Shortbreads, Shortbreads, I Can’t Complain
Andy Warhol, 1930-1987.
Lavender Disaster, 1963
Silkscreen ink and acrylic on canvas, 106 x 81 7/8″
The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas.
American Pop Artist
This past weekend was busy busy. On Sunday, Leo, and my old friend, Beth, walked the Got Guts 5K to help spread awareness about Celiac disease. Considering it was only 3 miles, there was a sizable turnout. I didn’t count each and every person, but it seemed like there were over 200 people there! So a hearty shout out to all that participated and a huge gesture of thanks to the people who organized the event; the more awareness that we possess, the deeper our understanding of the world at large. My friend Beth doesn’t even have Celiac and she’s the one who informed me of the race!
It was a wonderful time and it felt amazing to get caught up with Beth, who I hadn’t seen in months. Thanks, Beth (When we got home, Leo kept asking me, “Mommy, where is my kind best lady friend?”) for being such a beautiful, thoughtful person! Let me know when the paint dries…I wanna see it!
The rest of my time was spent either in the yoga studio, playing with Leo, or in the kitchen, the latter of which became a point of minor irritation as I toiled away on my latest recipe.
I don’t know why I suddenly decided I had to make a gluten free shortbread cookie, but I suppose that’s the way inspiration works; from the depths of our subconscious come these firing of ideas that demand to be realized.
This time, it took me four attempts to get the consistency and flavor to balance out, and to be perfectly honest with you, I was about to throw in the towel after the third batch because I felt I was just too far away from hitting the mark to continue. And my patience level was seriously depleted. Every time the dough was just far too dry and the flavor not quite up to snuff. What was I doing wrong?
I freak out pretty quickly when recipes don’t seem to be going the way I’d hoped for simply because gluten free products are so much more expensive than the usual gluten flour. So what was I doing wrong? One time, the ratio of butter to flour was off, then the flavor wasn’t right (too many poppy seeds, not enough sugar), then it was too dry and devoid of flavor, then it was too crumbly and the glaze too sweet. I wanted to hurl the third failure at the wall, but I didn’t want to clean that up, so I just threw it a bit more forcefully than usual into the trash. As all of you know, failures in gluten free baking tend to be far more extreme than “regular” baking mishaps. Does glorified cardboard or a mouthful of sand ring a bell?
I knew I couldn’t continue in this way, so I decided to vacate the kitchen for the day.
I sat on the recipe for a couple of days and then went for my fourth batch and (thank god) voila! Something magical occurred and my spirits were restored in the form of an almond poppy seed shortbread with a sour cherry glaze. A slightly sweet cookie with a perfectly moist consistency, topped with a delicate sour cherry glaze, the moment I tasted this one, I immediately considered it one of my best realizations.
with a sour cherry glaze
1 Cup sorghum flour
½ Cup white rice flour
½ Cup cornstarch
½ Cup tapioca flour
1 Teaspoons guar gum
1 Teaspoon zantham gum
1 Teaspoon baking powder
¼ Teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 Sticks unsalted butter
¼ Cup golden bakers sugar
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 Large eggs
½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ Teaspoon almond extract
Preheat oven to 325*F and line a half-sheet jelly-roll pan (12 x 9”) with heavy duty aluminum foil and set aside.
Cream together the butter and the sugars until soft and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add the eggs and the extracts and mix until well incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.
Combine all the remaining dry ingredients, except the poppy seeds, in a separate bowl.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix for at least 1 minute. Scrape down sides of the bowl, add the remainder of the ingredients and mix for two minutes more. Fold in the poppy seeds.
Scrape dough into your prepared jelly roll pan and press into place with hands sprayed with a vegetable-based nonstick spray. Gently even out the dough with your fingertips, making sure the dough is flush with the sides of the pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325*F and the top of the shortbread is a delicate flesh color.
Makes 25 Bars
SOUR CHERRY GLAZE
1 Cup sour cherry preserves
1 1/2 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon salted butter
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the cherry preserves and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids. Set strained preserves aside.
To the strained sour cherry preserves, whisk in the corn syrup and the butter. Whisk until very smooth, but not too much as it will cause too many air bubbles to form.
Pour glaze into a disposable pastry bag and cut a very thin triangle from the tip.
After you have cut your bars, drizzle the glaze over the bars in a zig-zag pattern.
Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Makes 25 Bars, 1 Cup Glaze
Burt Glinn, b. 1925
Andy Warhol in a London Man Hole, 1965.
Black and White Photograph
American Photographer
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Sheltie Girl
