g h in h a lf. C o ve r and c h ill
d o u g h a b o u t 30 m in u te s o r u n til easy to
ha ndle. O n lig h tly flo u re d surface, r o ll h a lf
th e d o u g h a t a tim e u n til 1/ 8 in c h th ic k .
4
. P reheat oven to 350°F. U sin g a 3 -in ch
ro u n d coo kie cutter, c u t o u t circles fro m
dough. U sin g a 1-inch ro u n d co o kie cutter, c u t
o u t circles fro m th e centers o f h a lf th e d o u g h
circles. Place d o u g h circles o n p a rc h m e n t
p a p e r-lin e d co o kie sheets. R e ro ll scraps,
in c lu d in g th e 1-inch d o u g h ro unds, and c u t
o u t a d d itio n a l d o u g h circles as dire cted.
R epeat w ith re m a in in g d o u g h half.
5
. S p rin k le th e d o u g h c irc le s th a t have th e
c e n te rs c u t o u t w ith v a n illa sugar. B ake
co o kie s fo r 10 to 12 m in u te s o r u n til
g o ld e n b ro w n . L e t co o kie s c o o l o n c o o k ie
sheets fo r 1 m in u te . T ra n s fe r co o kie s to
w ir e ra cks to c o o l c o m p le te ly .
6
. S pre ad b o tto m s o f th e s o lid co o kie s w ith
a b o u t 1 V2 tea spoo ns o f th e V a n illa C re a m
C heese F ro s tin g . T o p ea ch w ith o n e o f th e
co o kie s w ith th e c e n te r h o le , su g a r sid e up.
R e frig e ra te fille d co o kie s to store. MAKES 24
SANDWICH COOKIES.
VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING I n a
m e d iu m b o w l s tir to g e th e r 6 ounces cre a m
cheese, softened ; 1
2
3
4
5
6
/4 c u p p o w d e re d sugar;
a n d 1 tea spoo n v a n illa e x tra c t u n til sm o oth.
•GROUND VANILLA BEANS sho uld n o t be
confused w ith v a n illa pow der.
EACH SERVING (one sandw ich cookie)
223 cal, 10 g fa t, 28 m g chol, 126 m g sodium , 31
g carbo,
0
gfiber,
2
g pro.
C H O C O LA T E D EC A D E N C E
C O O K IE S
“These cookies are slig h tly cru n ch y ou tsid e
w ith so ft centers. For the b e st g o oey
tex tu re a n d balan ced flavo r, do n o t exceed
60% cacao in the batter. F or an extra jo lt o f
b itte rsw e e t chocolate, s tir chocolate
chunks higher in cacao (70% to 80% ) into
the ba tter.” B u y ca n died orange p eel, or
m ake y o u r ow n b y fo llo w in g A lic e ’s
in stru ction s,
r ig h t
.
PREP: 45 MIN. BAKE:
8
MIN. PER BATCH
OVEN: 350OF
/ t
cup unbleached all-p urp ose flo u r
/ t
tsp. baking po w d er
1
/
8
tsp. salt
8
oz. b itte rsw eet o r sem isw eet
chocolate (n o t m ore than
60
%
cacao), chopped
2
Tbsp. b u tte r
2
eggs
1
/
2
cup sugar
1
tsp. vanilla e xtra ct
6
oz. b itte rs w e e t o r sem isw eet
chocolate, chopped
2
/
2
cups w a ln u t o r pecan halves, broken
in large pieces and toasted
1
/
to
1
/
2
cup chopped candied orange
peel*
1
. P reh eat oven to 350°F. A d ju s t racks: one in
u p p e r th ir d o f oven and one in lo w e r th ird .
L in e tw o large b a k in g sheets w ith p a rc h m e n t
paper; set aside. In sm a ll b o w l s tir to g e th e r
flo u r, b a k in g pow der, and salt (flo u r a m o u n t
m a y seem lo w b u t is co rre ct); set aside.
2
. In m icro w ave-safe b o w l com b in e
cho colate and b u tte r. M e lt a t 50% p o w e r
(m e d iu m ) a b out 2 m inu tes. S tir fre q u e n tly
u n til cho colate is a lm o st m e lted. Rem ove. S tir
to co m plete m e ltin g ; set aside.
3
. In m e d iu m h e a tp ro o f b o w l w h is k to g e th e r
eggs, sugar, and va n illa . Place in s k ille t 1
/4 fu ll
o f b a re ly s im m e rin g w ate r. G e n tly w h is k 2
m in u te s o r ju s t u n til w a rm (a b o u t 100°F).
S tir egg m ix tu re in to m e lte d chocolate. S tir
in flo u r m ix tu re u n til com bined . S tir in
w a ln u ts and 6 oz. ch o p p e d chocolate. F o ld in
c a n d ie d orange peel.
4
. Spoon lig h tly ro u n d e d tab lespoo nfu ls
1
V
2
inches a p a rt o n b a k in g sheets. Bake, on
separate racks, 8 to 10 m in u te s o r u n til
co o kie surface appears dry, set, and s lig h tly
lig h te r in c o lo r (ce nters w ill be gooey),
e x ch a n g in g sheets to o p p o site ra c k h a lfw a y
th ro u g h ba kin g. S lide p a rc h m e n t p a p e r w ith
cookies o n to w ire racks to c o o l com pletely.
MAKES 30 TO 36 COOKIES.
•FOR CANDIED ORANGE PEEL C u t p e e l fro m
tw o orange s le n g th w is e in q u a rte rs ,
c u ttin g ju s t th ro u g h p u lp to s u rfa c e o f
fr u it. P ry b a c k q u a rte re d p e e l w ith spoon.
S crape a w a y s o ft w h ite p ith in s id e peel.
C u t p e e l in 1
/
2
-in c h -w id e s trip s . I n 2 -q u a rt
sau cepan c o m b in e 11/3 cu p s sug ar and
1/3
c u p w a te r. B rin g to b o ilin g ; ad d o ra n g e
pe el. R e tu rn to b o ilin g , s tir r in g c o n s ta n tly
to d is s o lv e sugar. R edu ce heat. B o il g e n tly,
u n c o v e re d , 15 m in u te s o r u n til p e e l is
a lm o s t tra n s lu c e n t, s tirr in g o cca sio n a lly.
R em o ve p e e l fro m s yru p , a llo w in g excess
to d r ip o ff. P lace o n p a rc h m e n t o r w a x e d
paper. C o o l u n til easy to h a n d le . R o ll in
s u g a r to coa t. L e t d r y 1 to 2 h o u rs . C h o p
peels. M a ke s a b o u t 1
/3 cup.
EACH SERVING (one cookie)
164 cal, 13 gfat, 16 m g
chol, 23 m g sodium, 14 g carbo, 2 gfiber, 3 gpro.
Alice’s online picks fo r buying vanilla and
chocolate products are
vanilla.com,
lemurinc.com, nielsenmassey.com,
and
scharffenberger.com.
172
FEBRUARY 2010
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
