Author: -N-

Shortbread with a Story

Shortbread Cookies

Driving home from work the other night, NPR was on the car radio. The story? A Tale of Two Shortbreads.  Take the time to listen to the story – it is so much better than reading it!  And then make some for yourself – it really is a great shortbread recipe.  So, thanks to the Brass sisters for this!

The Brass Sisters’ Favorite Holiday Shortbread

Makes 32 1-inch by 2-inch pieces

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon orange extract or 1/2 teaspoon orange oil

Set oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch pan with foil. Grease the foil with butter or coat with vegetable spray.

Add flour and salt to a mixing bowl, whisk to combine, and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add orange zest. Add orange extract or orange oil and combine. Add dry ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until completely absorbed and dough comes together. Do not overbeat or shortbread will be tough.

Gently pat dough into prepared pan. (Press down the edges with tines of fork.) Prick top of dough evenly about 20 to 25 times.

Bake shortbread 35 minutes. Cool on rack for about 20-25 minutes, or until slightly warm. Score shortbread with a knife into 1-inch by 2-inch pieces, but do not cut through entirely. When completely cool, cut into pieces along scored lines. The texture should be sandy and crumbly. Store orange shortbread in a covered tin between sheets of wax paper, at room temperature.

Shortbread will firm up as it cools. Placing shortbread in the refrigerator will help it firm up. If the shortbread is pale, continue baking another 5 minutes, watching carefully to be sure it is not browning too quickly.

Well, mine were done a bit differently.  I’ve got a cold, and my stuffed up nose seems to be limiting the oxygen my old brain is getting.  I dumped all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and went to town until all was crumbly, but I only used the grated orange rind, and added a teaspoon of mace.  I lined a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.  Everything got patted nicely into the pan and put into the oven.  Oxygen deprivation stepped in again, and the shortbread wasn’t pricked, which is usually recommended to keep the cookies from bowing in the baking pan.  Still, they came out okay, without any bowing.  And the results are still delicious and wonderfully crumbly – but best of all, not overly sweet.

Mole for Thanksgiving

No, we did not dine on that furry little critter that lives underground.  The picture above is not a burnt mole, but sautéed dried peppers.

I made mole from scratch, using a recipe for mole poblano from Pati’s Mexican Table as the basis.  I was able to find all the ingredients in a local store which caters to the Middle Eastern, Asian, and Mexican populations, so there are far more exotic ingredients available than in the local chain grocery stores.

This is what I used:

Dried chilis:  ancho, pasilla, mulatos, chipotles – about 20-25 in different amounts.  I cut off their stems, and poured the seeds into a custard cup, to be added later on.  In a large Dutch Oven, I sauteed the chilis in oil, removing them from the pan, and draining them on towels; I did this is in small batches.

Once the chilis were done I added more oil to the pan and sautéed up a chopped white onion and an handful of chopped garlic.  Then I added about a quarter cup each of raw almonds, peanuts, raisins, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  At one point, I added all the saved seeds from the dried chilis.  Next came about a teaspoon each of whole cloves, anise seeds, and coriander seeds.  A stick of whole cinnamon followed along with a pinch of allspice, thyme, and marjoram.  These I sautéed and then added some tomatoes and tomatillos I had roasted over an open flame on a grill – two or three tomatoes and about eight large tomatillos.  The blackened skins of these were removed.  As a thickener, I tore up thin corn tortillas – about six.  Once all this was put together, it continued to simmer a bit on the stove, with a bit of stirring.

Once I was happy with the melange – it smelled wonderful! – I added about six cups of homemade chicken broth, the sautéed chilis, and 7 ozs. of 85% dark chocolate, specifically Valrhona.  From there, I let it simmer another 15-20 minutes, and let it cool.  The final step was to run it through the blender until smooth.

This makes very thick paste.  I ended up with more than a quart, which can keep for several weeks in the refrigerator, or frozen in small batches, to be used later on.

Making the mole was really easy – it only took a couple of hours as I did all the prep work as I moved along.  If I had been more organized, I doubt it would have taken even that long.

Anyway, mole sauce can be used with chicken or turkey (or moles?).  We had chicken.  I browned the chicken on all sides, and then took about 2 c. of the mole paste, and another quart of chicken stock, and put them in a slow oven – 300 degrees – for about 3 hours.  The result was heaven, and went well with saffron rice, cranberry sauce, salad, and tirimisu.

I hope your Thanksgiving feast was as tasty as ours!