Kurogoma (Black Sesame) Shortbread Cookies

Guess what, y'all? Last Saturday, NYC raised $4644 for Peace Winds America/Japan in our Bake Sale for Japan! And the Bake Sales across the nation have raised over $120,000! I wasn't as involved as I wish I could have been, but I hope my shortbread cookies helped raise a tiny sum towards this awesome amount. Another BIG thank you goes out to Lillian from Sweets by Sillianah and Celia from Cookbook Archaeology for coordinating a wonderfully run bake sale.

Check out their posts for pictures and details of the sale at Brooklyn Flea.

For the bake sale, I chose to make matcha, azuki, and kurogoma shortbread cookies because they are all prominent Japanese flavors that I love working with. Matcha, azuki, and kurogoma are simply the Japanese terms for green tea, red bean, and black sesame. I've made all varieties of the cookies before, but the kurogoma shortbread cookie happens to be one of those recipes I never got around to posting. Until now, that is.























The ingredients I used to flavor the shortbread cookies: black sesame paste, sweetened red bean paste, and green tea powder (tried out a new green tea product - not bad!).























And here are the wrapped shortbread cookies!

Kurogoma (Black Sesame) Shortbread Cookies
adapted from previous recipe

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup black sesame paste

Directions:
1. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth.
2. Add flour, cornstarch, and salt to butter mixture, until flour mixture is incorporated into the dough. Be sure not to overwork the dough.
3. Fold in black sesame paste.
4. Transfer the dough to a gallon-size plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and using a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Roll carefully, making sure not to leave creases in the dough. Seal the bag after rolling into proper size and press out as much air as possible. Place in freezer for about 30 minutes, up to 2 days.
5. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.
6. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 2 inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one four times with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
7. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Yields 20 cookies.

Ovaltine Shortbread Cookies

Today's post is my 100th post on Talida Bakes! That means in the past three years, I've baked nearly 100 new recipes. I know that may not be a lot to some of you, but it's an accomplishment to me, to know that my hobby and passion has only grown stronger since I started this blog.

I wanted to make a cookie that meant something special to me, so I came up with Ovaltine shortbread. Ovaltine is my absolute favorite childhood drink. I associate it primarily with my visits to my grandparents in Thailand, and I keep a jar of the stuff in my cabinet when I want to taste my maternal grandmother's kitchen. I drink it with condensed milk, and on one visit to Thailand, I mistook an unlabeled squeeze bottle of mayonnaise for condensed milk. I drank that Ovaltine-mayonnaise concoction for two days before realizing why my Ovaltine tasted off. It tasted much worse after I knew what I had done, and now I double check before adding anything to my Ovaltine.

I also mailed these cookies off to my group for Vané's Brooklyn Bride Card Swap - hope you enjoyed them, ladies! And here's hoping my next 100 posts won't take another three years!


Ovaltine Shortbread Cookies
adapted from previous recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Ovaltine
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. With a stand mixer, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and reduce the mixer speed to low.
2. Sift together flour, Ovaltine, and salt, then add to butter mixture, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it does not cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one four times with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. This recipe makes about 40 cookies.

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread

I saw this recipe featured by Deb at Smitten Kitchen a few days ago and knew I had to make these as part of my holiday collection. I'm spending Christmas in the D.C. area this year, so I wanted to bake sturdy goods that won't end up in a crumbled mess in my luggage. I'm bringing these, and I look forward to testing how well they travel.

The shortbread was easy to make, and I agree with Deb - the rolling-in-a-bag is the best part! I didn't have gallon-sized bags on me, so I used 4 quart-sized bags. It worked out wonderfully since I had even less cookies to cut. No, I'm not lazy... I just love shortcuts. And this shortbread.

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:
1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving. Makes 32 cookies.