Posts by Beth

• Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper, or use a scone pan.
• Use kitchen shears or a knife to cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with 1/2 tablespoon sugar; set aside to macerate.
• Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or a fork to cut it in. Don’t completely mix in butter, but leave some pea-sized pieces throughout. Stir in milk. Fold in the white chocolate chips followed by the berries.
• Flour hands to coat. Gently knead and turn the dough to incorporate the dry bits from the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle dough with extra flour if it’s too sticky to work with.
• If using a cookie sheet for baking, pat the dough into a circle 3/4 inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges (or smaller), then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between them; they will spread. Alternatively, press handfuls of dough into a scone pan, filling each empty space to the end to create even pieces. Sprinkle the tops with coarse or white sugar, if desired.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are beginning to brown. Remove them from pan. Scones can be eaten immediately, or will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Freeze them to enjoy later.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare the pan by using nonstick spray or some extra butter to coat.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat, stirring often. The butter will foam and then turn brown after 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine browned butter, both sugars, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Fold in the chocolate chips. If desired, add a sprinkle of flaked sea salt and coarse sugar on top.
• Bake until the edges are brown and the middle is no longer gooey, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before digging in, but it is ideally eaten while it's still warm.

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• Zest the lemon. Cut lemon in half and squeeze out juice. Set aside zest and juice.
• Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Place butter, white sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla in a bowl, stirring together until the butter starts to soften and the ingredients come together. Add flour, mixing until buttery crumbs form. Use hands to press dough together into a ball.
• Lightly flour a flat work surface. Set the dough there and press it into a 1/2-inch thick disk. Place a long stretch of plastic wrap on top and roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutter, placing rounds slightly spaced out on prepared sheet. Reroll dough scraps cut out more rounds until it’s all basically shaped.
• If desired, etch a lemon-like effect. Use a sharp knife to form decorative lines atop cookies, pressing in the blade to form 8 triangular wedges on each; make sure to only press into the top of the dough, not all the way through. Use a skewer or chopstick to add decorative holes near the tip of each wedge, creating an effect like a lemon seed.
• Bake cookies until they are light brown around the wedges, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, but reserve the parchment and pan for the glazing.
• Return cookies to cooled pan. Mix together the confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, adding more if needed to form a thick but spreadable glaze. Use a pastry brush to apply a layer of glaze to each cookie, adding an extra layer, if desired, with any leftover glaze after the initial coat. Let cookies stand for 30 minutes to an hour, until glaze is set. Pack cookies into a sealed container. Store at room temperature.

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• In a stand mixer or by hand. beat together butter, sugar, and salt until they are pale and creamy. Add the egg. Gradually beat in the flour until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times.
• Shape the dough into a flat disk and encase in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for an least an hour, but overnight is preferred. Dough can be refrigerated for up to a week or can be frozen for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw in fridge before using.

Form the crust

• If the pâte sucrée is quite firm from chilling, let it set at room temperature for about 20 minutes to make it more pliable. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.
• Remove the base of the tart pan and trace the shape onto parchment paper. Cut paper to fit in bottom of pan and apply baking spray. Carefully transfer dough to pan, but if it falls apart, that’s okay–press it into an even layer across the bottom of the pan and up the fluted sides. Use a knife to cut excess dough from the top edge. Use a fork to dock the bottom of the pan, stabbing it here and there across the whole surface. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake the crust

• Preheat oven at 325-degrees.
• Top the dough with a large piece of parchment paper, with ends extending over the sides. Add pie weights to fill the basin.
• Bake the crust for about 15 minutes. Carefully lift with the parchment and weights, setting on another pan to cool. Brush the bottom of the pan with the egg white. Continue baking for another 15 minutes; the base should look dry with the dough lightly browned. Set aside to cool completely as the filling is made. Increase oven temperature to 350-degrees.

Make the frangipane

• Beat the butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure everything is mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla, salt, and almond extract. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Gradually mix in both flours until just combined.
• Spoon frangipane into a pastry bag or a freezer quart bag. Cut off the tip.
• Use an uneven spatula to spread the cherry preserves over the bottom crust. Pipe the frangipane over the preserves. Use a clean uneven spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
• Bake until frangipane is set and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes before removing the outer ring of the pan. Let tart cool completely on rack.

Add drizzle

• In a small bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar and milk. Spoon into a pastry bag or freezer quart bag and snip off a tiny corner. Pipe glaze back and forth over tart. Let glaze set, about 20 minutes, then dig in. Store wrapped up or in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 days.

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