Alternative Baker
Page 19
To make the milk mixture, place the sugar in a medium saucepan and add the vanilla pod and scrapings. Use your fingertips to rub the seeds into the sugar to distribute them evenly. Stir in the coconut milk and salt. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, then remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 10–20 minutes to infuse with the vanilla. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and into a heatproof bowl or jar. Let cool to warm, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming, then stir in the rum.
When the cake has cooled to warm, cut it into 9 rounds or squares, leaving the cake in the pan, and poke it all over with a slender chopstick or skewer. Slowly pour over 1½ cups (355 ml) of the milk mixture, letting it absorb into the cake. Let cool completely at room temperature, adding more of the milk mixture if you want it creamier. Use a small, offset spatula or butter knife to pry up the cake rounds/slices and peel away any scraps (save these for snacking!), placing the cakes on a platter or sheet pan lined with a clean sheet of parchment paper. Cover the cakes loosely with plastic wrap, and chill both the cakes and the extra milk mixture until cold, at least an hour and up to a day or two.
To finish, preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Spread the coconut flakes on a small baking sheet and toast until golden, 5–10 minutes.
To prepare the mango, use a T-shaped vegetable peeler to pare away the peel. Cut the mango off the core, and cut the flesh into a medium dice, placing it in a medium bowl. Repeat with the second mango. Use the vegetable peeler to pare away 3–4 thin strips of lime zest, then cut the strips into whisper-thin strands. Add them to the mango, and add a tablespoon (15 ml) of lime juice, folding it through evenly. Taste, adding more lime or a bit of sugar if you feel the fruit needs it.
Serve the cake rounds in shallow bowls splashed with some of the chilled coconut milk mixture, spoon the mango over and top with a small handful of coconut chips.
COOKIES AND BARS
My first attempt at gluten-free cookies was an epic fail. Not knowing any better, I simply traded the wheat flour for brown rice flour in a classic recipe. The cookies looked fine when they baked up. Ha! I thought. That was easy. I slipped the cookies into a container and brought them to a party, where I proffered them to the hostess. She eagerly dug into the container to lift up a cookie, and her face fell as it crumbled into a million particles. Since then, I’ve learned a thing or two about alternative flour cookies. Namely, they need something sticky to hold them together. Sweet white rice flour helps a lot, as does tapioca flour for chewiness. The plus side is that the doughs can’t be overworked the way that wheat doughs can, meaning that you’ll always have tender cookies (though hopefully not quite so tender as my very first batch).
Here, alternative flours add tastes and textures of their own. Soft chestnut flour makes for the most melt-in-your-mouth brownies imaginable, and it bakes into insanely tasty chocolate chip cookies loaded with browned butter, dark milk chocolate and tart cherries. Buckwheat adds earth and spice to double chocolate cookies, contrasting a whiff of fresh bergamot zest and keeping them extra tender. Teff adds malty depth to classic oatmeal cookies, and coconut flour gives blondies extra chew. Pistachio meal adds its elusive flavor to a shortbread-like base for cheesecake squares, and what would madeleines be without nubby almond flour to keep them moist and light?
Though these recipes are some of the simplest in the book, many are sensitive to slight changes in temperature and measurements. For instance, the oatmeal cookies on took me ten tries to get just right! When making drop cookies, here are some tips for success:
• Measure accurately. Use dry measuring cups and spoons for dry ingredients, and use the dip and sweep method. Better yet, invest in a small digital kitchen scale and use weight measurements.
• If possible, use the brands of flour suggested (see “Alternative Grains and Flours,” here and here). Different grinds of grains can have dramatic effects on a cookie’s ability to absorb moisture, spread and bake properly.
• Make sure your oven is accurate to the best of your knowledge. (See here.)
• Bake off a test cookie to check the spread and bake time. This way if something needs adjusting, you have only one imperfect cookie instead of a whole tray. And if you’ve accidentally left out an essential ingredient—say, the leavening or salt—you’ll be able to add it to the rest of the dough. If the cookie doesn’t spread enough, decrease the oven temperature by 25–50°F (5–10°C) and try again. And if it spreads too much, increase the temperature that amount.
• If your cookies get close to overbaking, remove them from the sheet pan immediately to stop the cooking. This is extra-easy to do if you bake the cookies on a rimless cookie sheet lined with parchment paper—just slide the whole thing, parchment and all, onto a cooling rack.
• Always cool your cookies completely before storing, lest they steam themselves and become brittle or stale.
CHERRY CHESTNUT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
{CHESTNUT}
These cookies get loads of flavor from vanilla bean brown butter, toasted pecans and plenty of salt, and they bake up with crispy edges and chewy middles that stay soft for days. One tester described them perfectly: “These are SO delicious! I thought they’d taste more like chestnut, but really they just have this incredibly nutty, toasty je ne sais quoi about them that’s enhanced by the pecans and perfectly offset by the tartness of the cherries.” Do feel free to swap out the cherries for dried cranberries, the pecans for walnuts. If you can’t find dark milk chocolate, use a good semisweet or bittersweet bar instead; do be warned that the bitterness of the chocolate will exaggerate the assertive taste of the chestnut flour. Be sure to pull these from the oven when they still seem underbaked; they will continue cooking from residual heat. For fresh-baked cookies on the fly, cover and chill the dough for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, let the dough soften at room temperature for an hour or so, then scoop and bake. Cookies from dough that has chilled bake up extra thick and chewy, while baking the dough freshly made results in thinner cookies with crispier edges. See tips for browning butter.
MAKES ABOUT FOURTEEN 3-INCH (75-CM) COOKIES
½ cup (55 g) raw pecan halves
8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
½ cup (110 g) packed organic light brown sugar
¼ cup (50 g) organic granulated cane sugar
¾ cup (80 g) chestnut flour
¼ cup (30 g) tapioca flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 large egg
6 oz (170 g) dark milk chocolate (35–40% cacao mass), coarsely chopped (1¼ cups)
½ cup (55 g) dried tart cherries
NOTE: These cookies were tested with Calleris chestnut flour, which is darker in color and has an assertive, smoky flavor. If making these with lighter-hued chestnut flour from Ladd Hill Orchards, increase the chestnut flour to 1 cup (105 g). If you find the cookies made with dark chestnut flour too spready, add 2 tablespoons (12 g) oat flour to the dough, and/or chill the dough until firmer, 30 minutes or up to 1 week, before baking.
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Line 2 rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Spread the pecans on a small, rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, 8–10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely, then break into rough quarters.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and vanilla bean and scrapings together in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns golden and smells nutty, 3–5 minutes.
Place the sugars in a large bowl and when the butter has browned, scrape it and any browned bits into the sugar immediately to stop the cooking. Let cool, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and discard (or save for making Vanilla Extract.
Meanwhile, sift together the chestnut and tapioca flours, baking soda and s
alt into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
When the sugar mixture has cooled to warm, beat in the egg until well combined. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, stirring until well combined, then continue to stir vigorously for a few more seconds; the mixture will firm up slightly. Stir in the cooled pecans, chopped chocolate and cherries until evenly distributed. If the dough is soft, let it sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator to firm up a bit, 15–30 minutes (or chill for up to 1 week).
Scoop the dough into 1½-inch (4-cm) diameter balls (about 3 tablespoons; a size 24 or 30 spring-loaded ice cream scoop makes this a snap) and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 2–3 inches (5–7.5 cm) apart.
Bake the cookies until the edges are golden and set and the tops are pale golden but still soft and underbaked, 10–14 minutes, rotating the pans back to front and top to bottom after 8 minutes for even baking.
Remove the cookies from the oven, let cool on the pans for a minute, then pull them, parchment and all, onto cooling racks to stop the cooking. They will be very soft and fragile at first, but will firm up when cool. Let cool to warm, at least 10 minutes, before devouring. Cooled cookies can be stored airtight for up to 3 days.
TEFF OATMEAL COOKIES WITH WHISKEY CURRANTS
{TEFF, OATS}
Cookies are one of the simplest sweets you can make, but sometimes they’re the hardest to get just right. These particular cookies took me ten tries! Each time when I was about to give up, I’d take a bite of a failed cookie. Tasting the combination of malty teff, peppery nutmeg and whiskey-kissed currants gave me the inspiration (and sugar high) I needed to soldier on. Luckily, even the failed batches were easy to get rid of. Jay turned into a cookie monster, wandering around the house bellowing, “Mee want cooookie” when there was a lull in production. These cookies bake up thick and chunky with moist middles and a bit of heft from chewy oats and currants. This makes a relatively small batch, so be sure to double the amounts if you need to appease any cookie monsters in your life. Do give yourself an extra 3–4 hours for soaking the currants when making these, or soak them for up to a week ahead of time. If you’re in a hurry, bring the whiskey to a simmer in a small saucepan (being careful not to ignite it if using an open flame), add the currants, cover the pot and let steep for an hour or two until the whiskey is absorbed.
MAKES ABOUT FIFTEEN 2 ½-INCH (6-CM) COOKIES
½ cup (75 g) currants
2 tbsp (30 ml) bourbon or GF whiskey (such as Queen Jennie)
¾ cup (90 g) walnuts
8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp (80 g) packed organic light brown sugar
¼ cup (50 g) organic granulated cane sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup (100 g) teff flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
¼ cup (27 g) tapioca flour
¾ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp lightly packed freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (90 g) GF old-fashioned rolled oats
NOTE: Freshly grated nutmeg tastes infinitely more nuanced and delicious than the pre-ground stuff, which loses volatile oils as it sits.
Combine the currants and bourbon in a jar and let sit to absorb the bourbon, at least 3 hours and up to several days, shaking the jar occasionally.
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spread the walnuts on a small sheet pan and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, 8–10 minutes. Let cool completely, then chop roughly.
Place the butter in a small saucepan and set over low heat to melt, swirling occasionally. Place the sugars in a large bowl and stir in the melted butter. Let cool slightly, 5 minutes, then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Place a strainer over the bowl and add the teff flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Sift the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then stir vigorously to combine thoroughly. Drain the currants of any excess whiskey (no need to squeeze them dry) and stir them into the dough along with the oats and nuts. If the dough is soft, let it stand at room temperature to firm up, at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. The dough can also be chilled for up to several days; bring back to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
Scoop the dough into 1½-inch (4-cm) diameter balls (about 3 tablespoons; a size 24 or 30 spring-loaded ice cream scoop makes this a snap) and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 2–3 inches (5–7.5 cm) apart. Bake the cookies one pan at a time on the upper rack until the edges of the cookies are golden and set and the tops are pale golden but still soft, 10–15 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the pans. They will be very soft and fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool. These are best the day of baking when the edges are crisp and the centers moist. Cooled cookies can be stored airtight for up to 3 days; they will soften slightly and become more fragile as they sit.
VARIATION: TEFF OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Omit the currants, whiskey and nutmeg, folding in 6 ounces (168 g) coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (1¼ cups) along with the nuts.
BUCKWHEAT BERGAMOT DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
{BUCKWHEAT}
These little chocolate pillows are essentially brownies masquerading as cookies, packed with the flavors of citrusy fresh bergamot, nutty buckwheat flour and crunchy flakes of Maldon salt. Whipping the eggs with the sugar lends an airy texture, and plenty of warm butter and chocolate give the tops a pretty, glazed crackle. The trick to the crackly tops is to have the melted chocolate/butter mixture hot enough to partially dissolve the sugar but not so hot as to cook the eggs or melt the chocolate chunks once added. The mixture should feel pleasantly warm, but not scalding hot, to the touch.
If you don’t have access to fresh bergamots, use orange zest in its place. Or you can leave out the citrus altogether and you’ll still have the most divine chocolate cookies imaginable.
MAKES ABOUT THIRTY 2-INCH (5-CM) COOKIES
6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter
12 oz (345 g) bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cacao mass), chopped (about 2¼ cups), plus several chunks for the tops of the cookies
1½ tsp (1 g) packed finely grated zest from 1 medium bergamot (or orange)
½ cup (65 g) buckwheat flour
2 tbsp (15 g) tapioca flour
¾ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup plus 2 tbsp (130 g) organic granulated cane sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Flaky salt such as Maldon, for the tops
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over the lowest possible heat. Add 8 ounces (230 g) of the chocolate and the bergamot zest, and melt together, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching. Continue cooking until the mixture is pleasantly warm, but not super hot, to the touch. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Sift the buckwheat flour, tapioca flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, place the eggs, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and stir in the vanilla until just combined, then the warm chocolate butter mixture. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a flexible silicone spatula to fold in the remaining 4 ounces (115 g) chopped chocolate.
If the batter is very runny, let it cool for a few minutes until it firms to the consistency of a thick brownie batter. Use a #40 spring-loaded ice cream scoop or 2 spoons to drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Top each cookie wit
h a few chunks of chocolate and a few flecks of flaky salt.
Bake the cookies until puffed and cracked and the edges are set, 8–12 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Let cool on the pans. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. The cookies are best the day of baking but will keep, airtight at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
MESQUITE GINGERSNAPS OR GINGER CATS
{SWEET RICE, MESQUITE}
The bright, spicy flavors of cinnamon and ginger complement earthy mesquite flour beautifully, so I shoved them all into these buttery cookies, which can take on many shapes. Chill the dough and cut them into gingersnaps, gingerbread guys and gals or (my personal favorite) ginger cats! I scored my cat cutters from the originator of ginger cat cookies, fellow orange tabby mom and gluten-free food blogger Sarah Menanix of SnixyKitchen.com. These thin, crisp cookies can be crumbled into Banana Butterscotch Pudding or crushed into a crust for Nectarine Cheesecakes. The chewy version below makes killer ice cream sandwiches.
MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIES
12 tbsp (170 g) unsalted butter, softened but cool
⅔ cup (130 g) organic granulated cane sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) unsulfured blackstrap molasses
1 large egg
1 cup (155 g) sweet white rice flour, plus extra for rolling the cookies
1 cup (125 g) mesquite flour
¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp powdered ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fine sea salt
VARIATION: CHEWY DOUBLE-GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES
Make the dough as directed, stirring ½ cup (70 g) finely chopped crystallized ginger into the finished dough. Cover and chill the dough until firm, 1 hour and up to 3 days prior to baking. Place ½ cup (100 g) organic granulated cane sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop the dough into 1-inch (2.5-cm) diameter balls, roll in the sugar and place on sheet pans spaced 2–3 inches (5–7.5 cm) apart. Bake the cookies one pan at a time until the edges are golden and the centers are soft and cracked, 10–14 minutes.