See the bits of sugar that didn’t dissolve?
I’ve been intrigued by the gluten free mix Cup 4 Cup for awhile. It’s a collaboration between famed Chef Thomas Keller and Chef Lena Kwak. Chef Kwak created the mix when she worked as the Research & Development Chef for the French Laundry in Yountville, CA. It’s expensive. I paid $19.95 at Sur la Table for a 3 lb bag. I was curious to see what results would come of a product with such an impressive pedigree. I don’t bake gluten free often enough to want to spend time making my own mix (for now). Ergo the decision to lay down a $20 for (hopefully) instant gratification.
Admittedly I chose a recipe that only benefits from a lack of gluten. Shortbreads have a lovely sandy texture that only exists because the amount of fat tames the gluten in wheat flour. But, baby steps, right?
I threw the cookie together in a few minutes. When the little blinged out rounds were sitting next to me in the car on their way to a Valentine’s gathering of single friends I couldn’t resist. Man they’re good. As you’ll learn as I post more recipes I don’t like super sweet sweet things. The combination of the deep almost winey flavor of the muscovado sugar and the deeply browned butter makes these cookies wonderful for a tea time snack. The lemon just gives the deep flavor a bit of a lift and a lovely aroma. Try them out and let me know what you think.
Change Up
Because I chose to use salty butter the finished cookies are just lightly sweet. So they would also be fantastic as a base for a savory topping like a whipped Maytag blue cheese. Cookie as canapé base. Yum.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings | 24 cookies |
- 1 1/4 sticks salty butter
Ingredients Brown Butter
| |
- Cut butter into four or five pieces and cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour in refrigerator or ½ hour in freezer.
- Beat together lemon zest and sugar for a few seconds.
- Add cooled butter and beat using the paddle of a stand mixture (or an electric mixer) until the sugar lightens in color a bit and gets a little fluffy. If you’re using piloncillo or Muscovado don’t’ worry if you have a few beads of sugar that don't completely mix into the butter. They will add great texture.
- Add lemon juice and beat to mix.
- Add flour and mix well at medium speed. Dough might remain somewhat crumbly.
- Dump dough (or crumbly dough) onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment. If your dough is crumbly simply squeeze it together. Your flour has no gluten so you don’t need to worry about overworking it. Make a log about 1 1/2" thick. Roll the log in coarse sugar, pressing the granules into the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
- Wrap the cylinder in wax paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies until the edges take on color approximately 15 -20 minutes. Let them cool on the pan before moving. They'll firm up as they cool.
I used gold sanding sugar left from the Angeli pastry dept. Everyone asked about it.
Evan – great to hear about these cookies, which sound delicious. Thanks!