Matcha Shortbread – Certified Organic

Good day, here is your cookie for today. It’s really a cookie. OK, it’s another real cookie recipe.

Matcha Sugar Cookies (with green tea powder)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks / 1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
2 tbsp powdered sugar
3 ounces high quality white chocolate, melted and still barely warm

Steps

Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and vanilla extract; mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add flour mixture and, on low speed, mix until just combined. Remove 2 cups of the dough and set aside. This is the vanilla dough.

On low speed, add the matcha and powdered sugar to the remaining dough in the stand mixer bowl and mix until just combined. Then mix in the melted white chocolate until well combined.

Divide each flavor of dough into three fairly equal pieces. (You should have 6 pieces: 3 matcha and 3 vanilla.) Wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes.

Roll one piece of matcha dough into a 7×7 inch square. Roll one piece of vanilla dough into a 7×7 inch square. Trying to line up the edges as best as you can, place the vanilla dough on top of the matcha dough. Gently roll over the dough to seal the two layers together.

Roll your layered dough into a tight log. After the log is formed, gently roll it back and forth on the counter to slightly elongate and compact it. The log should be about 9 inches long and about 1.5 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic wrap. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Refrigerate dough logs for 2 hours or freeze up to 2 months.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Working with one log at a time, slice the dough into 1/4 inch thick rounds and place rounds on your prepared baking sheets (space them about 1 inch apart). Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look set. Cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then gently transfer cookies to a wire rack.

(makes about 9 dozen cookies)

Your cookie for this day, Matcha Shortbread (green tea cookies). Enjoy.

Baking cookies just for You,

Dahni the cookie man

Dip Dunk or Don’t

Pistachio-Rosewater -Certified Organic

Good day, here is your cookie for today. It’s really a cookie. OK, it’s another real cookie recipe.

Pistachio, Rosewater and Lime Cookies

(with Marmalade Centers)

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. rice or soy milk
• 1 Tbsp. rosewater
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
• ½ cup shelled pistachios (or almonds), coarsely chopped

Steps

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease two cookie sheets with vegan shortening or margarine.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, rice or soy milk, rosewater, vanilla, lime juice, and zest.
• Add the cornstarch and whisk until dissolved.
• Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Mix well.
• Roll the dough into balls about 2 teaspoons in size (a bit smaller than a walnut).
• Either double the recipe or using fancy cookie cutters, cut shapes into the centers of half of the dough balls. These will be your tops to these sandwich cookies. Take the cutout scraps and roll into additional balls. You should have equal numbers of tops and bottoms.
• Dip the tops of all cookies into the chopped pistachios. Press down with two fingers; the dough will flatten a bit and the pistachios will collect on the bottom.
• Place the cookies, nut side up, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. You should be able to fit 16 on a standard baking sheet.
• Bake for 13 minutes; they will be soft but will firm up as they cool.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.
• Prior to serving, place your favorite marmalades or jams onto the cookies without cutouts. Place the cookies with the cutout design on top.

Notes:

The easiest way to chop the pistachios or almonds is by pulsing them in a food processor several times.

Total Time 35 minutes Yield 32 cookies

Your cookie for this day, Pistachio-Rosewater. Enjoy.

Baking cookies just for You,

Dahni the cookie man

Dip Dunk or Don’t

French Macaroon – Certified organic

Good day, here is your cookie for today. It’s really a cookie. OK, it’s another real cookie recipe. The French macaroons differ from the American in that that do not contain coconut.

Hazelnut Almond with Orange Semi-Freddo

For Macaroons
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped blanched almonds (2 3/4 oz), toasted
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts (2 oz), toasted

For Semi-Freddo
9 oranges
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons potato starch

For Wine Syrup
1 orange
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Special equipment: parchment paper, a large pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch plain tip, and an ice-cream maker

Make macaroons:
Preheat oven to 200°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw or trace 12 (3-inch) circles 1 inch apart on parchment and turn paper over on baking sheet.

Put egg whites in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk constantly until barely warm. Remove bowl from heat and beat whites with a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add 1/2 cup superfine sugar, beating until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then nuts.

Transfer meringue to pastry bag and pipe 12 rounds of meringue inside drawn circles on parchment. Bake in middle of oven until dry to the touch and crisp, about 1 1/2 hours. If macaroons are not crisp after 1 1/2 hours, turn off oven and let stand in oven 30 to 40 minutes more. Peel macaroons off parchment and transfer to a rack to cool (macaroons may stick if cooled on paper).

Make semi-Freddo: Finely grate enough zest from oranges to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons. Squeeze 2 cups juice.

Whisk together yolks, sugar, and potato starch in a 1-quart heavy saucepan. Gradually add juice, whisking until smooth. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour through a very fine sieve into a metal bowl and stir in zest. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir occasionally until mixture is cold.

Freeze in ice-cream maker until soft-frozen. Spread semi-Freddo on flat (bottom) side of 6 macaroons and top with remaining macaroons, flat sides down. Wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve.

Make wine syrup: Remove zest from orange with a vegetable peeler, and then remove any white pith from zest. Julienne zest. Squeeze 1 tablespoon juice.

Cover zest with cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Pat dry.

Cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel.

While caramel is cooking, bring wine and zest to a boil in a small saucepan. Tilt caramel pan and carefully pour in wine with zest (caramel will harden and steam vigorously). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Stir in orange and lemon juices, and then cool.

Let filled macaroons soften 20 to 25 minutes at room temperature, then serve with wine syrup.

Cooks’ notes:

• Filled macaroons can be frozen up to 2 days.
• Wine syrup can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving

A little Short History of Macaroons

Almond macaroons originated in an Italian monastery around 1792. The name comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone, which refers to almond paste. (Macaroni means flour paste.)

The first macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s amaretti, with a crisp crust and a soft interior. They were made from egg whites and almond paste (a combination of equal parts of ground blanched almonds and sugar, mixed with egg whites-today glucose or corn syrup can be substituted).

The name of the cookie comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone (it is also the word for pasta-macaroni-and dumplings).

French macaroons are delicate, meringue-like and almond flavored (unlike the dense, chewy American coconuty version — which is also pretty good).  This sweet treat became popular in France in the mid-17th century and didn’t evolve much for nearly 300 years.  In the 1930s, bakers at the famed Laduree tearoom and pastry shop in Paris started sandwiching frosting between two traditional macaroons. They have been described as “at once fluffy, a little chewy, and lightly crisp.”

Your cookie for this day, Macaroon Recipe. Enjoy.

Baking cookies just for You,

Dahni the cookie man

Dip Dunk or Don’t

Good day, here is your cookie for today. It’s really a cookie. OK, it’s a real cookie recipe.

Shortbread Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside. In another bowl with your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until the piece is about ¼ inch thick. Cut into round cookies or whatever shapes you desire using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Traditional is square with little holes with a fork or tooth pick as the picture above.

Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly brown. Cool on rack.

Shortbread with keep in an airtight container for about a week or frozen for several months.

Makes about 20 shortbread cookies

A little Short History of Shortbread

Scottish shortbread evolved from medieval biscuit bread, which was a twice-baked, enriched bread roll dusted with sugar and spices and hardened into a Rusk (soft, sweetened biscuit). Eventually butter was substituted for yeast, and shortbread was born. Since butter was such an important ingredient, the word “shortbread” derived from shortening. Shortbread may have been made as early as the 12th Century, however its invention is often attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th Century.

In the beginning shortbread was expensive and reserved as a luxury for special occasions like Christmas, Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Eve), and weddings. Through the years it developed into an everyday favorite and is now enjoyed all around the world. Traditional shortbread consisted of three main ingredients: flour, sugar and butter.

Shortbread is generally associated with and originated in Scotland, but due to its popularity it is also made in the remainder of the United Kingdom, and other countries like Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. In the latter a popular recipe of it is called “Drömmar”, literally meaning “dreams” in English. The Scottish version is the best-known, and Walkers Shortbread Ltd is Scotland’s largest food exporter

Shortbread was chosen as the United Kingdom’s representative for Café Europe during the 2006 Austrian Presidency of the European Union.

Scottish chef John Quigley, of Glasgow’s Red Onion, describes shortbread as “the jewel in the crown” of Scottish baking

• In Shetland a decorated shortbread was traditionally broken over a bride’s head before she entered her new home.
• Shortbread was classified as a bread by bakers to avoid paying the tax placed on biscuits.
• The Scottish custom of eating shortbread on New Year’s Eve derives from an ancient pagan ritual of eating Yule Cakes
• January 6th of each year is National Shortbread Day.

Your cookie for this day, shortbread cookie recipe. Enjoy.

Baking cookies Just for You,

Dahni the cookie man

Dip Dunk or Don’t

Smily Face – Certified organic

Good day, here is your cookie for today. For your cookie today, I have baked yet another reason, for having, starting or considering the possibility of having, your very own business. Sleep in your bathtub!

The Flavor of the Day

You already have many expenses or costs just to live right? Would you rather keep things they way they are right now, with all liklihood that your costs will continue to go up or would you prefer to spend less? It’s really that simple. If you own your own home or co-own it with the bank  like we do, there is a goldmine somewhere; someplace in your home!

Generally speaking, the smallest room in the house is the bathroom. The largest room used to be the living room. Many people have even larger rooms like a family room, den, or maybe an all-purpose or recreation room. Within the past few years, more and more people have either built homes with a master bedroom suite or added one to their existing home. Perhaps, this is now the largest room in your home? Still, the bathrooms are generally the smallest rooms in any house, unless of course, you have huge walk-in closets or a humongus pantry off the kitchen, a BIG-O office or library, guest quarters or pet compound. 

OK, let’s assume your bathroom is the smallest room in your home. If either your living room or your master bedroom is the largest (or both are of equal size), consider using your bedroom and or living room for another purpose and sleep in the bathtub. “Now why would I want to do that,” you ask? That’s an excellent question!

Business Use of Your Home

Business use of your home means that a certain number of square feet in your home can mean hundreds and thousands of extra dollars to you, each and every year!

First, have a business:

• Have the intent to make a profit
• Know the rules and play by the rules
• Keep good records

Next, turn the largest room in your home into an office. The reason for using the largest room will soon follow here.

The rule for this room is that it must primarily be used for business purposes. Now I primarily use our office for business, but I share this room with my wife. Susan is a teacher and she has an office at school. She often is working on school projects at home. Now the reason she can share this office and that deductions still apply, is because her office at school, IS NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE!!! The school closes say after 7pm and is closed on weekends. It is during these times that she is often doing school work, but does not have access to her office at school. So if you have a similar situation, but have 24/7 access to your other office, you can certainly use this portion of your home office, but you cannot deduct any of the expenses to that portion. Very important, so please remember this.

The reason for having this room the largest room in your home is simply a matter of square feet. Let’s say the largest room in your home is your master bedroom.

You must know what the total square feet of your home is. Let’s say it is 1600 sq. ft. Measure the largest room in your home (closets and all). Let’s say you come up with 168 sq. ft.  168 X 100 =  16800 ÷ 1600 total sq. ft. of your home = 10.5% Just by having a home office in this situation, you can deduct 10.5 % of your other home expenses including: mortage payments, utilities, water, trash, lawn maintenance, snow removal + many, many others! This can amount to hundreds and thousands of dollars every year, in your pocket, just from having your own business and having a home office. In addition to this, all your office supplies, computers, other office equipment etc. is 100% deductible if primarrily used for business.

As a comparison, the average size of a bathroom is 5′ X 7′ = 35 sq. feet. 35 X 100 = 3500 ÷ 1600 total sq. ft. of your home = about 2.18% So, turn your bedroom into your office and sleep in the bathtub! 

But hey…

Surround-Sound, iPhone, color TV/[plays-CD/DVD & Blue Ray media/voice activated computer/security monitor, jaccuzi, fresh flower, glass of red something, cashmere blanket, fluffy goose down pillow and a remote control- [controls jets, lights, music, visual media, temperature and you can even buzz someone in if they forgot their keys (and you know them of course) 

Baking cookies Just for You,

Dahni the cookie man

Dip – Dunk or Don’t