Fourless Hazelnut Ghriba (Moroccan Nut Cookies)

  These Ghriba cookies are a flourless cookie, I've made with ground hazelnuts.  A moist and chewy cookie that comes from Morocco. Ghriba are  usually made with almonds or walnuts but being the hazelnut fan that I am, I decided to toast up some hazelnuts and give it a try.  I'm glad I did, these cookies are delightful, especially with a good cup of dark roast coffee!  I used a small tart shell mold to make these, just because I love the look but if you don't have such a mold, then forming them into round balls and flattening them slightly with your hands will make a perfectly beautiful cookie as well.

 Ingredients

Makes 24 1 ounce cookies

450 grams (about 3 1/2 cups) hazelnuts, skins removed, see recipe.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

a pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon apricot jam or 1 tablespoon honey will work also

2 eggs,separated

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon orange blossom water

24 hazelnuts, skins removed for topping the cookies

To remove the skins from the hazelnuts...

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Toast hazelnuts, including the 24 extra, in the oven for 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven and dump the nuts into a clean dish towel.  Gather together in a ball and rub the nuts with the towel for several minutes, being careful not to rub to vigorously so as not to break the nuts. 

 Notice how after baking, the skins have pulled away from the nuts?

 You likely wont remove every bit of the skin but do the best you can.  Save aside 24 of the cleanest nuts for topping the cookies with.

Turn down the oven to 350° F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1.  In a food processor, add the skinned hazelnuts and process to a fine powder.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2.  Add the sugar, salt, cinnamon, apricot jam or honey, and 2 egg yolks.

3.  Mix with clean hands until combined, add the butter and mix until it comes together in a sticky mass.

4.  Mix the orange blossom water into the egg whites, set aside.

5.  Scoop up about a tablespoon of dough (1 ounce) and form into a ball the size of a walnut.  Continue with the rest, until you have used up all the dough.

6.  Place a hazelnut in the bottom of your mold.  Roll a dough ball in the egg white mixture, covering completely and carefully place the dough over the nut in the mold and press firmly into the mold. Tap the dough out of the mold and carefully place on the parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

If you don't have a mold, simply place dough balls on the lined baking sheet and flatten slightly, carefully press a hazelnut into the top of each cookie.

 

 

  

7.  Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the bottom edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

 

  

Coconut Macaroons

We have a favorite bakery in Portland, one of the many establishments we like to frequent when we visit southern Maine.  Standard Baking Company is one of those places you go to buy the best.  Standard is a European style bakery without the fuss, featuring fresh crusty loaves of fragrant breads, buttery flaky croissants and an array of delectable treats that will definitely have you wanting more.  My husband and I always grab a hot cup of coffee and a treat to snack on as we walk down Commercial street on Portland's waterfront.  My favorite is their coconut macaroons, a seriously delicious, moist and chewy delight.  Thankfully they published a cookbook!

 Standard Baking Co. Pastries

Here is their recipe for coconut macaroons.

 Ingredients

Recipe by Alison Pray and Tara Smith

4 3/4 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut, (macaroon coconut) 

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup egg whites from 6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Makes about 40 macaroons

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

1.  In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, combine all the ingredients and cook stirring constantly until you reach a temperature of 130° on a candy thermometer.  Mixture will be thick at first but will soften a bit and be quite sticky as it gets warmer.  Be careful not to scorch the bottom.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

2.  Scoop the batter into rounded tablespoons and drop onto parchment lined pans, evenly spaced.  At this point with your fingers dipped in water, you may form these mounds into neat little balls or you can form them into little pyramids as they do in the bakery.  Using wet fingers to prevent sticking, use your thumb and first two fingers to form each mound into a pyramid shape.

3.  Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate baking sheets front to back and top to bottom.  Bake an additional 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are browned.  Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Apple Cookie Pies

Friends of ours invited us for dinner this week and I wanted to make them a little something as a thank you.  I love a cookie that offers a surprise inside and these little gems do not disappoint.  A buttery crisp cookie filled with a delicious, not to sweet apple filling.  Packaged in a little cellophane bag and tied with a raffia ribbon, it makes a great hostess gift.

 

 Ingredients 

For the dough...

350 g.(2 3/4 cups) all purpose flour, sifted

200 g. (14 Tbs.) butter, at room temperature

130 g. (2/3 cup) granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling...

2 golden delicious apples

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

1 egg, beaten in a small bowl for egg wash

coarse sugar

Makes 32- 2 1/2 inch cookies

Preheat oven to 350° F.

1.  To make the dough, in a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar and salt.  Mix on high speed using the paddle attachment, until fully combined.  Reduce the speed on your mixer and add egg and vanilla and mix to combine.  Add flour in 3 batches and mix until all is incorporated well.  Do not over mix.

2.  Divide dough into 2 parts and flatten each half into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while apple filling is being made.

3.  To make the filling, peel and core the apples and cut into 1 inch chunks.  In a small sauce pan, combine the apple chunks, sugar and butter.  Cook over medium heat until apple softens and most of the juices evaporate, being careful not to scorch the apples.  Remove from the heat and mash the apples with a fork until smooth.  Allow to cool completely.

4.  Remove one of the dough disks from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about an 1/8th of an inch thickness.  Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles as you can and then gather up the scrapes and roll and cut until all the dough has been cut. 

5.  Use a 1/2 teaspoon, scoop to fill half of the dough rounds and with a finger dipped in water, moisten each edge of the unfilled rounds and place together with the filled, pressing lightly to seal.  Repeat the same process with the other half of the dough.  Place the filled cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet, one inch apart.  Brush each cookie with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.  Poke a hole in the top of each cookie to allow steam to escape.

6.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until the edges start to turn a light golden color.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

 

Honey Whole Wheat Butter Cookies

Honey Whole Wheat Butter Cookies are my favorite "healthy cookie".  Made with fresh ground whole wheat flour, local "Kate's" butter and golden honey.  Simple to make, nothing fussy except you really want fresh whole wheat flour.  If you can't grind it yourself, really do yourself a favor and purchase a fresh sack of whole wheat flour.  The butter and honey give this cookie a distinct flavor but if your using old flour, the flavor will be spoiled.  These are a great after school snack you don't have to feel guilty about and the kids will love them!

 Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup honey

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups fresh whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.  In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy.  Add the honey and beat until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time and mixing well between each addition, add vanilla and mix in.  Turn mixer off and set aside.

2.  In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment paper, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together, include the bran that stays in the sifter.

3.  Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix in by hand, add the remaining flour and mix together gently until well incorporated.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

4.   Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Scoop out dough by rounded tablespoon and with floured hands roll into balls.  Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined pan.  Slightly flatten each ball with the tines of a fork dipped in flour.  Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are set and a nice brown rim form around the bottom of each cookie.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Lemon Meltaways

Lemon Meltaway Cookies, are a light crisp buttery cookie, with a clean lemony flavor that melts in your mouth.  A perfect teatime treat, for a snowy afternoon.  These are an icebox cookie, but I took some of the chilled dough and rolled it on my counter, then cut them with a heart cookie cutter.  Perfect little Valentines treat for your honey!

Ingredients 

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Grated zest of 2 lemons

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Sift flour, cornstarch and salt together onto a piece of parchment paper and set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar, until light and fluffy.  Add the lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla.  Mix until well incorporated.

3.  Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour, mix until combined.

4.  Gather the dough together and divide into two equal pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a log, about 1 3/4 to 2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each log separately, tightly rolled in a piece of parchment paper.  Chill for at least an hour before baking, or wrapped again in plastic wrap and may be frozen for up to two months.  You can just bake off as much as you want!

5.  Heat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Slice the cookies 1/4 inch thick and place on the parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 14 minutes, turning cookie sheet halfway through baking.  Remove from oven when bottoms are just turning golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing from the pan with a spatula to a cooling rack.  While still slightly warm, sift powdered sugar over both sides of cookies.  Enjoy!

 

Molasses Spice Cookies

October in Maine is the most beautiful time of year for me.  I love the cool crisp days, the fall colors and baking in a warm kitchen.  It seams to me that ginger, cinnamon and cloves are a fall kind of spice.  These warm spices combined with molasses make the most, soft and chewy, delicious cookies ever!  Molasses Spice Cookies are fall comfort food at its best.

 

 Just a couple of welcoming doors in Mid-Coast Maine, adorned in fall colors.

                 

♥♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥♥

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 cup sugar, plus more for topping

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons minced candied ginger

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, fitter with a paddle attachment, combine the egg and molasses on low speed.  Add the sugar and candied ginger and beat on medium speed until well combined.

3.  On low speed, add the flour mixture slowly and mix until thoroughly combined.

4.  With a small 1 1/2 inch scoop, or use a heaping tablespoon, scoop dough and form into a ball, roll in a bowl of sugar to coat the whole ball.  Place on a dinner plate. Scoop, roll and coat the rest of the dough placing each ball on the plate.  Refrigerate the plate of dough balls for at least an hour.

 5.  Preheat the oven to 350° Position 2 racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the parchment lined pans.

6.  Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans from top to bottom and turning each pan.  Bake another 7 minutes or until dark golden, puffed and crackled on the top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy! 

 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

When it comes to "crunchy" I'm so all over it.  When it comes to peanut butter cookies, crunchy is a good thing, but if chewy is what your looking for, than these cookies will also please.  By baking a little more or less, it's up to your taste.  These flourless peanut butter sandwich cookies are filled with a bittersweet chocolate filling.  Gluten free decadence! 

Ingredients

For the peanut butter cookies...

2 1/2 cups peanut butter, I like chunky but smooth will word as well

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate filling...

10 oz. bittersweet chocolate

4 oz. (1/2 cup) butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 350°  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

Makes 2 dozen sandwich cookies or 48 single cookies

1.  Using a mixer, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar and baking soda on medium speed, until blended.  Scrape the bowl and beat until well incorporated, about 1 minute.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until just blended, about 1/2 a minute.

2.  Shape the dough by level tablespoons into 1inch balls.  Place the dough balls on the parchment lined pans about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Press down lightly on the balls with your hands or the bottom of a glass. 

 Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are puffed and cracked but still moist, about 11-12 minutes.  If a crispy cookie is desired, bake until lightly golden about 15 minutes.  You can reuse the parchment paper, just reload your trays when cooled as needed between baking.

3.  To make the chocolate filling, combine the chocolate and the butter pieces in a microwave proof bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minute or until butter has melted and most of the chocolate has melted. 

Stir to combine.  As you stir, the unmelted chocolate will melt into the mixture.  When completely combined, set aside to cool, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

Working with one cookie at a time, flip one cookie over, flat side up and spread chocolate over top, you can be some what generous with the filling.  top with a second cookie, being sure to place second cookie flat side down onto chocolate.  allow to set up until firm, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!