Irish Butter Shortbread

                                          Eirinn go brách!

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This very simple recipe makes a delicious shortbread. It's prepared with just three ingredients and when so few ingredients are used, they'd better all be good. The recipe comes from Rachel Gaffney, who is known to be an expert on shortbread, as well as all things Irish. You can find her blog, Rachel Gaffney's Real Ireland, here. She uses unsalted Irish butter to make the shortbread I'm featuring tonight. Irish butter is a European-style butter that has a higher butterfat content than the butter usually found in American kitchens. It has a richer, creamier texture because it is made from pasteurized fermented cream. Most of us use butter made from cream that is pasteurized but not fermented and that distinction explains the difference in flavor. A recipe such as this, relies on the extra flavor provided by the Irish butter. You'll be able to find the butter in most large supermarkets and specialty grocers. This shortbread is very easy to make and I've found it keeps well if stored in an air-tight container. It is wonderful to serve with afternoon tea or coffee and I really think you'll enjoy this buttery treat. The recipe requires no special instructions, so I am going to bite my Irish tongue and let it speak for itself. Here is how the shortbread is made.

Irish Butter Shortbread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Rachel Gaffney

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) Irish unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour + flour for work surface

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add flour. Continue mixing until dough comes together to form a ball.
3) Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness, dusting rolling pin with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/4-inch round, fluted cutter, cut out dough. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gather up any scraps, gently re-roll, and repeat cutting process. Take care not to overwork dough.
4) Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until shortbread just begins to turn golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Cook's Notes:

Due to its high fat content, Irish butter only needs a few minutes to come to room temperature. It is best when used 15 minutes after removing from the refrigerator.

Shortbread may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.







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Kolachkes - Glazed Polish Pastries

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I was a bit taken aback when I read a claim that kolachkes were a regional pastry found mostly in Texas. Now, I don't have the culinary chops to wage a frontal assault against that claim, but I can tell you that these pastries were made in the German, Czech and Polish kitchens that I knew as a child, and the last time I looked, the south side of Chicago was a long way from west Texas. Hannie, a German neighbor, regularly made these pastries for her family. Her version was like a jewel encrusted sweet roll and she liberally dolloped spoonfuls of her summer fruits preserves in the center of  perfectly formed  pastry rounds that she cut with an inverted glass tumbler.  I loved them all, save for the ones she made with a drab-looking filling she called prune lekvar. Now, I would agree that time, assimilation and the demise of the grandmother's who made them, have caused these pastries to begin a slow fade into memory in areas outside of Texas, but at one time they were popular wherever Eastern European immigrants settled and raised their families. I found the kolachkes I'm featuring tonight on Martha Stewart's website. The recipe, developed by Karen Mederich, won first place in a cookie of the week contest that was hosted by Martha over a decade ago. Her version is more like a crisp Danish than a soft sweet roll. The buns are buttery and delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I have made one small change to the recipe as it was originally published. I felt they needed salt, so I added a 1/2 teaspoon of it to the ingredient list. These are small, 2-1/2 to 3-inch,  pastries that would make a perfect addition to a morning coffee or afternoon tea. I do hope you will try them. They are delicious and well-worth your time. Here's how they are made.

Kolachkes - Glazed Polish Pastries...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 (2 1/4 teaspoons) package active dry yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup fruit preserves
Sugar Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine sour cream and yeast in a small bowl. Set aside until slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in egg and salt until smooth. Set aside.
2) Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in sour-cream mixture until dough comes together.
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2-inch rounds. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let sit for 15 minutes.
4) Make a thumbprint in the center of each cookie. Fill each thumbprint with 1 teaspoon preserves. Bake until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
5) While cookies bake make glaze: Combine sugar and butter. Add corn syrup, stirring to combine. Drizzle in milk a little at a time until the glaze has a runny consistency.
6) Transfer pans to rack to cool. Let cookies cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove cookies to rack. While cookies are still warm, drizzle with sugar glaze. Yield: 4 dozen.









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Masala Chai

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Bob and I don't normally drink tea. It's simply not our beverage of choice. That, however, changed, at least temporarily, while we were in India. Brewed coffee was extremely difficult to find and, rather than have a cup made from instant granules, we switched to tea. Our tour guide introduced us to Masala Chai at a rest stop en route from Delhi to Agra. It wasn't bad. Better still, he shared his family recipe for the tea with us. While it's a bit more work that your standard cuppa, the recipe is really simple and nearly foolproof. Use a teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup of tea you want to brew and don't forget to add another for the pot. Spice and sugar up or down as personal taste dictates. Indian Chai tends to be very sweet, but you can cut back if you like. The tea is good enough that the recipe should not be kept a secret. I hope you'll give it a try. It's a great alternative to English tea.

Masala Chai...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 teaspoons Darjeeling or other loose black tea
2 to 3 crushed cardamom pods
1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, smashed
2 cups milk
3 to 6 teaspoons sugar

Directions:
1) Place water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2) Add loose tea leaves to water. Stir in crushed cardamom pods and smashed ginger.
3) Add milk and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Simmer, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.
4) Add sugar to taste. Simmer for 1 minute longer, or until sugar is fully dissolved.
5) Strain mixture through a strainer into cups or tempered glasses. Yield: 3 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
How Do I Love Tea? Let Me Count the Ways - Home Cooking Rocks
How to Make A Perfect Cup of Tea - Noble Pig
Homemade Mystic Chai Mix Powder - My Favorite Recipes
Chocolate Chai Pie - The Sensitive Pantry
Mugi-Chai: A Japanese Twist on Masala Chai - La Fuji Mama
Chai Shortbread - Don't Forget Delicious
Chai - Simply Recipes
Chai Tea Cupcakes - Sunny-Side Up Recipes

Sweet Raspberry Tea - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For many of us this weekend marks the end of summer. Calendars and alarm clocks are waiting to reclaim their rightful places in our lives, but before we cede territory to them there is still time for one last barbecue or a trip to the beach. Bob and I plan to head to the coast and enjoy the lovely sea breezes on what promises to be a gorgeous weekend. I suspect polar expeditions have made it to the top of the world with fewer provisions that we pack for our trek to the ocean. I've just filled a thermos with our favorite sweet tea and thought you might enjoy it as well. It really is easy to make and if you prefer a more adult version of this old favorite, I can heartily recommend the addition of a splash or two of orange vodka. One caution. Be sure to strain the tea before serving. Raspberry seeds can spoil the tea. Here's the recipe.

Sweet Raspberry Tea...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients
5 bags raspberry zinger tea
6 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 pint raspberries
1 lime, cut into wedges
Mint sprigs or stemmed cherries


Directions
1) Place tea bags in a 2-quart bowl. Bring 6 cups water to a boil and pour over tea bags. Let sit until water is room temperature. Discard tea bags.
2) Meanwhile, combine sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add raspberries and allow syrup to come to room temperature. Strain syrup into tea. Put ice into 4 (12-ounce) glasses. Squeeze a lime wedge into each glass. Pour sugared tea over ice cubes. Garnish with mint or cherries if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Watermelon Sweet Tea - The Runaway Spoon
Peach and Mint Iced Tea - The Comfort of Cooking
Blackberry Iced Tea - Jane Deere
Blue Green Iced Tea - Taylor Takes a Taste
Herbal Iced Tea - Pham Fatale
Lemongrass Iced Tea - Served with Love

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Coconut Bubble Tea

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We spent the day panning for gold. Really! Each year the town of Cottage Grove holds a Bohemia Mining Day celebration to commemorate the discovery of gold in the area. The event is much like a county fair and it's a wonderful family activity. What is less known, is that while the mine is closed, there are still active claims in the area. That makes it possible for the more adventurous to pan for gold. Ever up to a challenge, Bob and I trekked into the area and did some panning. We found no gold, but had a wonderful day and burned a lot of calories. That, of course, meant a special sweet treat could be enjoyed without any feelings of guilt. We decided to spend the expended calories on large glasses of bubble tea. Now, I can't begin to tell you how a day in a Bohemian community led to a drink of Chinese origin. It just did. The drinks are cold and frothy and they just seemed like a perfect way to end the day. Bubble tea was created in Taiwan in the 1980's. It spread across Asia and made its way to Canada before finally reaching the United States. While the drink has a frothy texture, its called bubble tea because it contains pearl-sized tapioca balls, bobas, that are dispersed throughout the drink. The balls have very little flavor, but they are gummy and are sipped through an oversize straw to be chewed between sips of tea. The base of the drink is tea and it can have milk or fruit flavors added to it. I prefer the milk-flavored version. The tapioca pearls have little flavor of their own, so they are soaked for about 30 minutes in sugar or honey after being boiled. I found a recipe at the New York Times: Dining and Wine site that can be used to make a really nice bubble tea at home. If you're curious you might want to give it a try. Here's my version of the recipe.

Coconut Bubble Tea...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, adapted from The New York Times: Dining and Wine

Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 cups tapioca pearls (1/4-inch wide)
For each bubble tea:
1/2 cup chilled tapioca pearls
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup coarsely chopped mango
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup milk
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Directions:
1) Combine sugars and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Torn off heat. In a second pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add tapioca and cook until tender using time suggested on box. Drain. Mix tapioca with sugar mixture and chill.
2) To make a drink, spoon pearls into a large glass. Place ice, mango, coconut milk, milk and lime juice in a blender jar. Puree. When frothy, pour over pearls and stick in a wide straw. If straws are not available, serve with a spoon.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Ginger Tea - One Perfect Bite
Homemade Vanilla Chai Tea - The Mother Load
Indian Chai Hot Chocolate-Tea Recipe - Tea Escape - Tea Blog
Russian Friendship Tea - Bake It Pretty
The Ultimate Iced Tea Recipe - Cooking By the Seat of My Pants
Lemon Almond Iced Tea - Elite Tea
Herbal Iced Tea - Oprah.com
California Iced Tea - Lifestyle Food.com

Po Cha and Clues to Our Destination

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The suspense is over. Our holiday plans have been finalized. Selection of a location was really difficult this year. Bob and I had different adventures in mind and the final decision was made in the only fair way possible. We quite literally pulled a photo from a stack spread like playing cards of the table. There was a randomness to it that made the whole thing seem more fair than might otherwise have been the case. I'm happy to report we are both happy with the decision the gods of chance made on our behalf. It will be an adventure and I'll be counting the days until it actually begins. October is a ways off but that gives us time to get visas and study more about the places we'll be visiting. I'm going to keep you in the dark for a while longer. I've put together some photos of people and places we'll be visiting to see if you can identify the three countries we'll be touring. I'm also including one recipe associated with the most remote of the places on our itinerary. We have promised the children, who don't like the words trek or safari used in the same breath as their parent's names, that this is absolutely, positively our last visit to remote locales with sometimes fragile political systems. They are dubious. Seems I said that last year as well. I really meant it, but the back and legs and brain have held up well and this seems like the right thing for us to do. At any rate, here is the recipe for a drink that really should be made with yak milk and butter. I must say it is a real challenge to the palate even when made with cows milk and butter from a local creamery. I don't always do well with foods that fall into the acquired taste category. It took me years to enjoy a martini. I comfort myself with the knowledge I tried it, and who knows, it may taste better in country. Here's the scoop for other brave and kindred souls.

Po Cha......from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
5 -6 cups water
3 black tea bags or 2 tablespoons loose black tea
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or 1 teaspoon milk powder

Directions:
1) Bring five to six cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat. Add tea bags or loose tea and simmer for several minutes more. Remove tea bags or strain loose tea.
2) Pour steeped tea, salt, butter and milk or milk powder into a blender or chandong, a type of churn. You can also shake the tea in a thermos bottle. Churn, blend or shake the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes. Our into cuos and serve piping hot: Yield: 4 servings.

















You might also enjoy these recipes:
Ginger Tea - One Perfect Bite
Blueberry Tea - One Perfect Bite
Himalayan Salted Butter Tea - Not Quite Nigella
Yak Butter Tea - The Greedy Glutton

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday

Ginger Tea - The Yangtze - Outdoor Wednesday

Lesser Three Gorges - Daning Tributary to the Yangtze River


Thai-Style Ginger Tea

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I think we've all experienced an instant connect with a stranger at one time or another in our lives. This photo, captured at a bend in the Yangtze river, was taken beneath the parasol of such a friend. She called Singapore home but was Thai by birth. A career and several marriages had, quite literally, taken her around the world and she knew a thing or two about comfort on the road. Her purse was a veritable magician's hat and on this particular day, unhappy with the flavorless tea being served on board our small excursion ship, she pulled two packets from her bottomless "hat" and proceeded to make two cups of the best tea I had ever had. The tea was actually a Thai Ginger Drink that is very popular in Asia. While ginger is used in cooking throughout the world, you may be surprised to learn that it has health benefits as well. Many, especially in Asia, consider it to be a cure-all. Health benefits aside, my main interest in using fresh ginger is to make tea. While I haven't been able to create an exact duplicate of the ginger drink, I've come very close and have been serving it, hot or cold, ever since. This is how it's done.

Ginger Tea...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
8 cups water
1/2 cup peeled and thinly sliced fresh ginger
1 lemon or lime thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup dark honey

Directions:
Bring water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. Add ginger and lemon. Cover pot and let sit for 20 to 40 minutes. The tea becomes stronger the longer it steeps. Strain. Stir in honey. Serve hot or cold. Yield: 8 cups.

This recipe is being linked to Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.