Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread

Back in the day, I used to have a favorite restaurant I frequented quite a bit.  This particular restaurant also had a fabulous in house bakery and espresso bar.  I don't want to admit how often I stopped in after dropping a child or two off at preschool, chatted with the barrista (who knew me!!), and would get a pastry.  Usually, I would get their cinnamon buns or bear claws (almond rolls…warm almond paste).  I knew how to time it just right, so the bear claws would be fresh out of the oven and still warm.

I would also stop in the mid morning or mid afternoon for some gelato or a cookie.  One of my favorite cookies was the chocolate dipped espresso shortbread.  This restaurant still sells this cookie, but it is not open in the mornings for coffee any more, they've discontinued my favorite pastries and taken some of my favorite meal/sandwich items off the menu.  Needless to say, I don't go there much at all any more.  It's now reserved as the stop after a kid gets a shot at the doctor (for the gelato….).

However, that doesn't stop my love of the chocolate dipped espresso shortbread.  A few years ago, I found a similar recipe in Dorie Greenspan's Baking:  From my Home to Yours.  I tried it, wrote copious notes in the margins, and put it my list of favorite cookies.  Since that first time, the recipe has only gotten better as I have changed a few things and I finally have a recipe that rivals the Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread.

Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread
inspired by Mandola's Restaurant and adapted from a Dorie Greenspan recipe

1 T instant espresso powder
1 T boiling water
1 c (16 T or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 c confectioners sugar
1/2 t vanilla
2 c flour
4 oz bittersweet (60% cocao) chocolate, finely chopped

4 - 6 oz chocolate chips for coating (this is just a guess…)

Dissolve the espresso powder in the boiling water.  Set aside and allow to cool.

Using a mixer (I prefer a hand mixer over a stand mixer for this.  It helps prevent me from over mixing my dough--which is the bain of shortbread), beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture is very smooth.  (Don't go for light and fluffy like most cookies.  You don't want extra air in the batter.)  Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then add the flour, mixing only until the flour is incorporated into the dough (again, don't over mix so you keep the typical sandy texture of shortbread).  Fold in the chopped chocolate by hand.

Divide the soft dough in half and roll into two long longs, about 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter.  Roll in plastic wrap and put in a zip bag.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days.  You can also freeze the doth for a longer period of time before baking).

Remove dough from refrigerator and cut into slices 1/2 - 1/2" thick.  Place on two baking sheets and bake at 325 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes.  For best results, rotate pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time.  Let cool on a rack.

To dip cookies:  Melt chocolate.  I prefer to just do this in a microwave-safe bowl.  Heat chocolate on half power for 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between until chocolate is melted (at half power as well).  Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper.  Refrigerate until the chocolate sets.  Bring to room temperature to eat.

French Onion Soup

I feel like this soup doesn't need much of a preface.  It's a wonderful soup.  Everyone in my family loved it.  It's happiness in a bowl and not nearly as complicated as I remembered french onion soup years ago when I made it.  This was simple to make, most of the prep time was slicing onions.  Other than that, it was just a couple of hours of happiness as our house was permeated with the aroma of onions and beef.  What a wonderful winter Sunday afternoon.

Love. this. soup.  Need to make it again soon.  Thanks Deb! (of Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 4 - 6.  Maybe.

French Onion Soup
from Smitten Kitchen.com

1 1/2 lbs thinly sliced yellow onions
3 T unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 t salt
1/4 t sugar
3 T flour
1/2 c dry white wine (optional)
2 qts beef stock

Optional for serving:
crusty bread, toasted
Gruyere or swiss cheese, grated

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a Dutch oven over med-low heat (4 or 5 on my stove).  Add the onions, toss them to coat them in butter/oil and cover the pot.  Reduce the heat to low (2 on my stove) and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes.  Ignore them.  Don't peek.  After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat (to a 4 or so), and stir in the salt and sugar.  Cook the onions, stirring frequently for 30 - 40 minutes, until the have turned a nice brown.  This is the caramelization.  Don't rush this step (don't rush any of these steps in fact).  The slowness of the process is what gives the soup its wonderful flavor.

Once the onions are caramelized, stir in the flour and cook briefly.  Stir in the wine if using.  Add the stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.  If you are using homemade beef stock, you may have foam float to the top.  You can skim that off for a clearer broth.

Enjoy.  For a fancy meal, put a piece of crusty toasted bread in the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle with gruyere and place under the broiler for a few minutes.  I'm scared of my broiler, so I simply cut my crusty bread into croutons and sprinkle grated Gruyere over top and enjoy.

Tale of Two Shakshuka's

Sometimes owning two cookbooks by the same author is a problem.  For example, last night, after a week of eating lots of meat and "fancy" (although not really fancy, just different than what we eat) food, I wanted comfort food.  I remembered the velvety warmth of Ottolenghi's Shakshuka---roasted red peppers with an ample dose of seasoning which cradled soft cooked eggs.  Although the red peppers aren't in season, this dish screams winter comfort food.

I am usually a mostly organized person.  I can find what I need and I have things arranged that make sense for me.  Usually.  When I make new recipes, I make annotations in my cookbooks, so I can remember how I made it or what I would do differently next time.  Usually.  Once I decided to make shakshuka last night for supper, I looked first in Jerusalem and then in Plenty.  In Jerusalem, I saw no notes, in Plenty, there were notes.  I proceeded to make the recipe from Plenty, thinking as I went, that this recipe seemed different.

When I was just a couple of minutes out from finishing the dish, I read the note I had written in Plenty.  The note said, "Curtis and I love the version in Jerusalem."  What???  Turns out, I never had made this version before.  Why in the world would I write a note on the recipe I didn't want to make?

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending, Curtis and I loved the Plenty version of shakshuka too.  I fed the kids plain fried eggs, along with roasted root vegetables and orange slices.  It was a wonderful winter, light meal and I am looking forward to recreating it this morning for breakfast.

Here are the two versions.  They're both good.  Choose the recipe you want to make based on the ingredients you have or the time you have (the version from Jerusalem is just a hair faster).  Each recipe will serve 4.  To adjust the serving size, just change the number of eggs you use--for just the two of us, I make a full recipe, but only use two eggs.

The First Shakshuka

adapted from Jerusalem

2 T olive oil

+/- 2 T harissa (I use store bought--this is the spiciness in the dish)

2 t tomato paste

2 lg red bell peppers, diced (about 1/4" pieces)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t cumin

2 (14-oz) cans diced tomatoes or 5 c fresh tomatoes, chopped

4 eggs

crusty white bread (toasted if you feel like it)

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the harissa, tomato paste, bell peppers, garlic, cumin, and 3/4 t salt.  Stir and cook over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, until the peppers have softened.  Add the diced tomatoes, simmer, and cook for another 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Make 4 little holes in the bell pepper/tomato sauce.  Gently break each egg into a hole.  Simmer gently, covering with a lid, for 8 - 10 minutes until eggs are at your desired doneness (I like a runny yolk, Curtis doesn't.  I try to customize, but have yet to been successful.  If you are more adept with eggs than I am, this shouldn't be a problem).  Remove from heat and serve with bread--I like my eggs and peppers on top of bread, Curtis likes the bread on the side.

The Second Shakshuka

adapted from Plenty

1/2 t cumin seeds

2 T olive oil

1 large onions, sliced

2 red (or a combination of red and yellow) bell peppers, cut into 3/4" thickness

2 t sugar

1 bay leaf

3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped (optional if you don't have it)

1 (15-oz can) diced tomatoes (or 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped)

a pinch of saffron threads

a dash or two of cayenne, depending on your heat tolerance

4 eggs

crusty white bread

In a large skillet, dry roast the cumin seeds on med-high heat for a couple of minutes.  Add the oil and onions and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add the peppers, sugar, bay leaf, thyme, parsley and cilantro and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes on med-high heat until the peppers are soft and the onions have a nice brown color.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, and salt and pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add a bit of additional water at a time to achieve and maintain a pasta sauce consistency.  Taste and adjust seasonings (salt and cayenne primarily).

Make 4 little holes in the bell pepper/tomato sauce.  Gently break each egg into a hole.  Simmer gently, covering with a lid, for 8 - 10 minutes until eggs are at your desired doneness (I like a runny yolk, Curtis doesn't.  I try to customize, but have yet to been successful.  If you are more adept with eggs than I am, this shouldn't be a problem).  Remove from heat and serve with bread--I like my eggs and peppers on top of bread, Curtis likes the bread on the side.