Sugar Cube (13 page)

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Just like regular rice flour, brown rice flour gives cookies a delicate crumb, but it has a nuttier flavor that goes really well with the tea. Look for it in the gluten-free section of the grocery store or at natural food stores. If you can’t find brown rice flour, use regular rice flour.

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You can buy cartons of superfine sugar (C&H brand bakers’ sugar) at many grocery stores, or make it yourself: Just whiz up some granulated sugar in your food processor until very fine. This is my go-to sugar for everything.

These unbelievably tender, melt-in-your mouth cookies come at a price—they’re very delicate, so handle with care. If an edge crumbles, just sprinkle on a little powdered sugar and deem them shabby chic. You can eat them alone, but to make them a little sturdier and even more pig-out worthy, I sandwich them with a dab of apricot preserves. Cardamom and apricots are BFFs, but so are cinnamon and strawberries, nutmeg and apple butter, and lavender and lemon, so don’t be afraid to play with the recipe. Just remember a little spice goes a long way.
MAKES ABOUT 24 COOKIES

• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup rice flour (see tip)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  vanilla bean or
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup superfine sugar for coating
  

• SIFT TOGETHER THE ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
  , rice flour, cardamom, and salt into a medium bowl. Split the piece of vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium-high speed until blended but not fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, mix just until combined.
  
• SCRAPE THE DOUGH OUT
  onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until completely firm, about 1 hour.
  
• PREHEAT THE OVEN
  to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Put the superfine sugar in a small bowl.
  
• USING A SMALL ICE-CREAM SCOOP
  or spoon, divide the dough into 2-tablespoon portions, and roll each portion into a ball. Slightly flatten the ball between your palms into a
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  -inch-thick patty and toss it in the sugar to coat. Place the cookies at least 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans from front to back and between upper and lower racks halfway through.
  
• LET THE COOKIES COOL
  for several minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. They will keep in an airtight container for at least 1 week.
  

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To turn these into delicious sandwich cookies, spoon 1 teaspoon of apricot preserves onto the bottom side of half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, bottom-side down, and sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar.

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Rice flour gives these cookies an incredibly tender texture. It’s really worth seeking out, and with the explosion of gluten-free products on the market today, it’s actually easy to find. Look for it at Trader Joe’s, the gluten-free section at the supermarket, or online at
Bobsredmill.com
.

These buttery bars with a ribbon of fruit in the middle are adapted from my awesome and forever-inspiring mentor, pastry chef Della Gossett. Her desserts were beautifully made, filled with whimsy, and insanely delicious. She’s a true master craftswoman, and I’m indebted to her for teaching me how to become a thoughtful and creative baker and pastry chef. The cookies were part of her
mignardise
plate—essentially a little plate of tiny desserts served to guests
after
dessert, because, of course, one round of sweets is never enough. Since everything had to be just so, I had to cut these bars with laserlike precision, and we never served the chewier edges. I’m a corner person, myself, so getting to devour the toothsome little scraps made the whole cutting thing worthwhile. Plus, I often used them to bribe the hot line into giving me some braised lamb shanks—a fair trade in my opinion.
MAKES ABOUT 36 BARS

• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups tawny port
  
• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups granulated sugar
  
• 18 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
  
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon sea salt
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  vanilla bean
  

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 2 cups granulated sugar
  
• 4 large egg yolks
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  vanilla bean
  
• Zest from 1 lemon
  
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
  

• TO MAKE THE CRANBERRY-PORT JAM:
  In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the port, sugar, cranberries, orange zest, salt, and two or three good twists of black pepper. Split the piece of vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Add to the pan along with the pod. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until the berries burst and the mixture is deep burgundy and as thick as cranberry sauce, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and purée the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth and easy to spread. Let cool, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for several hours until cold. (The jam can be made ahead and will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.)
  
• TO MAKE THE SHORTBREAD:
  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  
• IN THE BOWL OF A STAND MIXER
  fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Split the piece of vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife, and add the seeds to the mixing bowl. With the mixer on low, add the lemon zest and dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each into a log. Wrap both in plastic wrap and freeze until very hard, at least 2 hours.
  
• PREHEAT THE OVEN
  to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a half-sheet pan (18 inches by 13 inches), then line the bottom with parchment paper. Use a box grater to quickly grate one log of the dough evenly over the sheet pan (do not press it in). Measure out 2 cups of the jam (save the remainder for another use, like topping biscuits or scones). Arrange dollops of jam evenly over the dough and spread to create an even layer, leaving a
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  -inch border on all four sides. (You’re not going for a thick layer of jam, but you shouldn’t have bare patches either.) Grate the other log of dough evenly on top (again, don’t press).
  
• BAKE UNTIL THE TOP IS GOLDEN BROWN
  , 40 to 50 minutes.
  
• LET COOL
  in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, cut into 3-inch-by-2-inch bars and dust with confectioners’ sugar. The bars will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months. (At the restaurant, we’d freeze them right in the pan and just cut what we needed. Just make sure to set them out 1 hour before serving, so they can come to room temperature.)
  

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The Cranberry-Port Jam is the easiest thing in the world to make and incredibly versatile. It goes great with everything from scones to a cheese plate. Heck, you can even serve it with your Thanksgiving turkey. But don’t limit yourself to this jam when making the cookies. The
Rhubarb Jam
is just as delicious, or you can try swapping the cranberries for cherries, adding sugar to taste.

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You can grate the dough using a food processor with a grating disk (cut the logs lengthwise into quarters first), but make sure the bowl is really big, so the grated dough doesn’t get packed together. The shreds need to stay light and fluffy, so you can evenly distribute them.