Lemon and Vanilla Bean White Sugar Cookies

Lemon and Vanilla Bean White Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Zest of half a lemon (or a whole lemon, if you love lemon)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and lemon zest until blended.  Mix in the flour and salt on low speed just until incorporated.  Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1-2 hours.  

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll the dough out on a well floured work surface to about ¼-inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters as desired and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking, until fully cooked but not at all browned.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate as desired. 

Recipe Group Scattered

Mon: Ramps with Linguine

Tue: Red Lion

Wed: dinner with dad

Thu: Asparaugs Soup & Bread

(vegeyum.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/asparagussoup/)

Fri: Salmon

www.cookstr.com/recipes/slow-roasted-salmon-with-spring-herb-sauce

Sat: Hamburgers

dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/an-easy-way-to-make-french-fries/

Mon: Flank Steak

(www.kitchenmonki.com/recipe/Grilled_Flank_Steak_with_Chimichurri_Dressing)

Asparagus

Red Pepper

Shallots

parsley

taragon

potatoes

White wine

Roast ham (www.erbeincucina.it/256.html)

Arrowroot

2oz Emmenthal/Gruyere

Creme Fraiche

Mascarpone

Parmesan 

DAIRY

Buttermilk

Milk

This week in Beeler Dinner

King Arthur Whole Wheat Pancakes

Whole grains are coming on strong, and our aim at King Arthur is to make them easy for you to swallow—literally! The following pancakes are just shy of 90% whole-grain; and they're absolutely delicious, featuring the sweet-nutty taste of oats and wheat. 

This recipe comes courtesy of Susan Reid and Susan Miller, two of the authors of King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. Thanks, ladies! 

Step-by-step photos illustrating how to make this mix and pancakes are available at Bakers' Banter, our King Arthur blog.

View by: Volume  Weight 

• 16 ounces King Arthur white whole wheat flour
• 4 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 12 1/4 ounces old-fashioned or rolled oats
• 1 1/2 ounces sugar
• 1 1/2 ounces baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 7 ounces vegetable oil

Directions

To make the mix:

1) Grind the oats in a food processor until they're chopped fine, but not a powder.

2) Put the flour, oats, and all other dry ingredients into a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running.

3) Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make pancakes:

1) Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk (you can use soured milk, but buttermilk gives noticeably superior results; a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk also will do), and 1 large egg. Don't worry if it seems thin at first: the oats will soak up the milk, and the mix will thicken a bit as it stands. Let the batter stand for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

2) Heat a lightly greased griddle to 350°F (if you've got a griddle with a temperature setting; if not, medium-hot will do).

3) Drop the batter onto it in 1/4-cupfuls (a jumbo cookie scoop works well here) to make a 4" diameter pancake. If you have English muffin rings, use them; they make a perfectly round, evenly thick pancake.

4) When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface without breaking (after about 2 minutes, if your griddle is the correct temperature), turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side, which will take about 2 minutes.

5) Serve pancakes immediately, or stack and hold in a warm oven.

Yield: a batch using one cup of the mix will make about eight 4" pancakes.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk in the house, try the yogurt and milk combination first; if you happen to have buttermilk powder, try this: In place of the buttermilk, add 1/4 cup buttermilk powder to 1 cup of dry mix, then stir in 1 cup water and 1 large egg. The results won't be as magnificent as using liquid buttermilk, but you'll still have very tasty pancakes.

Variation: Add 1 tablespoon orange juice to the dry mix along with the buttermilk. We've found that the acidity and sweetness of the orange juice helps mellow the tannic taste some people perceive in whole wheat flour; while the pancakes won't have any orange flavor, they may taste slightly milder to you, if you're not a fan of whole wheat flour (but still want to get more whole grains into your diet).