@fandw (Food & Wine Magazine) A great idea for fall parties: @doriegreenspan’s salty, spicy, amazingly wine-friendly cookies: http://bit.ly/odcaIk
Savory butter cookies intrigued me. I like to bake cookies for gifts at the holidays, and what could be more unexpected in a holiday cookie than salty, herby undertones. What sealed the deal for me, though, was that the recipes had been developed by Dorie Greenspan.
Dorie Greenspan has a mantel full of well-deserved awards for her accomplishments, including a James Beard Award for her book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. In addition to sharing her knowledge with a generation of bakers in this country through her clear, straightforward writing, as a part-time resident of Paris for many she years, she has become an authority on French culture and cuisine. With the publication of her book Around My French Table, in fall 2010, she introduced home cooks in the U.S. to the dishes that French families eat daily. This beautiful and informative book contains some of my family’s favorite dishes. Finally, with the CookieBar Pop-Up stores and web-based business that she runs with her son, Josh Greenspan, Dorie Greenspan is sharing her cookies directly with her friends and admirers.
I love Dorie Greenspan’s Lemon Sables, a brightly-colored butter cookie with a soft crumb. When you bite into it, it gently melts in your mouth, leaving behind both sweet and tangy flavors. And, I love her World Peace Cookies, a chocolate-salty confection that defies description it is so sublime. The thought of baking her buttery rounds with the flavors of tart and sweet apricots and licorice-y tarragon had me putting aside my to-do list so I could pull together my shopping list.
Like traditional butter cookies, Apricot-Tarragon Cocktail Cookies come together with minimum effort using a standing mixer. These cookies may be easy to prepare, but you wouldn’t guess it by the effort Ms. Greenspan makes to develop complex flavors. Using the technique she learned from French baker Pierre Herme, she instructs us to finely chop the tarragon and then using our fingers, rub it into the sugar, infusing the sugar with that unmistakable grassy flavor. The apricots, a happy pumpkin color, are finely diced and sit in a bath of warm water, softening them before being folded into the dough mixture. Olive oil is added to provide fruity notes. Finally, sea salt is added, bringing all of the flavors to life.
The result? These cookies are a revelation: buttery, salty, herby from the Tarragon, sweet — but also a little tangy from the chewy apricots. For all of that flavor, this is a remarkably light and delicate cookie. It is an elegant choice for pre-dinner glass of wine and would make a lovely hostess or holiday gift. You’ll have to excuse me now, I’m headed back to the kitchen. Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate-Cayenne Cocktail Cookies are calling.
The recipe below appears in Food & Wine Magazine. Again, here is the link for the story and all of the recipes: http://bit.ly/odcaIk
| Dorie Greenspan’s Apricot-Tarragon Cocktail Cookies |
|
- 1/2 cup dried Turkish apricots, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon leaves
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- In a small bowl, cover the apricots with hot water and let stand for 10 minutes, until they are plump. Transfer the apricots to paper towels to drain.
- In another small bowl, rub the tarragon leaves into the sugar until they are moist and aromatic.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the tarragon sugar at low speed until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk until just combined, about 1 minute. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until smooth. Add the salt and flour and beat until just incorporated. Using a large spatula, fold in the apricots.
- Turn the cookie dough out onto a work surface and knead until it just comes together. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of wax paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Slide the wax paper–covered disks onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour, until very firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one piece of cookie dough at a time, peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until they are lightly golden; shift the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- MAKE AHEAD — The rolled-out frozen cookie dough can be wrapped in plastic and kept frozen for 2 weeks. The baked cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m seriously thinking of making these for the neighborhood New Year’s Eve party – forget the smoked salmon mousse, etc. A lovely recipe! Great to see you at IFBC, Carol…
Hi Liz, thank you for your comment. These cookies are so delicious; such a unique flavor combo that really works. And, they are very festive. Please let me know if you make them.
It was good to see you at IFBC as well. Take care!
I have a huge tarragon plant and just harvested the last of it before I’m sure winter will put it down for the year. I made some cookies last year with herbs and it was definitely ‘love at first bite.’ But then I just love Dorie and basically have a Dorie library; she has never led me astray. They look gorgeous too!
Thanks, Barb. I’m a huge Dorie fan as well. She’s a national treasure!
Carol, your little cookies look beautiful! I love that you used a scallop-edged cutter and I’m so happy that you liked them. Let me know what you think of the Chocolate-Cayenne Cocktail Cookies. My son loves how you get the salt, then the chocolate and then, just when you’re ready to relax, the cayenne.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! We just love the apricot and tarragon combination — the flavors are magical together. I can’t wait to make the Chocolate-Cayenne beauties. I’ll definitely let you know. Thank you again!
You have me inspired to try these for a Thanksgiving appetizer. But I’m going to be serving a Clementhyme cocktail that combines clementine juice and thyme, among other things so I was thinking about trying orange zest and fresh thyme. If they turn out, you’ll be the first to know. But oh how I want to try these and the chocolate ones as well. If only the days were longer…
I love your idea for orange or clementine zest and fresh thyme, Beth. I think they’ll be a lovely complement to your cocktail, too. I use Meyer lemon zest frequently for baking and for grain salads, etc. I think citrus zest brightens a dish’s flavor and gives a lightness to food, too.
I adore savory butter cookies and crackers. I’m anxious to see what you think about the chocolate cayenne ones. I make a chocolate chipotle cookie that my daughter and I can’t get enough of.
Hi Candy, thank you so much for your comment. I have the chocolate-cayenne dough in the fridge and hope to bake them tomorrow. Will keep you posted. And, your site is lovely. Can’t wait to spend more time there!
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