a whisk and a spoon

Tuesdays with Dorie DC: French Vanilla Sablés

Never met a Dorie sablé I didn’t like (and by now, I’ve met a lot of them). Actually, I’m particularly well-acquainted with these French Vanilla Sablés, as they form the base for many of Dorie’s jammer variations, but here they get to shine all on their own. They are buttery and sandy and lovely, with slightly caramelized edges from baking them in a muffin tin. Since I scaled back the recipe to just a quarter, I skipped the step of rolling out the dough and instead portioned and pressed it directly into the tin. I don’t have any sanding sugar that isn’t bright red or hot pink, so I just sprinkled these with some regular sugar for a crispy-sweet topping.

For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Espresso Chocolate Sablés

I feel like I may be over-using this metal cookie tin is as a prop, but it’s a real-like look into what I’m keeping around for sweet snacks…lift off the lid right now, and you’ll see Espresso Chocolate Sablés. Dorie’s sablés are always winners, and when they’re flavored with my two favorite things (espresso and chopped chocolate), I wonder why we’ve waited so long to make them! Well, they are pretty similar to the Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from BFMHTY, but heck, that post was in 2010.

These make me think of the McDonald’s chocolaty chip cookies that came in a little box and were such a treat when I was a kid. Today, those probably wouldn’t actually taste anything like they do in my memory, but I can’t check that because it seems they don’t even sell them anymore. I am totally dating myself with rosy memories of fast food cookies from the ’80s, but the point is that I really liked these sablés, and they should pop up in the tin on the regular.

For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Leckerli

One of the many things I’ve liked about baking from Dorie’s Cookies is finding out about cookies from far off places. I haven’t gone anywhere in ages, but I can still explore the sweets of the world. Here, we have Leckerli, a spice cookie from Switzerland. With plenty of mixed spice, candied orange peel, honey, almonds and kirsch, the dough is made, rolled into a slab and rested for up to two days before baking to “age” the flavors. Then it’s baked, glazed (more kirsch!) and cut into tiles. They might look like firm, crisp cookies, but they are actually dense and chewy, and while they do have those holiday vibes, I’d be happy to have them in the cookie tin anytime of year.

For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Mary’s Maine Bars

Mary’s Maine Bars are a recipe that Dorie’s assistant, recipe tester and friend (and former TWDer) Mary Dodd brought back from a trip to Maine. These chewy bar cookies are full of molasses and warm spices…if you have a taste, you might think they are gingerbread, but actually, they contain no ginger at all. Some others who’ve made them described them as being like brownies in texture, and they seem that way to me, too. They’d make a great holiday cookie for sure, but I like these flavors all winter long.

For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!