Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook (33 page)

COFFEE SHORTBREAD

THIS RECIPE USES INSTANT COFFEE TO ADD A MAJOR FLAVOR
punch. Modern freeze-dried coffee is nothing like the instant coffees of old; we like Starbucks VIA instant coffee because it adds wonderful flavor to baked goods. We’ve discovered that grinding the almonds and coffee together maximizes their effect; the fat from the nuts absorbs the coffee and helps spread the flavor through the dough.

We roll the dough out into one large sheet, bake it, and then cut out cookies while it is still warm. They pop out easily and crisp as they cool, and the odd-shaped cookies can be made into crumbs or eaten in the kitchen before company arrives. Following the recipe, we have a variation called Shaved Shortbread, an original technique that makes for an elegant presentation for a special meal.

MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN COOKIES

1 cup 112 grams
slivered almonds

1 tablespoon 8.25 grams
Starbucks VIA instant coffee

1 cup 150 grams
all-purpose flour

⅓ cup packed 75 grams
light brown sugar

11½ tablespoons 160 grams
unsalted butter,
at room temperature

¾ teaspoon 4.5 grams
fine sea salt

3.5 ounces 100 grams
white chocolate,
chopped

In a food processor, combine the almonds and coffee and grind to a powder. Transfer the powder to a bowl, whisk in the flour, and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar, butter, and salt on medium-low speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the white chocolate and mix on low until just combined, about 20 seconds. Stop the mixer, add all of the flour mixture, and mix on low until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and put it on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rough rectangle that’s about 11 × 16 inches (28 × 42 cm) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Transfer the cookie dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet and bake until the cookie is golden brown and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cut out shapes using cookie cutters, transferring the cutout cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

VARIATION
SHAVED SHORTBREAD

THIS IS WONDERFUL SCATTERED OVER A BOWL OF ICE
cream or pudding. We’ve used the curls to garnish chocolate cakes and cupcakes, or folded them into freshly churned ice cream just before putting it in the freezer to harden, giving the finished confection a great cookie flavor without any hard bits. This is also nice with warm fruit like sautéed bananas or roasted cherries, providing a nice textural contrast and a great burst of flavor.

8 tablespoons 113 grams
unsalted butter

Coffee Shortbread trimmings,
ground into crumbs

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted, continue to cook, stirring gently, until the butter solids turn golden brown and release a nutty aroma. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.

Put the shortbread crumbs into a blender. Drizzle the brown butter over the crumbs and puree until smooth. Put the puree into a pint-size plastic container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Remove the container from the freezer, run a butter knife or an offset spatula around the inside edge of the container, and pop out the shortbread. Use a mandoline to shave the frozen shortbread and create fine shards. Alternatively, freeze the shortbread puree in ice cube trays and shave the frozen cubes using a Microplane zester. Frozen shortbread will keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

COCONUT KEFFELS
WITH MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

KEFFELS, AN OLD FAMILY FAVORITE, ARE TENDER TURNOVER
cookies that can be made with apricot or walnut filling. The original recipe called for Crisco. When we wanted to give it a makeover to ditch the trans fats and add some flavor, we decided to substitute virgin coconut oil, an ingredient that we think belongs in everyone’s pantry. The oil is milled from coconut meat in a cold process that helps preserve the nutrients and polyphenols that give the oil its fragrance and flavor. It is solid at room temperature and is gaining popularity as an alternative to Crisco or lard in pastries to add flakiness and flavor. It’s also wonderful in savory dishes, like
Coconut Steamed Halibut
, where a little bit goes a long way.

Once we added the coconut we went ahead and changed the filling, too. Tangy lemon marmalade adds a great acidic edge to balance the richness of the coconut, although if you want to make these more quickly you can easily substitute strawberry jelly for the marmalade. These keffels are a far cry from the original cookie and yet we love them just as much, if not more, because they taste delicious and we feel good about all of the ingredients that go into them.

MAKES 3 TO 4 DOZEN COOKIES

4 cups 600 grams
all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon 6 grams
fine sea salt

1 tablespoon 8 grams
instant yeast

8 ounces 225 grams
unsalted butter,
diced

1 cup 225 grams
virgin coconut oil

4 large
egg yolks

½ cup 114 grams
Toasted Coconut Crème Fraîche

Granulated sugar,
for rolling out the dough

½ cup 170 grams
Meyer Lemon Marmalade

1 cup 112 grams
confectioners’ sugar

½ cup 57 grams
coconut milk powder
(optional; see
Sources
)

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and yeast and mix on low speed for about 1 minute to blend. Add the butter and coconut oil and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and crème fraîche and mix on medium-low until the mixture forms a smooth dough, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a covered container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and divide it into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time, leaving the rest in the refrigerator. Generously sugar a work surface and roll out the dough (adding more sugar as needed to keep the dough from sticking) to a thickness of ¹/
₈
inch (3 mm). Cut out 2-inch (5 cm) squares. Put ½ teaspoon of marmalade in the center of each square and fold the top third down over the marmalade and then the bottom half up, so that the cookie resembles a small log with a top seam. Gently press the ends to seal them so the filling won’t ooze out the sides. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan, and bake until the cookies are just set and barely beginning to brown, 2 to 4 more minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and coconut powder (if using). Transfer the mixture to a small strainer and dust the warm cookies on the wire rack. Dust them one more time when they are completely cool.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

MAKES 4 CUPS

Meyer lemons are sweeter and more flavorful than traditional supermarket lemons. Their season is relatively short and so we like to try to make the most of it by preserving some for when they are gone. This marmalade is one of our favorite methods of keeping the lemons in our pantry year-round. We spread it on toast and in between cake layers, put it in
Hand Tarts
, and swirl it through vanilla ice cream.

1 pound 1.5 ounces 500 grams
Meyer lemons
(about 14)

2½ cups 500 grams
sugar

½ teaspoon 3 grams
fine sea salt

⅛ teaspoon 0.25 grams
cayenne pepper

½
vanilla bean

Cut off the ends of the lemons and then cut each lemon in half and each half into 3 pieces. Cut the pieces of lemon into 4 pieces. As you cut, remove and discard any seeds. Put the lemon pieces in a stainless steel bowl that will fit inside your pressure cooker. Add the sugar, salt, and cayenne. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the bowl, and then add the pod, too. Stir the mixture to evenly coat the lemons with sugar. Refrigerate overnight.

Put 2 inches (5 cm) of water in the bottom of a pressure cooker. Put the bowl of lemon mixture on a rack set inside your pressure cooker. Cook the lemon mixture for 30 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure dissipate naturally. Transfer the hot lemon mixture to a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring the marmalade to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 225°F (107°C).

Remove the pan from the heat and use a ladle to put the marmalade into clean Mason jars, leaving ¼ inch (6 mm) of headspace at the tops. Seal the hot jars and let them cool at room temperature. Refrigerate the finished marmalade. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

We encourage creativity in the kitchen. The reason we aim to master culinary standards and study kitchen science is because that basic knowledge gives us the ability to be more creative. So when we have an idea that we want to explore, we also have a good idea of how to make it happen. For example, while discussing how to amp up the coconut flavor in a dish, we were struck with the idea of making coconut crème fraîche. We already knew how to make crème fraîche, so we got to work culturing some coconut milk with buttermilk—and we were happy with the results. Nonetheless, we couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if we simply used a buttermilk culture, purchased from a cheesemaking supply company, to ferment the coconut milk.

We tried it and a couple of days later we had actual coconut crème fraîche. Not ones to stop when the going is good, we took the coconut crème fraîche and let it ferment for a few days at room temperature until it separated and we ended up with fresh coconut cream cheese and coconut whey. We immediately spread some of the coconut cream cheese on one of our
Hand Tarts
and we were smitten.

The ideas kept coming, so we pushed this coconut experiment further. We happened to have some toasted coconut cream on hand from our recipe testing, so we decided to ferment that and see if we could make toasted coconut butter. The flavor was off the hook and there were a million uses that immediately jumped into our heads.

By running with our first thought and trying out ideas without the fear of failure, we stumbled upon some amazing ingredients that have made a big difference in our cooking. This is what happens when you bring science and creativity together in the kitchen—exploration, delicious food, and lots of fun.

CULTURED COCONUT BUTTERMILK

MAKES ABOUT 3½ CUPS / 840 GRAMS

2 (28-ounce / 794-gram) cans
coconut milk

1 packet
buttermilk culture
(see
Sources
); or ¼ cup / 60 grams
cultured buttermilk
, homemade or store-bought; or ¼ cup / 56 grams toasted coconut buttermilk (from
Toasted Coconut Crème Fraîche and Butter
)

Put the coconut milk and buttermilk culture into a bowl and whisk together. Transfer to a widemouthed Mason jar and cover with cheesecloth. Leave the mixture at room temperature for 24 hours to allow the culture to develop. The buttermilk will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.