Рецепт Polvorones con Chocolate: #CreativeCookieExchange and The New Southwest
Polvorones con Chocolate: #CreativeCookieExchange and The New Southwest
This is all why when I can kill 2 or 3 birds with one stone, I get extra excited. And this is one of those posts. It all started a few weeks ago, when Alex very excitedly came out of her after school Spanish language class (just an introductory dip into the language) very excited about the Mexican food party they were going to have for the last class and could I please come and bake something too? Mexican? Why, YES! I can, because it just so happened that my upcoming Creative Cookie Exchange theme was Cookies for Cinco de Mayo! Perfect!
Then, in the meantime, Hippocrene Books sent me for review Meagan Micozzi’s The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist
. You might know her–she writes Scarletta Bakes, and her cookbook is full of cookies that I want to make (it has loads of delicious savory dishes too, but it was cookies I was looking for and bookmarking like a madwoman). Talk about divine intervention! I made one amazing cookie and took care of baking for Alex’s class, baking for Creative Cookie Exchange and got to use this awesome new cookbook! Win-win-win!
Plus how much fun did I have doing it all with Alex?
Polvorones are what we think of as Mexican Wedding Cookies. Interestingly, they do not need to include nuts, which I always think of as being in Wedding Cookies. Meagan’s version–which looks SO GOOD and which I have provided for you below with permission of the publisher, included pistachios. However, Alex and I were concerned about including nuts in a school treat, so we decided to pull out some hot chocolate made from shaved bittersweet chocolate and use that instead. I have also included my version below.
As I mentioned above #CreativeCookieExchange this month is all about celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican heritage celebration that is much bigger in the United State than it is in Mexico (to my surprise although I guess it makes sense). It is also big with food bloggers, as we like to grab any excuse to celebrate a particular culinary tradition. And truly people do have Cinco de Mayo parties, so I hope our collection of cookies (linked to below) give you some great ideas for desserts for your own party!
Polvorones con Chocolate
Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened ½ cup white sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 t vanilla extract 2 cups AP flour ½ cup shaved bittersweet chocolate (to make things easy, use shaved chocolate for hot chocolate) ⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar
Cream the butter and granulated sugar together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Add 1½ cups of the flour and mix to just incorporate. Whisk together the remaining flour and the shaved chocolate. Mix that into the dough just until incorporated--the dough will be stiff and maybe a little crumbly. Use your hands to clump the dough together and place on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a log approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the dough log into ¼-inch thick slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1-2 inches apart (the dough will not spread, but do make sure there is room for hot air to circulate between the cookies). Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are firm and turning golden on the bottom. Let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, before tossing the warm cookies very gently in the powdered sugar and placing on a cooling rack. 3.2.2499
Pistachio Polvorones
Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: Cookies
1 cup pistachio kernels 1 cup unsalted butter, softened ½ cup granulated white sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour ⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the pistachio kernels in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until fragrant and slightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Cream butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour and mix just until you have a uniform, stiff dough. Coarsely chop the cooled pistachios. Fold into the dough, using clean hands if necessary to gently work the pistachio pieces throughout. Place finished dough on a large sheet of parchment paper and shape into a log approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Once the dough is chilled through and you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven again to 350°F. Slice the dough log into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (these cookies will not spread so you can fit up to 16 on a standard-sized half sheet pan). Bake for approximately 25 to 28 minutes. Finished cookies will be firm and just turning light golden brown on the bottoms. (Note: if you bake your cookies straight from the refrigerator, you may need to leave them in the oven for up to 30 minutes. But that said, overbaking these cookies is not good, so start checking for doneness at 20 minutes.) Remove baked cookies from oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Place the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and toss the still-warm cookies in the confectioners’ sugar. The key is to toss the cookies in the sugar when they are not so hot that the sugar will melt, but warm enough that it will adhere to the exterior of the cookies. Place finished cookies on a rack to cool and set completely. YIELD: approximately 25 cookies © Hippocrene Books 3.2.2499
The theme this month is Cinco de Mayo – and what better way to celebrate than baking cookies! Creative Cookie Exchange has decided to stop using the linky. What this means is that the only way to join in the fun is to become a host. Just contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.
You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes–be sure to check out our Facebook page, our Pinterest Board, and our monthly posts. You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:
The publisher did send me The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist
for free to use and review; there was no obligation on my part regarding it and all opinions are my own.
#CincodeMayo,
#CreativeCookieExchange,
Cinco de Mayo,
cookies,
Creative Cookie Exchange,
mexican,
nutfree,
nuts,
pistachios,
- shaved chocolate,
- shortbread,
southwestern