Today I am coming to you with a few random items and one delicious recipe:
I can hardly believe it is June. Farmer’s Market season has begun in the Midwest and we are now lucky enough to live a couple of blocks from our local market. Saturday mornings are now my favorite part of the week.
With summer quickly approaching, I put a call out for a special seasonal cocktail and boy did you deliver! So many excellent suggestions. All of them, really. Those comments will remain a good resource for anyone looking for a refreshing summer drink. We’re in the process of testing some of your recipes out and will be offering three finalists up for a vote later in the month. Soon, the official drink of summer will be crowned. Can’t wait.
My love for Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain grows with every recipe I try. I made these rhubarb tarts a few weeks ago and they knocked my socks off. This is a special recipe and I encourage you to give it a try. Deb posted the recipe recently and her version looks great but I would stick with Boyce’s original rhubarb-hibiscus filling. The addition of hibiscus is genius and makes these preserves good for more than just tarts. To make it, add 6-8 dried hibiscus flowers in place of the vanilla and follow the rest of the instructions. At the end of cooling, remove the flowers, giving them a squeeze to get out as much liquid as possible.
I also tried a recipe for cornmeal cookies with dried blueberries that was equally incredible. Bryan says his favorite berry is the blueberry, which is sad since I bake with them so seldom. In an effort to make up for that, I decided to bake these cookies for him. Warm from the oven, they are little pieces of heaven. A hearty crumb and sweet little flecks of blueberry. These would be great served warm with some vanilla or buttermilk ice cream. Bryan approved.
I’ve already raved about Kim Boyce’s book over on ReadyMade, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Lots of other great cooks are singing Boyce’s praises. It really is one exceptional cookbook.
A couple of notes about this recipe: These really are best the day they are made and are absolutely delicious in their first hour out of the oven. Don’t plan on making these in advance. This recipe can easily be cut in half if you don’t have enough people to eat 2 dozen cookies on the first day.
Cornmeal Blueberry Cookies (from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce)
Dry Mix:
- 2 cups corn flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup finely ground cornmeal (do not use medium or coarse grind!)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Wet Mix:
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup dried blueberries (unsweetened or lightly sweetened)
Finish:
- 1/2 cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub two baking sheets with butter.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter, and set aside.
Add the butter and the brown sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until the butter and sugar are combined, then increase the mixer speed to medium and cream for 2 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is barley combined, about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the milk and the blueberries. Slowly mix until the dough is evenly combined.
Pour the finishing sugar into a bowl. Scoop mounds of dough, each about 3 tablespoons in size, form them into balls and set them on a plate. Dip each ball into the sugar, coating it lightly. Arrange the balls on the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between them. The balls of dough that don’t fit on this round of baking can be dipped in the sugar and chilled.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. The cookies will puff up and crack at the tops and are ready to come out when the sugar crust is golden brown and the cracks are still faintly yellow.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
These cookies are best eaten warm from the oven or later that same day. They’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Whitney says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
Those cornmeal blueberry cookies were on my short list! I love this book too! The Maple Pecan Granola is AWESOME.
http://whitneyinchicago.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/good-to-the-grain-a-review/
The French says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:08 am
I can’t believe I have yet to buy her book…what is my problem?
Can’t wait to get some cocktail recipes:)
lo says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
Wow — the color on those rhubarb tarts is fantastic… I haven’t yet gotten my fill of rhubarb desserts this year, so I hope the season lasts for a bit. Totally looking forward to those cocktails!
Heather @ chik n pastry says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
i made those tarts too – and totally agree to leave the hibiscus in the recipe.
these cornmeal cookies look great, and i just bought some dried blueberries for granola bars, so i’ll have to use some for this since i have everything else at home :)
Bryan says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:31 pm
What I say is that blueberries are my favorite fruit (of all fruits, not just berries) for baked goods—e.g., blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes (which I recognize aren’t baked). Fresh I don’t care for them all that much. Thanks for letting me clear that up.
Tim says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Sorry to have misrepresented you, Bryan. Thanks for clearing it up. Nerd.
kari says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:39 pm
It really is the best book! I tried the tarts as well, but I struggled to find dried hibiscus except in tea form—I wasn’t sure how eight flowers would translate to teaspoons, so I substituted strawberries and am still on the lookout for flora!
Try her hazelnut amaranth cookies. They are to die for!
Jacqui says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Yum! I’ve made chocolate chip cornmeal cookies before, but I love the idea of blueberries instead! Or maybe even raspberries.
Charles G Thompson says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Both of these look really good but I’m most intrigued by the rhubarb-hibiscus combo. Sounds divine. My great-grandmother made rhubarb pies, and I have Kim’s book so I may just have to give this recipe a try.
The Purple Foodie says:
June 4th, 2010 at 1:51 am
I so want to buy the book but I’m afraid I can’t do justice to the recipes given the lack of ingredients here (spelts, kamut flour etc) I love how delicious your tart looks.
Magdalena says:
June 4th, 2010 at 10:45 am
I love caramel (preferably, with salted butter), more than a chocolate and vanilla creams. Your cookies are very appealing to me. Fortunately, we have hot weather since yesterday here; but the whole May was so sold, ugly and rainy that one could hardly believe that we have spring here.
Daniel says:
June 6th, 2010 at 3:58 am
Wow! The color on the tarts is simply amazing. I’ve bumped the book from my wishlist into my shopping cart, I’m also having trouble with the whole flowers thing. I can find it in whole tea form, but not in flower form.
Tim says:
June 6th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Hmmm, Hibiscus flowers are regularly available in Chicago. Both at Mexican markets (Jamaica) and supermarkets. Daniel, I would believe they are not as easy to find in Germany but I am not sure what to suggest. Online? Kari, you should be able to find them online without much problem and if you have access to a Mexican market you will definitely find them there. Good luck tracking them down!
linda says:
June 6th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
great post tim!
ironically…i just made kb’s rosemary, olive oil & bittersweet chocolate cake (i turned into loafs) & had never baked w/spelt flour …the end result is just lovely to look at & “my tasters” were very pleased with the outcome…not overly sweet but, a refined taste…this was my first kb recipe but, judging from this post i will be baking many more to come!
btw: i re-created your olive crackers (as we discussed via emails) & they were so well received
that i had a request from my friend to bake them for father’s day…so thank you for all your advice….i did bake 2 batches- one with black olives & another batch with green olives.
David T. says:
June 7th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Those blueberry cookies would be good if you took out the blueberries and put in chocolate.
cookiepie says:
June 8th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Gorgeous cookies! And I agree about the tarts — anything good is better with hibiscus :)
dayle says:
June 9th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
i love the pic of radishes – just gorgeous!
Cocoa & Lavender says:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:49 am
These look yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Tian says:
June 17th, 2010 at 5:19 am
i used to be one of those suckers – looking for what appeared to be healthy on the front but really is full of b/s replacers and sweeteners
i’ve now come back to what is real .. butter, eggs, sugar are a-ok. the real thing is more fulfilling & you seldom end up overeating because they truly satisfy. i look forward to trying kim’s recipes. thanks for sharing!
Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen says:
July 18th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I looove Kim Boyce’s book. I made the quinoa and beet pancakes and they were absolutely delicous/beautiful. I’m dying to try the whole wheat ccs, but with temperatures in LA around 90 turning the oven on is pretty unattractive. I’m new to your blog and absolutely love it!