Shortbread Hearts with Cranberries

This is the perfect shortbread/Christmas cookie! If you love shortbread, and a lot of people do, this is THE cookie to make. The colourful cranberries make them really pop at Christmas time. This delightful recipe comes from “Christmas Cookies: Dozens of Yuletide Treats for the Whole Family,” by Monika Römer [1, 2]. The recipes in this book are sometimes more challenging, but they are spectacular, the photos by Oliver Brachat, (a chef and pâtissier himself) are gorgeous, and there is a special kids section for baking with the younger set that is quite good. Oh for some kids to bake with! Also, if any of you are into German traditions of baking, or you want to see what it is all about, I would suggest this book. Note that heart shapes are very popular in Germany at Christmas, but they also would work beautifully for Valentine’s Day. Check out my photo, and I think you will agree.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup (300 g)salted butter

1 (200 g) cup sugar

4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour

5 o.z (140 g) dried cranberries (not too finely chopped)

Additional: Flour for dusting, heart-shaped cookie cutter, parchment. I would also use stars.

Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C), unless your have a convection oven, in which case, preheat to 320 F (160 C). In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment for about 10 minutes (I would recommend a stand mixer). Afterward the mixture should be cream white and should have visibly increased in volume. Sprinkle the sugar in and continue stirring until the crystals have dissolved. (At this point I would switch to the paddle attachment.) Add in the flour and cranberries, and then knead into a smooth dough. (Watch adding in the flour at the end, as you may not need it all. If you mixture is too dry, add more butter.)

Roll dough out on a floured countertop (or board) to form a sheet approximately 1/3” (to be specific, 2/5”) or 1 cm. thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out small hearts (or stars), and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place the baking sheet in a preheated oven (middle rack) and bake the shortbread hearts for about 10 minutes, until they are very lightly coloured. Remove the cookies from the oven, take them off the baking sheet along with the parchment paper and allow to cool. Makes one tray.

Now all you need is a proper cup of tea, and you have a most comforting afternoon Christmas treat!

Notes:

1. Römer, Monika. “Christmas Cookies: Dozens of Classic Yuletide Treats for the Whole Family.” Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2015.

2. Römer, Monika. “Unsere Weihnachtsbäckerei.” Hölker Verlag im Coppenrath Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Münster, Germany, 2012.

Note 2 is the original German version of this book.

You can follow my further adventures in the world of food or sign up for a cooking/baking class by visiting my website at www.svanslooten.com and you can also email me suevanslooten@ripnet.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Chocolate Chip Sourdough Pancakes with Butter Leaves and Dried Cranberries

A lot of folks love sourdough, and are always looking for new ways to incorporate it into their recipes. In my never-ending search for the better pancake, I came up with this novel recipe. It’s fairly healthy for you, (if you ignore the chocolate chips), as you use buckwheat flour. My son loves chocolate chip pancakes (of course, I like them too!), so I thought, can I use the chocolate with the sourdough? I’m happy to report that yes, you can. Then to just gild the pancake lily a little more, dried cranberries got sprinkled on top, for color and more flavor. Of course, maple syrup (or anything else you like), goes on top. As an added touch, especially as we near the holidays, I came across a novel way to use butter decoratively: Butter leaves. They are very easy to make once you get the hang of them and look impressive. Check it out in my photo, but you can use any small cutter. One word of caution, as I used a fairly plain leaf, after the maple leaf I was after tended to crumble. Sharp edges don’t do well. Hearts would work well, or a snowman. Let’s start with the pancakes:

Chocolate Chip Sourdough Pancakes

I cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ cup sugar

2 tbl. vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup sourdough starter, fed or unfed

¾ cup mini chocolate chips, or ½ cup of the larger chips

½ cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl or measuring cup (at least 4 cups), place your dry ingredients. Add your oil, egg, sourdough starter and mini-chips, mixing well. If you’re using the larger, regular chocolate chips, just sprinkle a few on each pancake as you cook them. Have a hot griddle or large frying pan oiled, even if it’s non-stick. Pour dollops of batter, which should be “pancake consistency” onto the pan. If your batter is too thick, you can always thin with some milk. When bubbles form, and the bottom is browned, flip. If using the large chips, don’t let cook too long after flipping, so they don’t burn. Place onto plates or a large platter when cooked. Sprinkle with dried cranberries and add syrup. Eat while warm.

For the Butter Leaves:

¼ to 1/3 inch slices of butter, salted or unsalted, slightly chilled

1” cookie cutters or canapé cutters

Use the cutters just as if you were making cookies, only instead of dough, it’s butter. You don’t want the butter too cold, or it tends to crumble. You don’t want it softened either, or they will not turn out. I would suggest taking refrigerated butter out and letting it warm up for 10-15 minutes. After pushing the cutter into the butter, use the end of a fork or tip of a spoon to push the butter out gently. Even a finger works well. I made mine a little thicker, about 1/3”, use that if they break too much. Any scraps can be re-used for other purposes. Keep chilled.

You can follow my further adventures, or sign up for a cooking class, at www.svanslooten.com. You also can always email a question at suevanslooten@ripnet.com. We’d love to hear from you!