Everyone knows Valentine’s Day gifts are better when they’re homemade, especially when they’re made well. Why? Because they’re made from the heart (insert “ahhhh”). With the age-old adage that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach in mind, the editor of Good Bite, Kat Odell, asked iconic Chef Thomas Keller of the famed Bouchon Bakery locales in New York and Yountville, and French Laundry in Yountville (he also recently opened an outpost of Bouchon in Beverly Hills and is the restaurateur for Per Se in New York ) for his thoughts on a Valentine’s Day recipe that is sure to send any eater into a state of bliss.
Keller offered up a recipe for a hazelnut-and-almond sugar cookie with a white chocolate yogurt frosting and a yummy raspberry powder topping. Note: while it may be hard to find at your local grocery, raspberry powder can be found at any health food store, or try Amazon.com. Crushing up freeze-dried raspberries is another option. If neither of those sounds appealing (or worth the effort), simply substitute with red sprinkles—an option I fully endorse.
Hazelnut Yogurt Cookies
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
5 tablespoons almond flour
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/8 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut flour
3/8 cup plus 1 tablespoons yogurt powder
2 pounds white chocolate pate a glacier
2 3/4 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberry powder (or red sprinkles, your choice)
red food color
Preheat oven to 300F. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla extract followed by the egg, one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mix. Combine well. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Freeze cut-out dough to firm before baking. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until light golden brown. Cool cookies completely before icing.
Melt the pate a glacier until warm, add the yogurt powder and combine until dissolved. Add the food color a little bit at a time until the desired color is achieved. When the cookies have cooled, ice each with the yogurt chocolate glaze. Before the glaze has set, sprinkle the cookies with the raspberry powder or colored sanding sugar.
So when the Black Eyed Peas ask, “Where is the love?” we now can reply: In this delicious recipe. Thank you, Kat and Thomas.
News
February 11, 2010Art Opening: Colette Maison Lumiere at Destination Art Space
