Sand Tarts-Part 2

The suspense is over! I have actually managed to make cookies. Terribly exciting, I know.

Anyway, Sand Tarts. A simple lemon zest-spiked sugar cookie dough, chilled overnight. Rolled out really thin and cut into circles.

Paint on a little egg wash and carefully place slivered almonds. This is a terribly fiddly step. Martha says the almonds make the cookies look like sand dollars. I think Martha's on crack. But, I like almonds, so I can deal.

A little cinnamon sugar, and you're done. Yum!

These ended up really good. I kind of questioned the lemon-plus-cinnamon combination, but it really worked well. The zest in the dough was subtle enough to prevent the cookies being 'lemon cookies', but added a little something interesting to the cookies. The cookies are all crunchy and crisp, different than snickerdoodles or other cinnamon-y cookies I can think of.

But, the next time I make these I would skip the almonds. They don't contribute to the flavor of the cookies, so I expect they are just for decoration, which is just silly.

Next Week: Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, p. 268

Sand Tarts-Part 1

Word to the wise: Read your instructions before you begin making cookies. If they say 'refrigerate overnight', don't expect to start and finish in the same morning.

Raspberry Honey Financiers

These are one of those cookies that require a lot of work before you even get to the recipe. These are not cookies for the faint of heart. These are cookies for people who want to blow a whole evening making cookies. These are very Martha-y cookies.


Before you even begin, almonds must be toasted, cooled, and ground to a fine powder (mine were still a little chunky, but that seemed OK), raspberries must be washed, pureed and put through a sieve (and not eaten... this was difficult. Y.ou should probably buy an extra box of raspberries and snack on the extras while you're baking. A recipe this involved requires sustenance. Fact.)



The recipe begins! Brown some butter and add in honey (this basically smells how I would imagine a hug would smell... if hugs had smells). I wanted to drink it, or take a bath in it. Seriously good.

Mix the flour, almonds, sugars, five egg whites, butter (this is boring, so no pictures).



Pour the batter into a mini-muffin tin. Add drop a tiny bit of raspberry puree on top, and make it into a heart-shape with a toothpick, like marbling paper. Unfortunately this was easier said than done. Most of my 'hearts' were a little mushy-looking. Bake them.

Result? Yum! These are really little cupcakes, not cookies. They really didn't turn out as pretty as Martha's, but I've kind of given up on that. They were sweet and nutty, with a dense sponge cake texture. The only thing I would recommend would be to add more raspberry. But I always think more berries are a good idea. So, keep these in mind the next time you have to bake to impress someone (maybe your in-laws, or your friend from high school ... you know, the one who owns her own company, looks like Scarlett Johansson, has hiked to the top of Everest, and rescues abused animals in her free time. I bet she can't bake like this.)



Next week: Sand Tarts, p.127

Chocolate Thumbprints

It is well known that Martha Stewart isn't all Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice. I suspect she's about 25% determination, 25% skill and 50% butter (judging by the recipes in this book, anyway) with just a splash of sadism, but that's just my theory. But, really, Martha? You want me to stick my finger into the molten innards of a half-baked cookie that just came out of a 350 degree oven? Really? She is even so nice as to suggest that you keep a bowl of ice water nearby to prevent any long-term nerve damage. Isn't that sweet?

And, if that's not enough, some of the cookies puff up again after you make the thumbprint (you bake them halfway, stick your finger into them, then put them back in the oven, which gives you about 5 minutes to go find the Unguentine before you have to put your fingers back into the cookies). But aren't they pretty when they're all finished? Aww... cookies with holes in them.

Full disclosure: either because I'm a huge patsy, or because I am way too committed to this project, I followed Martha's instructions. And, honestly it wasn't too bad. You just had to move quickly and keep putting you hand back in the ice water. Also, I think if you weren't trying to take a picture of yourself doing this, the likelihood of burning would decrease significantly.

Once the cookies have cooled and your fingers are less pink, melt up some chocolate, butter and Karo syrup to make the fudge that goes in the middle. Super tasty. I had the leftover chocolate mixture on a peach. Interestingly, the fudge never truly sets up. I'm not sure if it's the butter, the Karo, or the fact that Texas is roughly 30,000 degrees right now, but the chocolate is always really soft.

While these cookies are really tasty, I don't think they're my favorites from this book. Their flavor reminds me of those little Keebler Elf sandwich cookies with the chocolate frosting inside. Yummy, but not going to win any awards. I don't see anyone not liking these, but they're not something people would go crazy over. Although, if I'm going to risk bodily harm to make cookies, people had better like them!

Next week: Raspberry Honey Financiers, p. 205