Dessert. GC and I are suckers for it. My husband I fear, loves me only a little more than he loves his favorite cookie, a Dutch delicacy called Bels Nickels. They are a close cousin to gingerbread cookies and other molasses-based spice cookies, and GC's first true love. As such, I had a ton of fun figuring out how I wanted to showcase the sweeter of our offerings.
Fortunately, Syrahs allow for a myriad of options that pair beautifully with the berry, chocolate, nut and spice tones; Berries & Americana Cobblers, Salty & Sweet Puddings, Nutty & Toasted Cookies... the possibilities are almost endless. I quite literally had to scale back from the six dessert options I originally included to just three feeling even then, like I was short changing the dessert category, so accessible was its show-stopping prowess. That said, I think I narrowed it down to some great selections that will leave sweet tooths of all kind engaged and satisfied!
Flavor Profile: dark fruit & berries, toasted nut, spiced chocolate
Recipe Credits: The Best of Fine Cooking: Cookies, Brownies, Bars & More; Serious Eats; Mary Engelbreit's Sweet Treats Dessert Cookbook
Rich Vanilla Pound Cake with Sweet Tart Cherry Sauce
Cake:
1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Great a 10 cup bundt pan*. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean. Reserve the seeds. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30-40 seconds after each addition. Scrape the bowl down frequently with a rubber spatula. Blend in the vanilla and reserved vanilla seeds. On a low speed, add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan, let cool completely.
I'm turning this cake into cupcakes, reducing the cooking time to 15-20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Sweet Tart Cherry Sauce:
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dried sour cherries (about 4 oz)
1 Tbsp kirsch (optional)
In a small heavy sauce pan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cherries, and cook for about 15 minutes until they are plump and soft. Remove from heat and stir in kirsch (if using). Let the sauce cool. Serve warm, at room temperature, or slightly chilled.
Note: This sauce is quite fluid. If you're looking for a sauce with more viscosity (which I am), allow for a longer cooking time (low temp) to reduce as needed, being sure to stir occasionally to prevent burning. I'll be serving the cupcakes with this sauce spooned over.
Classic Lace Cookies with Triple Berry Preserves & Nutella*
2 oz blanched almonds (to yeild 1/2 cup ground almonds
2 1/2 oz (5 Tbsp) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/2 oz (1/3 cup) all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Position racks in the middle and upper third of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with non stick liners or parchment. In a food processor, grind the almonds finely and measure out 1/2 cup. Heat the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan over low heat, stirring often until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture just to a boil. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the flour and salt until incorporated. Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla. Drop the batter by the teaspoon, 3" apart on the baking sheets, about 1/2 dozen cookies per baking sheet. Bake cookies until evenly light brown, about 10 minutes total. About 5 minutes into baking, switch the sheets from top to bottom and back to front to promote even baking. The cookies won't begin to spread until about 6 minutes into baking. Line a wire rack with paper towels. Remove the cookies from the oven and, as soon as they are firm, (which will take just a few minutes) use a wide spatula to transfer them to the rask to cool completely. Bake off the remaining cookies; the batter will have firmed up a bit, but that is fine.
*Note: I'll be turning these into sandwich cookies, pairing similarly sized cookies, and placing a thin spread of either a triple-berry preserve or nutella filling between the cookies.
Double Chocolate Icebox Cookies with Aji & Chipotle
1 stick butter, softened, plus more for greasing
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup high quality cocoa powder
2 Tbsp aji panca chile, seeds removed and freshly ground, plus a little more for garnish
1 small dried Chipotle chile, seeds removed and freshly ground
3/4 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 large egg
12-14 oz dark chocolate (about 60% cacao), finely chopped
Coarse salt for garnish
Cookies:
In a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed. Turn down the speed on the mixer to low and add the cocoa and chiles, followed by the flour. Increase the speed when the dough looks crumbly and add the egg. Scrape down the sides again and mix until thoroughly combined. Heavily dust a work surface with flour, the turn dough out. Divide it into two even pieces and roll them into 1" logs. You'll need to add flour from your work surface to keep the soft dough from sticking. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for one hour. or until stiff but not frozen solid. You can keep the cookies frozen this way for several months, slicing off and baking as needed. For long term storage, wrap the dough in additional plastic and some aluminum foil. 15 mintues before you plan to bake them, turn your over to 350 degrees and grease two half sheet pans. With a very sharp knife, slice the cookies into 1/8" thin rounds and lay them on the sheet pans, leaving a 1/2" space between cookies. Chill in the refrigerator for two minutes before transferring to the oven. Bake 7/8 minutes for chewy cookies, or 11-12 minutes for crispy ones. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Coating:
Put an 1" of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil with a large glass or ceramic bowl on top. When the water boils, reduce to a simmer and add the chocolate to bowl. Whisk constantly until chocolate is melted, making sure it stays below 91 degrees. Line your your two half sheet pans with parchment and drop the cookies into the chocolate 4-5 at a time. Stir with a firk until evenly coated, then remove them and slide them off your fork with another fork onto the parchment. Sprinkle cookies with extra ground chile and coarse salt while they're cooling, then set aside to cool completely.
*Note: I couldn't find aji panca chiles so I substituted with ancho chiles. I'll let you know how they turn out!
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