Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
There are so many amazing recipes in this cookbook, I wasn’t sure where to start. I suggest you pick a chapter and start baking! Snack cakes was first for me. Pumpkin-chocolate, classic gingerbread, and applesauce were my choices. Then, on to pies. There’s a whole chapter devoted to variations of the beloved apple pie. After that, cakes, of course. Or try this simple and simply wonderful chocolate shortbread. Next on my list: cranberry-orange cake with olive oil. Happy baking!
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Recipe excerpted with permission from Desserts Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen
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Chocolate Shortbread
Why This Recipe Works
At its simplest, shortbread contains just four ingredients—flour, sugar, salt, and butter—and should feature an ultrafine, sandy texture. We had our sights set on a rich chocolate shortbread, but with so few ingredients we wondered if the addition of chocolate would throw off this careful balance. Indeed it did: When we tried mixing melted bittersweet chocolate into our standard shortbread dough, the dough became very soft and the baked cookie greasy. With so much butter in the recipe the chocolate's high fat content upset our carefully calibrated ratios. Substituting cocoa powder for a portion of the flour worked much better; with its high proportion of cocoa solids, ¼ cup cocoa powder was all we needed for intense chocolate flavor. Although baking the shortbread on a double layer of parchment isn't necessary, we found it helps absorb some of the butter from the dough during baking and cooling.
Makes 16 wedges
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (¾ ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
1 Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt together in bowl. Using handheld mixer set at medium speed, beat butter and confectioners' sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes, scraping down bowl and beaters as needed. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds.
2 Using your hands, press dough into ball in bowl. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Press dough into disk. Roll dough into 9-inch round (about ½ inch thick) on sheet of parchment paper.
3 Transfer dough and parchment to parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, flute dough edge, then poke dough all over with fork and score into 16 wedges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
4 Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle granulated sugar, if using, evenly over dough. Bake shortbread until edges are firm and center springs back slightly when pressed, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
5 Transfer sheet to wire rack and, using sharp knife, cut through scored marks to separate wedges. Let shortbread cool on sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer wedges to wire rack and let cool completely before serving, about 1 hour.
Tracey Zabar's Chocolate Chip Sweets: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes is available here.
A delectable collection of innovative chocolate chip recipes by world-renowned chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers
Tracey Zabar's One Sweet Cookie Cookbook is available here.
A delicious collection of cookie recipes from extraordinary chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers. A great gift sure to delight anyone who loves to bake.
Lori Zabar's Zabar's A Family Story, With Recipes is available here.
