Lavender Shortbread Cookies

 Well, the sweet 16 party is over. More than a year of planning, many afternoons spent on DIY crafting, and some tears (but mostly a lot of smiles) later, the night of the party came and went. It was a night I'll never forget, and I'm incredibly lucky to have had so many people come to NY to help me celebrate my 16th birthday. We had a candle-lighting ceremony and a lot of cupcakes, but mostly it was chatting and, of course, dancing, that we spent time on. From my waltz with my dad to my classmates' rapping along to "thrift shop" and (attempting) to Harlem shake, it was a night unlike any other!
    But alas (alas? come back to this century, Sophia), it's over now, and it's time to enjoy my summer. These cookies were made a few weeks ago, before the party, but were such a hit that I kept their memory around long enough to tell you about them.

    These are a basic shortbread cookie, sweet and a bit crumbly, the kind that scatter tiny crumbs across the front of your shirt as their sugar layer shatters when you take a bite. They have a generous amount of dried lavender mixed in to the dough. You can't use any lavender - please don't try to cut open the little scented bag in your sock drawer - be sure to buy the edible kind, often labeled as baking lavender. I found it at the farmers' market near my house.
     I made these because I wanted to try something new, and I had picked up the lavender the week before. I was shocked at what a hit they were - several of my dad's co-workers proclaimed them the best thing I ever baked.
     I fell in love with these because they made me think of being six years old again. Their light flavor and purple spots throughout make them the perfect thing to serve at a little girls' tea party! How delicate they are and their sparkling topping just makes them even better.
     Enjoy!

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

(slightly adapted from Fit to Indulge)

1 cup butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, plus more for surface
2 tablespoons dried edible lavender
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat (or grease with butter).
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Fold in the dry ingredients.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring together.
Roll the dough into two logs (I made one round and one with squared edges) and wrap in parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Slice into rounds or squares about 1/4" thick and place on baking sheets, leaving a little space between them.
Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges.

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies

    The most important thing I've learned in my "quest" to make good gluten-free desserts for my mom is to try out recipes that are naturally gluten-free. This skips the messiness of dealing with a mixture of different flours and playing around with proportions. When it comes to these cookies, they are more delicious than any chocolate cookies I've had that do have wheat flour in them. These are fudgy and oh-so-chocolatey; when they come out of the oven, you will think they're under-baked, but they will set and become gooey perfection.

 I made these to take to dinner at my friend's house a couple of weeks ago, and they were a huge hit. This weekend is my sweet 16, and the night before we are having a dinner at my house for our relatives coming from out of town; I'm in charge of dessert, so this past week I made about 70 of these, and have stashed them in the freezer. And seriously, I've managed to restrain myself and not sneak very many out as a late-night snack (but only barely). This week I've been celebrating not only crazy party preparations, but also a new favorite cookie!
   Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies

(slightly adapted from Picklee)

1 1/2 cups (9 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup hot chocolate mix or sweetened cocoa powder, for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large  baking sheets with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.
Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow fluff.
Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, add dry ingredients into meringue mixture.
Mix lukewarm chocolate mixture and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will be very soft; let it sit for about a minute and it will thicken enough to roll).
Place hot chocolate mix or sweetened cocoa in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in chocolate, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes.
Transfer to rack, cool.
    -makes about 2 dozen cookies; recipe doubles/triples well

Whole Wheat Waffles

     I almost didn't post these waffles, simply because I didn't like the pictures very much. When I'm photographing hot waffles straight off the iron, I don't want to spend time creating picture-perfect stacks with syrup dripping down the sides and unreasonably large pats of butter - all I want is to taste it!

 

     So, maybe these pictures are what you would call "rustic." But then again, so are these waffles. The batter can be thrown together in five minutes, and is made with all whole wheat flour and very little fat and sugar. I made a big batch and froze them, and have been reheating them in the toaster oven for a quick breakfast that feels indulgent but is really just about as healthy as a couple of slices of whole wheat toast. Until you add the syrup. Or Nutella. But that's beside the point.
     Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Waffles 

(slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups lukewarm skim milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

Preheat your iron while you make the waffle batter.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy; that's okay.

Cook the waffles as directed in your waffle iron's instructions.

-makes about 3 standard 4-section waffles (I use the Cuisinart grill waffle iron insert).

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies with Homemade Raspberry Jam

    The school year has pretty much come to an end, and though I still have some state tests to take (honestly, the worst part about those is really just sitting in a freezing cafeteria for three hours a day), I've had my last classes. Around Christmas, lots of my friends got their teachers gifts as little thank-you's; I was too busy around then to even think about this until the last day of school before vacation, but I decided to make up for it before the end of the school year.

     I decided to bake my teachers cookies, because let's be honest, who doesn't like cookies?! I started out trying to make raspberry macarons, but it was too humid and they cracked and it was late at night and I had spent all week taking finals and so I made vanilla bean sugar cookies. Which made a lot of sense in my head at the time... I already had the macaron filling, a delicious homemade raspberry jam, ready, so the sugar cookies became sandwiches.
      Luckily, they worked out really well. The cookies are chewy and buttery, and the vanilla goes perfectly with the tart raspberry. Plus, how cute are these when they're nestled into mini bakery boxes?
    Enjoy!

 Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies with Homemade Raspberry Jam

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

(adapted from Beyond Kimchee)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 large (or 2 small) vanilla beans

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar, for coating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla bean(s) lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll into 1" balls (I used a cookie scoop) and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges get lightly golden.

Homemade Raspberry Jam

(from Ladurée Sucré; wording slightly adapted from Not So Humble Pie)

225g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar

2 tsp powdered pectin

375g (3 cups) french raspberries

1/2 lemon

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and pectin.
Using an immersion blender, puree the fresh raspberries and then pour into a medium sauce pan.
Over low heat bring the berries to just barely warm, then add the sugar and pectin mixture and the juice from the half lemon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for two minutes.
Pour the jam into a bowl and cover. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until chilled.

Sandwich two cookies with a layer of raspberry jam inbetween.
      -makes about 12 sandwich cookies

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 vanilla beans

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for coating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (170ºC)
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. With a knife halve vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape seeds into butter mixture and beat in egg and vanilla extract until combined well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make into 1 inch size balls and roll them in 1/4 cup sugar. Place them 2" apart in a cookie sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges gets lightly golden.

- See more at: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/#sthash.lKEKI5vc.dpuf

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

Finalsfinalsfinalsfinals. That's just about what's going through everyone's head at my school right now - it seems like AP exams just ended and now we have to take our finals! Luckily, this time around none of mine are too bad, so I don't have to be studying all the time. I wanted to share this cake that I made back in April, which I have put off sharing mainly out of vanity (on behalf of my pictures) - see the picture of the full cake below.
When I was in Brazil, it was around midnight when my cousin realized that the next day was her friend's birthday, and we knew we had to make her a cake. Her favorite is white chocolate, so I decided to go with my go-to yellow cake, with a light white chocolate frosting. The problem was that we were at my grandma's house, who doesn't ever make layer cakes - so we had to make do with piping "Parabéns!" ("Happy Birthday!") out of chocolate syrup. Oh well...

This is really just ganache that has been whipped after being chilled. I had no idea it would be so delicious! It's light and fluffy, almost like a white-chocolate-flavored whipped cream (which I guess it is, but nevermind...). It's so easy to spread, and it pairs perfectly with the light vanilla flavor in the cake.
Enjoy!

my chocolate syrup piping...

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

(adapted from Food.com)

6 ounces white chocolate, chopped

2 cups heavy cream

Have the white chocolate ready in a medium bowl of a stand mixer.
In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until boiling. Pour over the white chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds.
Stir in concentric circles, from the outside in and then the inside out, until the chocolate is completely melted. Cool in the fridge until cold.
Beat on high speed with the mixer until light and fluffy. Be careful not to over-beat.