Brooklyn Apricot Jam Drops (Dairy-Free)

The recipe for today makes my travel bug itch.  Through my years at university I have spent many holidays travelling, with many trips to the USA, in particular New York City.  This one is from a wonderful bakery in Brooklyn, NYC called One Girl Cookies.  I stumbled into this one-stop cookie shop on my second trip to NYC in the Fall of 2012 when I got lost trying to find my train station.  It was cold and the funky wall decor, aroma of coffee and friendly faces welcomed me in.  I got 3 different cookies, the "Penelope" (Apricot Jam-Filled Almond Butter Cookies), the "Alice" (Decadent Chocolate Coins) and a Chocolate Whoopie Pie.  I loved the cafe - but I didn't live in Brooklyn so my visits back here and across the bridge were limited.

Christmas rolled around and I organised with some friends to do a present swap.  Five of us were all living or travelling all over the world, away from our families and I thought it would be nice to have something underneath our trees to open come Christmas morning (my first real tree! It's usually a little hot in Australia and they drop their needles a little too soon).  So come Christmas morning I was absolutely overjoyed that a friend had found the One Girl Cookie cookbook in a remote little bookstore in Melbourne, Australia and had sent it all the way to me without even realising that the cafe was in 'ma hood' (well, across the bridge...).

I have been loving recreating all their wonderful, easy to follow recipes and tweaking them a little to what I have in my pantry.  Today we have the "Penelope" - however these guys are dairy-free and a little different with Australian ingredients!

Even now I'm working out plans to travel overseas again and I'm sure somewhere along the way I will make my way back to One Girl Cookies in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

1 3/4 cups of plain flour

Good pinch of salt

1 cup (225g) of Nutellex

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 organic egg yolks

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste (though extract/essence is completely fine)

1/2 cup whole raw almonds

1/3 cup of walnuts

1 cup of good quality apricot jam

* In a large mixing bowl sieve the flour and salt together and set aside.

* In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or hand beater), beat together the brown sugar and Nutellex on a medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks one at a time followed by the vanilla and mix on a medium speed for 1 minute.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.  Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.  This recipe does not contain the usual butter so it is not as vital to refrigerate as the mixture will remain sticky, doing so just makes it a little easier to roll into balls.

* Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Place almonds and walnuts on a baking tray covered with baking paper and roast for 10 minutes or until golden and fragrant.  Remove from oven and leave to cool.  Once cooled chop nuts until just thicker than almond meal.  I like doing this process by hand as it gives the cookies a different texture, however, blitzing them in a food processor is a faster option.

* Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Using approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of mixture roll into small balls using your hands.  Dip each ball into the chopped nut mixture and then place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Space each cookie approximately 2 1/2cm apart.

* Using the tip of your ring finger, make an indentation into the middle of each cookie, pushing almost through to the baking tray.

* Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes or until starting to golden.  Remove baking tray from oven and using two spoons carefully spoon small amounts of jam into the indentation holes in the cookies.  Return cookies to oven for approximately 4 minutes or until golden.  Then remove again from oven and cool completely on tray before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Fresh out of the oven.

Cranberry and Almond Biscotti

My love of biscotti started when I moved to New York City in August 2012.  After visiting the city once before, I knew, like many do, that I needed to live in the vibrant bustle of NYC for longer than a few weeks in hotels.  So I packed my bags and jetted off for 6 months to explore what the city had to offer.

After 2 weeks of settling in, sipping American coffee (often out of a Starbucks mug) and navigating the subway it was time to start finding my local coffee shop.  Luckily enough for me I lived right near 9th Avenue's famous Restaurant Row - a strip of about 30 blocks filled with every cuisine imaginable.  The two closest coffee shops just happened to provide me with all the comforts I needed.  One specialising in amazing flavoured ice cream and the other in traditional biscotti and both serving soy cappuccinos that satisfied this Aussie coffee snob's caffeine addiction.

And so the affair began...with just one little cheeky biscotti with my morning coffee.  Which slowly turned into two.. three, I'll take one home for later.. four, I'll have a little picnic in the park... and then before I knew it I was buying half-pound bags to fill my Christmas stocking and keep me company over the long cold wintery nights.

So on returning to Australia I had to perfect this amazing under-rated biscuit and hold off the cravings that I now had for this little baked goodie.  Armed with a (now) expert tasting palate I set about making my own.  And this twist on a traditional biscuit for me, takes me back to the little cafe on a side street of NYC.

150g dried cranberries

½ cup cointreux or amaretto liqueur

3 cup plain flour, plus more if needed.

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

4 tbs (55g) butter

1 cup (225g) raw sugar

4 large eggs

1 ½ tsp almond essence

1 tbs vanilla extract

¾ cup (110g) blanched almonds chopped

3 tablespoons raw sugar

• Preheat oven to 160-170°C.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.
• Heat dried cranberries in liqueur in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until cranberries have softened, approximately 6 minutes. Drain off excess liquid.
• Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and raw sugar in a large mixing bowl on a medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add 3 eggs one at a time. Add the almond essence and vanilla extract.  Add flour mixture in two batches with a wooden spoon.
• Stir in cranberries and roughly chopped almonds.
• On a lightly floured surface, halve dough.  Shape each half into a 30cm by 5cm log.  Flatten logs to 2cm thick.  Transfer to baking trays.  Brush logs with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Bake for 35 minutes, rotating trays halfway through.  Transfer to wire racks to cool for about 20 minutes.  Reduce oven to 150°C.
• Cut logs diagonally into 16 to 18 pieces using a corrugated knife (I find a bread knife works perfectly).  I like the biscotti when it is thick and chunky, however, you can cut as thinly as a 1cm.  Bake for 8 minutes; flip and bake for a further 8 minutes.  Let cool until crisp.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Enjoy!