YumSugar

52 Weeks of Baking: Goatbread Cookies

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:58:11 -0700

Toot! Toot!
That, my friends, is the sound of me tooting my own horn. A few weeks ago I bought some of the amazing goat butter from the folks at Meyenberg and loved it so much that I wanted to use it for everything. I had eaten it on toast, over pasta and on crackers, but at some point I decided, actually make that knew that I had to make shortbread cookies with it. Nevermind the fact that I had never actually made shortbread cookies, nor actually even liked them that much, neither of those things were going to stop me - I was going to make goatbread cookies (aka shortbread cookies made with goat butter)! To see how they turned out (toot! toot! I freaking loved them) and see the recipe that I more-or-less concocted on my own, read more

Once I decided I was going to make the goatbread cookies (that name sounded best to me), I started pouring through a bunch of cookbooks in order to check out their shortbread cookie recipes. I knew that the goat butter would lend a savory quality, so I knew that I shouldn't add anything like vanilla extract and I didn't want the sugar's sweetness to over-power the goat flavor either. Ultimately I ended up taking a piece from that one (rice flour from Test Kitchen), a piece from this one (temp from Bon Appetit) and just winging it the rest of the way. The bf was worried that all the amazing goat butter was going to be wasted, and to be honest, so was I. However the end result turned out fantastic - although I think that's just a testament to how fantastic the goat butter is. The goatbread cookie was crumbly, but cohesive, had a bit of a sweetness to it, and a nice goaty aftertaste. The recipe is far from perfect, but it's definitely a good launching point. I definitely cannot wait to try more goat butter creations.

Goatbread Cookies
From YumSugar

6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) goat butter (cut into 1" cubes)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup rice flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300F. Move oven rack to top 1/3 of the oven.
In large bowl, or stand mixer, whisk salt and sugar together.
Add butter, mix well. I mixed in stand mixer on medium until butter was completely blended and creamy (about 2 minutes via mixer). Note: this can be done by hand also.
Sift flour together.
Slowly (on low speed if using mixer) add flours to butter mixture. I added 1/3 at a time. Scrape sides with spatula as needed.
When flour is fully incoporated you will be left with a sand-textured mixture. Try and form a ball with your hands. If the dough is not holding together, add a few drops of water (I added about 1 tbsp). Do not add too much water. The final result should be barely cohesive.
In a 9" cake pan, lined with parchment paper or well-greased, place dough and spread out as evenly as possible.
Take another 9" cake pan (you may want to grease the bottom) and place it on top of the dough. Apply even pressure to form the dough into an even-sized disk.
Remove dough from pan and place onto baking pan lined with parchment or silpat.
Using a knife and fork, score & design shortbread (I definitely needed some help in this department).
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until edges are lightly browned and top is even golden color.

Remove from oven and let sit on pan for about 10 minutes. Cut into wedges. Note: It is extremely important to cut into wedges before it cools completely. If you wait until it cools, it will crumble.
Serve and savor!

Note: Next time I will completely skip the pan part and try my best with creating an even square by hand. Until I get really concerned with presentation (gotta master flavor first!), I think it was more of an unnecessary mess. However, if you skip this step, make sure that your goatbread has an even thickness - this way you'll ensure even baking throughout.

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My Favorite Weeks of Baking

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:15:33 -0800

This year I decided to pick a New Year's resolution that I could stick with, and that's how I ended up on my 52 weeks of baking adventure. We're 51 weeks in, and I've surprised my friends and myself with some interesting baked goods. It's definitely been a challenging experience; I've had some inventions that came out better than anticipated, as well as some downright disasters. Overall it's been a great learning experience - if a messy one, as my kitchen's been filthy for a year! - and I hope I've inspired you to get baking!

There's one more treat on the way, but until then here are my favorite six of the year. Clockwise from the top left, they are:

What's Yummy This Week

YumSugar — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:24:53 -0700

We kicked off wedding season at the Sugar Network. First thing up is an engagement party plan. And speaking of weddings, don't miss out on our five part wedding registry guideline.
Passover begins this Monday, we've got some menu ideas and decorating tips to help you out.
Did you know that Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal were on Molto Mario?
Everyone's "favorite" sleazeball, Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild, releases his plans to open Girls Gone Wild themed restaurants. Don't worry they're going to be "sexy but not sexual."
To help you out with all your home and centerpiece decor, we started a new series called Flowers 101. First up: Daffodils.

Easter's around the corner, so we have to ask, what do you think about Peeps? Do they remind you of Will Ferrell?!?
Speaking of Easter, everyone's been talking about the anatomically correct chocolate Jesus that was going to be part of an art exhibit.
This week I impress myself with my very own recipe for Goatbread Cookies (shortbread cookies made with goat butter).
And finally, be sure to join the Savory Sights Group and post your great food photos! We'll be giving away a little treat to our favorite image each month!

Off To Market Recap: Butter Bell

partysugar — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:58:21 -0700

A little while back I dramatically declared that YumSugar was desperately in need of our help. Ok that may be a little exaggeration but she recently spent a good amount of money on a special, creamy goat butter (which she expertly turned into delicious goatbread cookies). Before the butter goes bad she wanted to find a butter bell. A butter bell is a butter container that maintains the perfect temperature of the butter while protecting it from outside air. She did a quick search but could only find hideously ugly little butter bells with butter written in loopy letters. So she asked me to ask you to scour the web for a sleek modern butter bell that matches her unromantic kitchen and granite counter tops. I was surprised to see 2 whole pages filled with awesome butter bells. Here are the ones that I think Yum will like the best:

BellaCalla found this handsome porcelain and steel butter bell. It holds one stick of butter without refrigeration for up to one month.

Two more so read more

This modern butter bell discovered by cravinsugar will be functional and aesthetically pleasing to YumSugar's eye.

With this square, marble butter bell the water creates an airtight seal around the butter and allows it to soften and then it is easily spreadable. Thanks for finding this chic butter bell rubialala!

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