Gabe’s in the kitchen baking. Let me just say that again. Gabe. My Gabe. My sweet husband, is in the kitchen baking. While I sit on the couch doing absolutely nothing except letting my mind shut-off and unwind from a rambunctious, albeit, typical day.

You see, my husband doesn’t do a lot of baking, let alone cooking. Sure he makes a mean quesadilla – tortillas perfectly crisped with a generous splash of butter in the hot skillet, cheese uniformly melted through and through and just the right amount of Cholula on the side. But baking, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen this.

how he bakes

What’s even more astonishing is that I have not tried to micro-manage one bit. I did, however take out his butter for him at the moment he made mention of wanting to bake cookies. But rather than insisting he cream the butter and sugar longer or make sure he scraped the bowl making sure the batter just so I am relishing this moment. Taking in the sweet smells of cinnamon as they make their way to the couch, teasing me into thinking the cookies are ready when I know they have yet to be pulled from the oven. The comforting smell of caramelizing sugar assures me the time is near. I hear the kettle start to shake signaling the boiling water is ready to drip through the Chemex.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Finally the oven sends out the alarm. I remain seated. The last drips of 200º water (Gabe is fastidious about coffee brewing) passes through the freshly ground coffee. And still I sit. Knowing that if I sit hear long enough freshly baked cookies will arrive, as will a cup of coffee in my favorite cup – he knows me so well.

my cup, his cup

Sure enough – cookies within arms reach, coffee in the other hand. He sits down next to me and turns on The Cosby Show. I love this man and he loves me.

the view from where I sit (Baron and I made a Candy shop today – in the background – we’ll tell you about it soon)

Snickerdoodles

This recipe comes directly from SmittenKitchen who adapted it from Martha (Stewart, that is). Unlike his wife, Gabe follows a recipe to a “T”. While I was just going to keep my mouth shut and “oohhh” and “ahhh” over how wonderful the cookies were – and they really were, Gabe came to the same conclusion I did – they need a touch more salt. Gabe suggests adding a bit of salt to the sugar/cinnamon mixture so you’ll get a whisper of a salty tang in the midst of the spicy, sugary crackle. Did I mention that I love this man?

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. (SmittenKitchen suggests chilling the dough – we were too impatient)

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon (and salt – if you so choose). Use an ice-cream (or spoons) scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. If stored in an air tight container these cookies will keep for one week. Ha. That’s funny.

his cup, his cookie

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If you’ve taken a class from me or you are my husband, you have heard me say “color equals flavor”. It is my anthem. I will sing it from the rooftops. I really should get t-shirts made.

For this very reason my puff pastry teeters on the edge of burnt as I adore the golden toffee flavors that exist on its copper edges. I hold my breath while making caramel as I creep up to the line of complete and total disaster trying to get it as close to a deep, dark umber as possible. I’m rewarded with a caramel that is rich in flavor and not cloyingly sweet as a tinge of bitterness cuts through the sweetness creating a perfect balance.

Sticking to my motto I will often try and figure out more ways to squeeze in another layer of flavor by adding a toasted, caramel, nutty quality. For example, I will often reach for dark brown sugar instead of white and I love using browned butter in place of a plain cube of butter.

This dedication to darker flavors led me to the discovery of toasting flour. Before I started experimenting I had never heard of this before and then suddenly today, Dorie Greenspan (my baking hero) posted a recipe for toasted flour shortbread. If Dorie posts it you know it must be good.

My version takes flour to a deep golden color. The resulting cookie is borderline savory, lightly sweet and immensely nutty. The texture is pleasantly tender which makes for a bit of a crumbly dough, but I insist that it is worth the mess and misshapen cookies. My favorite accompaniment for these shortbread is raspberry jam. Although raspberry buttercream isn’t bad either.

My preferred method for toasting the flour is in a large pan on the stove. Over medium heat I constantly stir two cups of flour until the desired color is reached. This takes about 10-15 minutes. You could toast in the oven as well. At 350* place two cups of flour on a baking sheet. Stirring every 10 minutes roast until desired color – for me this was about 45 minutes. I like it good and toasty. As your flour reaches the correct color the smell will wander through the kitchen leaving scented trails of roasted nuts and freshly popped toast.

not toasted /toasted

For a less intense roasted flavor you could toast for less time or simply use half toasted flour and half regular. Always sift the cooled flour as it has a tendency to form little clumps during the toasting process. Which is why I say toast 2 cups rather than the 1 1/2 cups called for in the recipe.

Just think of the possibilities this technique opens up. Imagine the flavor of bread that is baked with half toasted flour. Chocolate chip cookies would be even more irresistible. Toasted flour cakes would give another reason to celebrate.

Other flour toasters:

Dorie’s Toasted Flour Shortbread

Clotilde’s Squeeze Cookies

Toasted Flour Shortbread

4 oz. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups toasted flour* (see directions on how to toast above)
2 T heavy cream
¼ tsp salt

¼ cup turbinado sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350*

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugars. Add the flour, cream and salt. Stir just to combine.
Place the crumbly dough on a sheet of parchment. Form into a 1’ log. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top and press it into the dough covering all sides.
Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
Slice the log into ¼’ rounds and bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen

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