Tiramisukis (Alisha Henderson)
My criteria for the perfect cookie is one that’s thin rather than chunky, and tender and gooey in the centre with buttery crackly edges. These cookies are precisely that and can stand on their own, but tiramisu on top takes them to another decadent level.
Serves 12
COOKIE DOUGH
- 1 tbsp ground espresso coffee beans
- 225g butter, at room temperature
- 80g brown sugar
- 200g caster sugar
- 80g mascarpone cheese
- 1 tbsp Kahlúa (optional)
- 250g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50g cornflour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 120g dark chocolate chips
TIRAMISU FROSTING
- 1 tbsp ground espresso coffee beans
- 150g mascarpone cheese
- 1⁄3 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp Kahlúa (optional)
TO FINISH
- •Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
For the cookie dough, start by stirring the ground coffee with a little hot water to steep.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 4 minutes on medium-high speed. Scrape down the bowl, add the mascarpone and beat for a further 2 minutes. Add the steeped coffee and Kahlúa, if using, and beat for 1 minute. Add the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder and beat on low speed to combine. With the mixer still on low speed, stir the chocolate chips through the mixture. Divide the dough (it’s quite a sticky batter) into 24 pieces about 55g each, roll them into balls and seal in an airtight container. Freeze for at least 12 hours (and up to 2 months). The long resting time ensures a tender cookie.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange the cookie balls on the prepared tray about 3cm apart. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Leave the cookies on the tray to cool completely before frosting.
For the tiramisu frosting, stir the ground coffee with a little hot water to steep. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the mascarpone, icing sugar, steeped coffee, vanilla and Kahlúa, if using, on high until stiff – don’t overbeat or the mixture will split. Spread the tiramisu frosting across the tops of the cookies. Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder. The cookies will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
Chocolate rye tahini cookies (Gad Assayag)
At Baker Bleu, cookies are always on offer and we are constantly looking for new and exciting flavours. While Mike was on his last bakery tour of France, he sent me a photo of a cookie with the message: “Best cookie I’ve ever had.” It was a chocolate and tahini cookie, and I instantly knew this would be my next project. To make it more exciting and unique, I used dark chocolate and added rye flour, which creates a very fudgy texture – like a brownie in a cookie. I recommend buying tahini produced in a Middle Eastern country, as it is creamier and tends to have more flavour.
Makes 16
- 195g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 80g rye flour
- 25g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3g baking powder
- 6g baking soda
- 6g salt
- 135g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 105g hulled tahini
- 265g brown sugar
- 65g caster sugar
- 65g egg (from about 2 eggs)
- 40g egg yolk (from about 2 eggs)
- 300g dark chocolate, 70%, roughly chopped
- 50g sesame seeds or Tasman Sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl and mix with a whisk. Set aside. Combine the butter, tahini, brown sugar and caster sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Switch to low speed and add half the egg and half the yolk, mixing well and scraping down the side of the bowl before repeating with the remaining egg and yolk. Mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the dark chocolate and mix until just combined. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Use a large spoon or a ¼ cup to scoop out pieces of cookie dough of about 80g. Roll each into a ball, arrange on the prepared baking trays and press to flatten into discs. Make sure they are about 5cm apart. You should have about 16 cookies. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 175°C fan-forced (195°C conventional).
Remove the cookies from the fridge at least 10 minutes before baking to bring them to room temperature. If you’re using sesame seeds, put the seeds on a small plate and press the top of each cookie into the seeds to coat. Put the cookies back on the baking trays. Alternatively, you could sprinkle the cookies lightly with sea salt.
Bake for 7 minutes, then remove the trays from the oven and gently tap them on a bench before returning them to the oven for 3-4 minutes, until the cookies are browned around the edges. (The tapping will give you nice flat cookies with a chewy texture.) Cool the cookies on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.
Feta and dill biscuits with harissa honey butter (Danielle Alvarez)
In America (where I’m from), what people call biscuits are similar in their ingredients and make-up to scones, but biscuits are typically served to accompany savoury foods, such as chicken or fried steak with gravy, or sausages for breakfast, while scones are usually served with jam and cream. I’ve tried to merge the savoury and the sweet in these biscuits, even if they are primarily savoury.
The warming harissa heat comes through at the end of the bite and works perfectly with the sweet honey and butter and the salty feta for a truly surprising and utterly delicious combination.
I think these biscuits are best served straight from the oven for breakfast alongside other delights, but you decide where they fit into your day.
Makes 8
The key to delicate and light biscuits is keeping all the ingredients super cold until you bake them, and treating the dough delicately so as not to develop the gluten.
FETA AND DILL BISCUITS
- 300g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1½ tbsp chopped fresh dill sprigs
- 120g butter, frozen
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 170ml chilled water
- 80g sheep’s milk feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp pouring cream (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt flakes
HARISSA HONEY BUTTER
- 90g butter, at room temperature
- 25g honey
- 15g harissa paste
- pinch of sea salt
Preheat your oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C conventional) and line a baking tray with baking paper. For the feta and dill biscuits, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and dill in a large bowl. Coarsely grate the butter, keeping it as close to frozen as possible. If you feel it has softened, return the grated butter to the freezer to firm up again. Toss the frozen butter shavings with the dry ingredients.
Add the vinegar to the chilled water, pour onto the butter and flour mix and stir through using a spatula (the mixture will still be quite crumbly). Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough together a few times to just bring it together (when I say “knead”, I mean just press it together, rather than traditional bread kneading where you push and pull the dough with the heel of your hand). It should still be very shaggy and messy but mostly holding together.
Dust the top with more flour if needed, then use a rolling pin to roll out to a rectangle about 30cm x 20cm. Sprinkle the feta on top of the dough, then cut the dough into three equal pieces. Stack those on top of each other and press those pieces together.
Use a dough scraper to help push the sides in a bit so everything is flush. Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll your dough stack to 2.5-3cm high. Use a dough scraper or knife to cut the dough into four squares, then cut each square diagonally to give two triangles. Place the triangles on the baking tray. It’s okay for them to be snug, but they shouldn’t touch. If you have cream, use it to brush the tops.
Sprinkle with black pepper and flaky sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits feel light when you pick them up.
Make the harissa honey butter while the biscuits are baking by stirring together all the ingredients until smooth. Serve your hot biscuits with the harissa honey butter and enjoy.
An edited extract from The Baker’s Book, edited by Ruby Goss (Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99).
