Cinnamon shortbread cookies with cinnamon sugar

The Christmas tree is finally up! We trimmed it yesterday evening and my home feels Christmassy and festive and of course I’m already knee deep in holiday baking. I made melomakarona the other day, my all time favorite Greek Christmas cookies, and I plan on making kourabiedes very soon, but today I made another type of cookie that’s become a tradition in my home during the holidays, shortbread. I love all shortbread cookies, but above all those flavored with cinnamon.

I have shared with you before the vanilla and cocoa versions, and here’s the cinnamon one. It not only has cinnamon in the dough, but it has cinnamon on top as well, as I sprinkle the cookies before baking with cinnamon sugar that I make with Demerara sugar and ground cinnamon, that accentuates the flavor of the spice even more, without, however, being overwhelming, and it is fantastic. If you haven’t been sprinkling your shortbread with cinnamon sugar, then you should get on it as soon as possible.

Hope you are already in a festive mood yourselves and baking up a storm. Do try these and let me know what you think. And don't forget to tag me in your photos on instagram if you do make them so I can see them.

Happy baking!

Cinnamon shortbread cookies with cinnamon sugar

This is a shortbread full of butter flavor and a delicate texture. It is, to me, the ultimate shortbread. See here the vanilla and the cocoa versions.

This recipe yields about 35 Christmas tree cookies that have a height of 7 cm and a base with a width of 6 cm. There are so many different kinds of cookie cutters out there so of course I don’t expect you to have the same exact cookie cutters I have, so you may end up with more or less cookies.

Yield: about 35 cookies

Ingredients
150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
55 g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
220 g all purpose flour, sieved
20 g cornflour (cornstarch), sieved, plus extra for dipping your cookie cutter
1 heaped tsp (5 g) ground cinnamon, sieved
A pinch of sea salt

for the cinnamon sugar
2 Tbsp coarse Demerara sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Special equipment: fine sieve, stand or hand-held mixer, plastic wrap, rolling pin, baking paper, cookie cutters of your choice (see note above for cookie cutters I used), baking sheet(s), small food processor


Preparation
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl), add the butter and icing sugar and beat, using the paddle attachment (or with your hand-held mixer), on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes or until you have a very creamy and light mixture. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add the flour, cornflour, cinnamon and salt and beat on low speed. At first you may think that the mixture will not become a dough because it will look very sandy but don't worry, after a minute it will come together (like in the picture below) and gather in pieces around the paddle attachment (or around the beaters) of your mixer.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and then into a disk. At this point you'll see the actual texture of the dough which should be smooth and firm. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, make the cinnamon sugar. In a small food processor, add the sugar and cinnamon and process for 5 seconds to combine. Don’t overdo it because you don’t want the sugar to turn into powder. We want it to add texture to the cookies when sprinkled on top.

Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Place the chilled disk of dough between two sheets of baking paper and using a rolling pin, roll it out to 0.5-0.7 cm-thickness.
In a small bowl, add some cornflour and use it to dip in your cookie cutter. In this way, the cookie cutter won't stick to the dough.
Remove the top baking paper from your rolled-out dough and using your cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1.5 cm apart.

Note: It's best if you transfer the cut-out cookies from the baking paper to your baking sheet using a small offset spatula. This way you ensure the shape of the cookie remains intact. You need to work fast because the dough becomes warmer and softer as time passes.

Note: Any leftover dough, shape it again into a ball and place it in the fridge to firm up. Then roll it out same as you did before and cut out more cookies.

Sprinkle each cookie with the cinnamon sugar. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes or until light golden around the edges. They'll feel a little soft in the middle but that's okay. Be careful not to overbake them.

Note: If you choose a different cookie cutter, either smaller or bigger, or even of a different shape than the one I used (see note at the start of the recipe), the baking times will change. Keep a close eye on your cookies while baking so you avoid any surprises.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to stand for 2 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Allow them to cool completely before you transfer them to a cookie tin.
They'll keep for 1 week, at room temperature, in a tightly closed cookie tin.

Sparkling wine & vanilla cupcakes with sparkling wine buttercream frosting

Few days of the year are more special than New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and there’s nothing better than a glass of sparkling wine to celebrate them. Well, almost. Because for me, the combination of sparkling wine and a sweet little treat in the shape of a cupcake is the best thing.

These cupcakes are flavored with vanilla and sparkling wine and they are beautifully fluffy, moist and soft.

They are topped with a plump, sweet buttercream that is also flavored with sparkling wine, which adds a subtle acidity and tangy flavor to the cupcakes that balances their sweetness and makes them unique and utterly addictive.

I wish you a happy, healthy and creative 2017! Happy New Year, friends!

Sparkling wine & vanilla cupcakes with sparkling wine buttercream frosting

Use a sweet (not dry) sparkling wine of your choice. I prefer one made with Muscat grapes which I find is more suitable for these cupcakes but you can also use Prosecco or Champagne.

Yield: 17 cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes
220 g all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
200 g caster sugar
2 medium-sized eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
115 g sour cream, full-fat
120 ml sweet sparkling wine (I used Muscat sparkling wine)

for the buttercream frosting
250 ml sweet sparkling wine (I used Muscat sparkling wine)
230 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
120 g icing sugar

Special equipment: stand or hand-held mixer, fine sieve, cupcake pan, paper liners, piping bag with nozzle of your choice, dragees/sprinkles to decorate your cupcakes


Preparation

for the cupcakes
Line your cupcake pan with paper liners.
Preheat your oven to 175°C.

In a medium-sized bowl, sieve the flour together with the baking soda, baking powder and salt, using a fine sieve. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl) add the butter and sugar and beat with the paddle attachment (or with a hand-held mixer) on medium-high speed until you have a creamy, fluffy and light mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well on high speed after each addition to incorporate them fully. Then, beat in the vanilla extract.
In another medium-sized bowl, add the sour cream and sparkling wine and whisk with a wire whisk (the mixture will fizz a little).
With your mixer working on low speed, add and incorporate into the butter-sugar-eggs mixture the sieved dry ingredients and sour cream-sparkling wine mixture alternately, starting and finishing with the dry ingredients (three portions of the dry ingredients and two portions of the sour cream mixture). Mix only until combined, otherwise the cupcakes will be tough.

Empty the batter into the paper lined cupcake pan, filling each cup by 2/3.
Bake the cupcakes on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check them for doneness after 15 minutes because not all ovens are the same.

Note: The recipe yields 17 cupcakes. If your cupcake pan has fewer cups, bake the cupcakes in two batches.

Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Once the cupcakes have slightly cooled, remove them carefully from the pan and onto the wire rack to cool completely.

The cupcakes need to be completely cool before they get frosted otherwise the buttercream will melt.

for the buttercream frosting
While the cupcakes are cooling, add 235 ml of the sparkling wine (of the 250 ml, reserving the 15 ml for later use) in a small saucepan. Place it over a medium-high heat and simmer the wine until it is reduced to 2 tablespoons.
Empty it into a small bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill.

In the (clean) bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl) add the butter and icing sugar and beat with the whisk attachment (or with a hand-held mixer) on medium-high speed until you have a creamy, thick and fluffy mixture. Then, pour the reserved 15 ml of sparkling wine and the chilled 2 tablespoonfuls of reduced sparking wine in the bowl and beat until incorporated.

Using a piping bag and nozzle of your choice, pipe the frosting on top of each completely cooled cupcake and decorate with dragees/sprinkles. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can frost the cupcakes using a palette knife.

The cupcakes are best eaten the day you make them or the day after, but you can keep them for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The frosting will firm up in the fridge.

Baked quince with kaymak and pistachio

I may be a lover of all things chocolate but fruit desserts have a special place in my heart.

Seasonal fruits cooked to perfection, flavored with spices and other aromatics, topped with all sorts of delicious custards, creams and sauces, can be for me the ideal dessert, especially at a festive dinner or gathering.

I love quinces, my last post makes this evident. They are such special fruits, so unassuming yet unattractive to many, but I can see past that, I know their potential, their uniqueness and magical flavor qualities.

Take for example this dessert of baked quinces with cinnamon and star anise, served with kaymak and topped with pistachios. There’s a subtlety yet unmistakable fullness of flavor in this dish that really makes me go back to it again and again.

Cooked this way, quinces are truly magnificent. They are first simmered for an hour together with sugar, cinnamon and start anise and then they are transferred to the oven where they are baked in a bain-marie for two and a half hours. The long, slow cooking makes them soft —while still retaining their shape—, juicy and incredibly mellow.

They are intensely aromatic and full-flavored from the fruit itself, and the spices make their presence known without being overwhelming. It’s quite a delicate dessert that’s not too sweet, with the soft, lusciously plump quinces pairing wonderfully with the thick, creamy kaymak, the crunchy, earthy pistachios and the good drizzle of syrup over the top.

Wishing you a Merry, Happy, Joyous Christmas!

Baked quince with kaymak and pistachio

Kaymak is a very thick cream similar to clotted cream that’s not typically sweet but it has a tang to it that’s reminiscent of crème fraîche. The best kind, and the one I always use, is made from buffalo’s milk, but you can find it made with cow’s milk too. It is perfect for desserts and I also use it in my hot chocolate drink. If you can’t find kaymak, substitute with crème fraîche or clotted cream. If you can’t get a hold of these ingredients either, then substitute with whipped cream or mascarpone (they are both sweeter though).

These quinces, compared to the Greek ones I used for my Greek quince spoon sweet, did not change to a deep coral color but to a light coral, orange one. Still pretty, but I would have loved to see that intense color in my quinces again. Perhaps it has to do with the different variety of fruit I used.

Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients
2 large quinces (500-550 g each)
200 g caster sugar
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
Water

to serve
Kaymak
Ground pistachios


Preparation
Peel the quinces and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the core and keep the seeds. Put the quinces and the seeds in a large saucepan and add the sugar, star anise, cinnamon and enough water to cover the quinces.
Place the pan over a high heat and stir with a spoon to dissolve the sugar. When it comes to the boil, turn heat down to medium, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the quinces for 30 minutes. Then, turn them over and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 120°C.
Place a baking dish big enough to fit all the quinces in one layer inside a larger baking pan.
Once the quinces have been simmering for an hour, remove them carefully from the saucepan with a large spoon and place them inside the baking dish together with 1-1½ cups of the syrup they have been poaching in.

Note: Keep some of the syrup that’s left in the saucepan to drizzle over the finished dessert.

Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and fill the large baking pan with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the inner dish, thus creating a bain-marie.
Bake the quinces for 2 hours, then turn heat up to 150°C, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Note: Make sure you check the bain-marie every half hour in case you need to top off with water if it has evaporated.

When ready, the quinces should be tender but not falling apart. They should hold their shape but be soft and juicy.
Remove the baking pan from the oven and then remove the baking dish from the bain-marie. Leave the quinces to cool inside the baking dish. Once cool, transfer them to the refrigerator, covered with aluminum foil.

Serve the quinces cold in individual dishes, topped with a good dollop of kaymak and a generous sprinkling of ground pistachio. You can drizzle the top with some reserved syrup if you wish.