2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, browned and cooled
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
Sugar for sprinkling, optional
Brown the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let cool for about 2 min., then whisk in 1 large or 2 small ice cubes; set aside to cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Mix flour, cooled butter, sugar, vanilla and salt on low speed using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until just blended. Mixture will look crumbly and sandy. Increase speed to medium-low until dough starts to clump together.
Remove dough and roll out to 1/4 in. thickness between two pieces of waxed paper. Chill dough for at least 20 minutes, then cut into desired shapes. Re-roll scraps, chill and repeat. Alternatively, just cut into squares or rectangles with a butter knife. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired, and bake for 20 minutes, or until just done. Let sit for about 2 minutes and then remove to racks to cool fully.
Makes about 36 2-in. cookies, more or less depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
Link to printable recipe here.
Tips--If you are in a hurry, you can place the saucepan of browned butter in a sink of cold water to cool it more quickly. However, stir it often and don't forget about it, or it will end up solid. This is a more crumbly dough than regular shortbread, so the longer you chill it, the easier it is to work with. See my plain shortbread recipe for more tips.
Now for the BS. This might be my new favorite cookie recipe. I can't believe how good they are! The browned butter plus the brown sugar gives them the most exceptional flavor. These cookies are somehow crisp and tender at the same time. They almost melt in your mouth. I read somewhere that the best shortbread has brown sugar, and I might just agree now! It makes me want to play around more, see what happens if I change just the sugar or just the butter in my regular recipe. Stay tuned...
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. espresso powder, divided
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Dissolve 2 tsp. of espresso powder in 1 tbsp. hot water; set aside. Mix flour, butter, sugar and salt on low speed using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until just blended. Mixture will look crumbly and sandy. Add dissolved coffee and vanilla and blend for about 30 seconds. Add last tsp. of espresso powder and chocolate chips and slowly increase speed to medium-low, blending until dough starts to clump together.
Remove dough and roll out to about 1/4 in. thickness between two pieces of waxed paper. Chill dough for at least 10 minutes, then cut into desired shapes. Re-roll scraps, chill and repeat. Alternatively, just cut into squares or rectangles with a butter knife. Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Bake until edges and bottoms are just golden. Let sit for about 2 minutes and then remove to racks to cool fully.
Makes about 54 1 1/2-in. cookies, more or less depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
Link to printable version here.
Recipe adapted from my shortbread recipe and https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/espresso-chocolate-shortbread-cookies/
Tips--The coffee flavor isn't crazy strong, but you can absolutely omit the espresso powder and just call them Chocolate Chip Shortbread. See tips for rolling out dough from my regular shortbread recipe. If you don't have mini chocolate chips, you can finely chop a 4 oz. semisweet chocolate bar. Let these cool fully for best flavor and texture.
Now for the BS. If you like coffee and chocolate, shortbread is the perfect vehicle! Some recipes tell you to prick the surface of the shortbread with a fork before baking to prevent bubbling and to release steam, but when the dough is rolled out like this, it doesn't bubble. I also don't find any difference in the texture, and I've tried it both ways. Some recipes have you press the shortbread into a baking pan and cut after baking, but I've found cutting the dough first gives the edges that perfect crunch you just don't get in a bar cookie. It really doesn't take that much more time to cut the dough first, but the crisp, buttery edges are worth it. The smaller the cookies are, the more crisp they are.
1 1/2 lbs. rhubarb (about 4 large stalks)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 baking pan or 2 8x8 pans or 2 9-in. round cake pans.
Slice the rhubarb into 1/2 in. thick sticks (think carrot sticks) or chop into 1/2 in. cubes and layer it in the bottom of your pan(s). Pour 1 cup of sugar evenly over the rhubarb and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs; gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Spread (sticky!) cake batter over top of the rhubarb and sugar.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 16 servings.
Link to printable recipe here.
Recipe adapted from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8342/rhubarb-upside-down-cake-i/ and https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/161436/omas-rhubarb-cake/ AND https://www.justtherecipesmaam.com/search/label/blueberry%20cream%20muffins.
Tips--I got artsy with the rhubarb, but you 100% can just chop it and dump it in and it will taste just as good! Do not peek in after about 20 minutes and think, Oh! It's done early! Because it's not. It will still be mushy and doughy next to the rhubarb. Doh! I learned this the hard way. Sigh.
Now for the BS. My mom suggested I do a rhubarb recipe because it's rhubarb season. She said she used to have a recipe for rhubarb upside down cake that involved layering the rhubarb with marshmallows, so I tried to find a similar recipe. I kept finding recipes with jello powder instead, and that is not something I keep on hand, so I kept searching and found the recipe linked above. Then a friend suggested I look up Oma's Rhubarb Cake, which I realized was very similar to the base of my blueberry cream muffins. So...I decided to essentially combine the two recipes! The upside down cake recipe indeed has marshmallows, which made several of my friends say essentially "eww." So I tried half of the cake with the marshmallow layer and half without. My mom and my family tested both and decided we preferred it without the marshmallows. So there you go. We tried it warm from the oven and the next day for breakfast. Both were good!
