Rewards

It's a beautiful weekend, but I'm inside for the most part.  Mainly because I twisted my left ankle last week and I've put a boot on it (the boot from my bum right ankle last spring.)  So, I've mostly been on the couch, doing school work and learning a new crochet technique.  But I did feel better yesterday and did a bit of baking.  I made this poundcake recipe from Melissa Clark in the NYTimes--I really liked her citrus cornmeal poundcake, with all its flexibility.  And I sure used it here:  I added in all the options!!!  It was really good--I thought the zest was too bitter from this particular orange--but everybody really liked it.  It was easy and worth doing again, maybe even try it without all the extras.

Now Sis might make me some shortbread.  See, she had misplaced something and had been looking for a long time. And I found it in 10 minutes--and a baking project was my reward!  And I get to choose.  I have two shortbread recipes--both from Melissa Clark!--and so I want one of these.

I'll tell you about the crochet when I have some pictures.

Melissa Clark’s Snickerdoodle Poundcake (with Chocolate Chips)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar--light or dark brown or granulated

2 eggs, beaten well

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (with a dash of almond)--can also be shot of rum or Bourbon

1 teaspoon grated citrus zest (optional)

1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional)

1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek or plain yogurt, mascarpone, creme fraiche, buttermilk or soured whole milk--which you make by adding 1 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup optional mix-ins:  nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, or mix of these

Topping:

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing 9 x 5 loaf pan.  and Beat butter with sugar.   Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.  Then add  cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract and, if desired, orange zest. Beat til smooth.

Add in 1/2 cup sour cream and mix well. Then add 1 1/2 cups flour beating until smooth.  If mix-ins are desired, stir in and pour batter into a buttered loaf pan.

Break up the brown sugar with your fingers, then sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. It looks like a lot of topping. It is a lot of topping, but in a happy, more-is-more kind of way.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Let it cool in the pan completely before starting to slice off slivers until the thing is gone.

NYTimes One Pot Shortbread

2 cups flour

1/4 cup rice flour (or cornstarch or more flour)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup melted butter (if salted, reduce amount of salt)

1 teaspoon flavoring:  citrus zest, vanilla extract, ground cardamom (or see variations below) Good alone.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8- or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. 

In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Stir in a cup of melted unsalted butter. Add any optional flavors.  Press the dough into the pan, and bake it until golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, shower the top with more sugar and be generous. Use a butter knife to cut the shortbread into bars in the pan while it’s still hot (or it will crumble.)

NYTimes Shortbread 10 Ways

2 cups/250 grams all-purpose flour

⅔ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks/1 cup/226 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)

Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.

TIPS

Here are nine variations for the master shortbread recipe above.

• Scottish Shortbread: Use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup white rice flour.
• Tender Shortbread: Substitute confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup cornstarch for 1/3 cup of flour.
• Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
• Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
• Nut Shortbread: Grind 1/2 cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
• Spice or Seed Shortbread: Add up to 1 teaspoon spices, like ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom, or seeds like caraway or anise. Or add up to 3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.
• Brown or Maple Sugar Shortbread: Substitute 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar or maple sugar for the granulated. This yields a slightly softer shortbread.
• Cornmeal or Whole Wheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/2 cup cornmeal or whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour. Season with spices, seeds, citrus or rosemary if desired.
• Buckwheat Shortbread: Substitute up to 1/3 cup buckwheat flour for 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour.