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Almond Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches

26 Saturday Oct 2013

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Almond Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches

I wasn’t one of those kids who wanted a PBJ sandwich in my lunchbox every day — I was more of a bologna and Kraft cheese kind of gal. (Don’t judge, people change.) And yet, there is still something innately comforting to me about the combination of peanut butter and jelly. These cookies are my attempt to combine that sense of comfort and familiarity with a set of ingredients that better match my grown-up palate.

It doesn’t take long to figure out I’m a little bit of an almond fanatic, so it was an easy leap for me to substitute almond butter in my cookie sandwiches. With apologies to George Washington Carver and the state of Georgia, I much prefer the sweet, cherry-like nuttiness of almonds to their legume counterparts.

For the filling, I chose two options: triple berry conserve, and chocolate ganache. (For traditional ganache, try this recipe, or go a little more high-falutin’ with a creme fraiche ganache here.) Both were great partners for the slightly savory notes of these tender shortbread rounds.

I love these because they are special without being complicated, small without feeling too precious. And let’s face it: no one can resist a tiny little cookie sandwich. There will always be a place on my table for the kind of food that brings out the kid in all of us.

Almond Butter Sammies In Progress

Almond Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches
makes 24 cookie sandwiches

1 c. unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/2 c. all-natural almond butter (I love Justin’s Nut Butters)
1/2 c. demerara or light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. fine salt
2 c. all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur)
granulated sugar for dipping
1/2 c. filling of your choice — jam, chocolate ganache, Nutella, or frosting
(It’s probably rather telling that I always have at least three of the four above on hand.)

Oven 325F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment and set aside.

Cream together butter, almond butter, demerara sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high until well-combined. Gradually beat in half the flour, then stir in the remaining flour by hand.

On a piece of waxed paper, pat the dough out into a 6″x8″ rectangle and cut into 48 equal pieces, about 1″-square each. Roll pieces into balls, and place two inches apart on the cookie sheet. Dip the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup in granulated sugar, then press the balls to flatten them to about 1/4″ in thickness.

Bake 12-14 minutes, until they are lightly brown and the centers are set. You will know they are done because they lose their shine. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely. Once cool, scoop about a teaspoon of filling on to a cookie, then sandwich with another. Do this like a good parent — gentle, but firm.

Store in an airtight container up to three days. Or freeze, well-wrapped, up to a month, then defrost at room temperature before serving. This is the perfect recipe to get a leg up on your holiday baking…

Cookies Waiting for Filling

Boston Cream Cupcakes with Crème Fraîche Ganache

16 Saturday Jun 2012

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Last week’s recipe for a summery Blueberry Tart left me with some extra pastry cream on hand, and this recipe is the perfect way to use it. These are a more easily-served version of Boston Cream Pie, which is in fact not a pie at all, but instead layers of golden yellow butter cake and vanilla pastry cream, enrobed in a layer of chocolate ganache. The overall effect is impressive, right until you try to cut into it. (There is a reason custard is not commonly used as an ingredient in sturdy foundations.)

As messes go, it’s a delicious one, but not quite the dessert to hand to small children at a birthday party. The cupcake version is altogether more practical, and still just as indulgent. I leave it to you to make a batch of a dozen cupcakes from your favorite yellow cake recipe. I like this classic butter cake or this golden vanilla cake from King Arthur Flour’s web site. However, any recipe will do, as long as it’s moist and yummy. The pastry cream recipe is found here, used as the filling of the tart.

That leaves the chocolate ganache topping, and for me, that has to be Creme Fraiche Ganache from the beautiful cookbook Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Leavy Beranbaum. Beranbaum is most famous for The Cake Bible; written two decades ago, it is still an enduringly authoritative guide to making cakes that are scrumptious to see and taste. Rose’s Heavenly Cakes continues in the same literate, informed vein, and her recipes and directions are superb.

The end result of all these parts and pieces is buttery, creamy, chocolatey: all the words I love in a dessert recipe. Make no mistake, this is a sweet treat, but the Creme Fraiche Ganache adds just the right hint of tangy depth to balance the rich custard filling. These were my son’s birthday pick this year, and I think he made a wonderful choice.

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Creme Fraiche Ganache
makes 1 1/3 cups, enough to frost 12 cupcakes

6 oz. quality semisweet chocolate
2/3 c. creme fraiche
4 tsp. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract

In a food processor, blitz the chocolate until chopped very fine. In a pourable 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, whisk together the creme fraiche and heavy cream and heat until scalding; small bubbles will form around the edges of the cream mixture, about 90 seconds in my microwave. (This can also be done in a small saucepan over medium heat.)

With the motor of the food processor running, pour the cream mixture through the tube into the chocolate in a steady stream. Process a few seconds until smooth, then add the butter and vanilla and pulse until combined. Transfer the ganache to a glass bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool until firm enough to use as frosting, several more hours at least. The ganache will keep three days at room temperature or three weeks covered and refrigerated.

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To assemble cupcakes:
Using a paring knife, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake, a little over an inch across and tapering to a point about an inch deep. Put a heaping spoonful of pastry cream in each little divot, then replace the cake cone. (I push mine in so that some pastry cream seeps out the side and is visible on the edges of the cupcake after frosting. If you’d prefer that your cream filling stay a surprise, gently replace the plug so that your cupcake has a more sloped top.)

Gently frost the top of each cupcake with a generous slathering of ganache, then top as desired with sprinkles or shave chocolate, or just leave pristine. These are fine to sit out for a few hours, but refrigerate the cupcakes, well-wrapped, if saving overnight. The ganache will thicken and lose its glossy sheen once refrigerated, but the cupcakes still taste delicious.

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(Wiley: 2009; ISBN 978-0471781738)

Vanilla Bean Butterballs with Chocolate Ganache

12 Monday Dec 2011

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It takes a lot to trump the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but these just might do it. Little nuggets of soft, buttery shortbread sandwiched around creamy chocolate, covered in the warm, sweet crunch of vanilla sugar… forget sugarplums, I’ve got visions of butterballs dancing in my head. ;)

A pile of these make a delicious gift, whether birthday, holiday, or hostess. And although they are sugar-coated show-stoppers, the recipe is actually quite simple — only seven ingredients and a bit of planning involved. My fourteen-year-old just made his first solo batch for a local cookie contest (he won), and he seconds my infatuation. Can cookies sparkle? I think these might…

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Vanilla Bean Butterballs with Chocolate Ganache
makes 18 sandwich cookies

For shortbread:
1 c. unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt (not coarse)
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract
about 2 c. vanilla sugar for rolling (see Recipe Notes below)

For chocolate ganache filling:
4 oz. quality semi-sweet chocolate (I like Ghiradelli or Scharffen Berger)
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt (not coarse)

With the whisk of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft and fluffy, about three minutes. Add granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla, and mix again until well-blended. Stir in the flour by hand until it forms a soft dough. Shape dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 3 hours, up to a week.

Working with well-chilled dough, break off teaspoon-size piece and roll into 36 balls about 3/4″ across. (Making them uniform in size is more important than their exact diameter.) Place balls on wax/parchment-paper lined plate and freeze for 30 minutes. While they are in the freezer, make the chocolate ganache for the filling.

Place chocolate, cream, and salt in small pan over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat as soon as chocolate melts and combines with cream into a glossy mixture. Transfer ganache to a bowl and refrigerate until the consistency of thick pudding. (It needs to be stiff enough to hold your cookie sandwiches together.)

Preheat oven to 375F. Place balls of chilled dough about two inches apart on cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes. Cook just until set but not browned. While cookies cool on baking sheets, place vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl for rolling. To assemble, put a smear of ganache on the flat bottom of one cookie, then place another on top. Roll in vanilla sugar until well-coated. I refrigerate mine for at least a half hour afterwards to be sure they are well-stuck, but they can be stored at room temperature after that. (You can also sandwich these with raspberry jam, but the exclusion of chocolate from a recipe is frowned upon by my household…)

Recipe Notes + Tips:
Although you can certainly roll these in plain sugar, I love the added flavor and scent that comes from using vanilla sugar. To make your own, just slice a vanilla bean length-wise and add it to four cups of granulated sugar in an airtight container; wait two or three weeks before using, and whenever you think about it, shake the container to evenly distribute the vanilla. As you use it, add more plain sugar to the container to maintain your supply.

Vanilla sugar is a fantastic addition to your pantry, and there’s no end to its uses: add a teaspoon to your morning tea or coffee; sprinkle it over oatmeal or cream of wheat; give plain yogurt a flavor-boost or blend it into your favorite smoothie; add depth to baked goods from blueberry muffins to lemon bars to apple pie; make a jar of vanilla-cinnamon sugar to use on snickerdoodles, as a topping on grilled peaches, or to caramelize figs… did I mention there’s no end to its uses? :)

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This recipe is adapted from one in Gale Gand’s 2006 cookbook Chocolate and Vanilla. As you might guess from the title, half the recipes are chocolate-focused and the other half vanilla, and all of them I’ve tried are delicious. (Clarkson Potter: 2006, ISBN 978-0307238528)