A Couple More Cookies
Apricot rosemary linzer stars and buzzy ginger molasses cookies to round out the holiday season
Apricot and rosemary is a combination I was introduced to in cooking school at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, where it appeared in a number of recipes throughout our studies. We made dark chocolate bonbons filled with rosemary-infused ganache and apricot coulis and an entremets (a layered French dessert) filled with apricot-rosemary compote. These star-shaped sandwiches draw from those flavors, with a light, crisp rosemary and lemon-scented linzer cookie filled with a thin layer of tart apricot jam. I love how the filling glistens liked a jeweled imprint on the cookie, as if they were Christmas ornaments. The perfect treat to brighten up a chilly winter night. Read on for the recipe!
And if you’re in the mood for something chewy, spiced, and just a little bit caffeinated, the recipe for my Buzzy Ginger Molasses Cookies is available further down for paid subscribers.
Apricot Rosemary Linzer Stars
Makes 12 sandwich cookies
1 hour active time, 2 hours total time
Ingredients
Apricot Filling
370 g (1 13-oz jar) apricot jam
Cookie Dough
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
2.5 g (1 tsp, 1 lemon) lemon zest
2.5 g (1 tsp) fresh rosemary, minced
142 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted, cultured-style vegan butter (e.g. Miyoko's) (see note below)
20 g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) liquid vegan egg substitute (JUST egg recommended)
5 g (1 tsp) vanilla extract
195 g (1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
55 g (1/2 cup) almond flour
4.5 g (1 1/2 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Make the Apricot Filling
Heat the jam in the microwave until warm, then strain it through a sieve; cover and allow it to cool completely in the fridge
Filling can be made up to 1 week ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use
Make the Cookie Dough
Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and rosemary in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is fragrant and resembles wet sand
Combine the sugar mixture with the vegan butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
Cream on medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes
Add the egg substitute and vanilla and continue beating for 30 seconds
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds
Whisk together the flour, almond flour, and salt until no lumps remain
Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together
Divide the dough in half and roll out each piece between 2 sheets of parchment to 1/4-inch thickness
Freeze the dough sheets until firm, about 30 minutes
Cut out and bake the cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 F and position 2 racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven
Once the dough is frozen, peel off the parchment paper from one side; flip the sheet over and peel off the other piece of parchment paper
Cut out the dough with a 2.75-inch star cutter, and place the cookies on 2 parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheets, 12 to a sheet; you will likely have to re-roll the dough scraps to get 12 cookies from each sheet of dough; in total you should have 24 cookies
Allow the cookies to soften for 5-10 mins at room temperature (you want them still cool and firm, but not brittle, otherwise they will break), then use a 1.25-inch star cutter to cut out the center of 12 cookies; you should now have 12 solid cookies and 12 hollow cookies
Place the trays in the freezer for 15 mins (this will help them keep their shape while baking)
Bake the cookies for 12-14 mins, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until they are just barely taking on color around the edges
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 mins on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
Fill and assemble the cookies
Fill a piping bag with the Apricot Filling and pipe about 1 tsp into the center of each solid star cookie
Dust the hollow cookies generously with powdered sugar, then place them on top of the solid cookies, pressing lightly to adhere and allow the filling to rise up through the hole a bit
Cookies keep for 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container, but they will soften
Notes & Variations
Ingredient Notes
Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has larger crystals than other kinds of kosher salt, normal table salt or fine sea salt. As a result, when measured by volume (teaspoons/tablespoons) it will add less "saltiness" than an equal quantity of the other salts. If you are not using Diamond Crystal, I recommend measuring your salt by weight, in which case you won't run into this issue. Otherwise, use half the volume quantity of salt
Vegan butter: There are two main types of vegan butter: (1) margarine-style products that are basically butter-flavored vegetable shortening (e.g. Violife), and (2) cultured-style products made from cashew, coconut, or other kinds of fats (e.g. Miyoko's). I generally prefer the first type in cakes, muffins, and frostings, where the more obvious "butter" flavor and greater stability, and yellow color are beneficial. I prefer the second type in recipes where the fat will caramelize, such as cookies, pie or tart dough, and bread, as margarine-style butters can develop unpleasant burnt oil flavors when heated to high temperatures. Also, cultured-style butter can be browned similarly to dairy butter, while margarine-style butter cannot
Things I Used
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Ingredients
Miyoko’s unsalted vegan butter
Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
JUST Egg vegan liquid egg substitute
Equipment
Molasses cookies are one of my favorites of all time, and I especially love them around the holidays. This recipe makes nine big, chewy cookies, soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside from a glistening roll through a blanket of raw sugar. Baking soda and vinegar make these cookies puff and crack in the oven, creating dramatic fissures across the surface. The dough is richly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. A sprinkle of coffee lends a bitter edge and a depth which complements the bitter notes in the molasses and balances out the sweetness. I like to throw in a generous handful of spicy, jewel-like crystallized ginger at the end, scattered like bits of sticky amber in each bite. And because the dough is made with olive oil, these cookies stay fresh for days. In fact, I actually think they are better the next day!
This is my last post of the year. I’ll be taking next week off and spending time with my family. I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! Bake up a storm for me, and I’ll talk to you in 2024 :)
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