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Crisp Shortbread with Chocolate

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 02:09:08 +0000

This crisp, buttery cookie is easy to make, and goes with everything. Dunked in coffee, coated in confectioners’ sugar glaze, or standing alone, shortbread is downright delicious. I found a slight drizzle of chocolate just might make this cookie absolutely perfect, and I took pleasure in treating the pan of cookies like an abstract painting. If you’d like to make a chunkier shortbread, my Buttery Vanilla Shortbread is for you! The recipe comes from my first cookbook, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book. Notes: I prefer these rolled on the thinner side, but you can make them thicker if desired. I also call for a 2 in [5 cm] biscuit cutter, but you can use other sides as well; reduce the baking time if making smaller sizes.

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Neapolitan Cookies

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 03:12:14 +0000

As noted in the headnote of 100 Cookies, this Neapolitan cookie was inspired by Pink Door Cookies owner Mathew Rice’s Neapolitan cookie. I stumbled upon the cookie while searching Pinterest for the color pink; this cookie popped up, and I was intrigued by the pretty colors and flavors of Neapolitan ice cream all rolled together. Mathew originally shared his recipe here, but he now makes them at his cookie shop, Pink Door Cookies in Nashville, which he opened in late 2020. “Cookies have always been my favorite thing to make,” Rice told the Nashville Scene. “I feel like they’re humble, but you can elevate them in really wild ways. Having been a pastry chef for almost 20 years at this point, I bring a lot to cookies that’s unexpected, and I’m incorporating the components and flavors of plated desserts but in cookie form.” If you live in the Nashville area, please check out Pink Door Cookies! Along with his Original Neapolitan Cookie, Mathew also has a variety of other flavors: Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Corn, Cotton Candy, Rainbow Brownie, Blueberry Pancake, Cinnamon Toast Snickerdoodle, and classic Chocolate Chip, just to name a few. Neapolitan Cookie Making Tips: Use black cocoa powder […]

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Vanilla Bourbon Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 13:55:29 +0000

“A man who writes a story is forced to put into it the best of his knowledge and the best of his feeling. The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty. A writer lives in awe of words for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator. Of course, there are dishonest writers who go on for a little while, but not for long, not for long… A writer out of loneliness is trying to communicate like a distant star sending signals. He isn’t telling, or teaching, or ordering. Rather, he seeks to establish a relationship with meaning, of feeling, of observing. We are lonesome animals. We spend all our lives trying to be less lonesome. And one of our ancient methods is to tell a story, begging the listener to say, and to feel, ‘Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.’ To finish is sadness to a writer, a little death. He puts the last word down and it is done. […]

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Roasted Peach and Salted Caramel Pops (With Vanilla and Bourbon)

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 15:47:31 +0000

I missed Billy’s Popsicle Week back in June. I stuck my popsicle molds somewhere last winter ‘so I knew where they were’ and then of course, couldn’t find them when warm weather hit. Last week my husband gently guided me down to the basement to clean out our storage room filled with (mostly my) boxes and piles and whatnot, and lo and behold, there they were, tucked in a box marked ‘random kitchen things.’ So, much later, I am finally making popsicles. But not just any popsicles. These little pretties took a bit of time to put together, but dang, they are worth it. Roasted peaches, salted caramel, simple syrup, and some bourbon make these quite the late summer evening treat. Get yourself cozy in on a pool floaty and enjoy. Roasted Peach and Salted Caramel Popsicles (with vanilla and bourbon) Adapted from People’s Pops by Jordi, Carrell, and Horowitz. Ten Speed Press 2012. The salted caramel and simple syrup can be made ahead of time, and refrigerated. You will have a little caramel and simple syrup left over. I have these popsicle molds, and they work well – I just didn’t use the lids, and put sticks in instead. […]

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homemade vanilla extract

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 09 May 2014 03:36:08 +0000

I’ve had ‘make vanilla extract’ on my to-do list for quite some time, and finally got around to doing so. Ever since Ashlae sent me a bottle of her delicious brew, I just wasn’t satisfied with the extract I purchased in the store. So this week I got to work, slicing open vanilla beans, jamming them into pretty bottles, pouring vodka all over them, and shaking them gently. Pretty easy work for something so wonderful. And now I must wait patiently for at least 8 weeks, and longer if I can manage it. I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content. One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself, And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait. — Walt Whitman The vanilla beans and bottles were kindly sent to me by Beanilla, after they noticed a blog with the title Vanilla Bean didn’t have a post on making extract. They […]

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