Small-Batch Baking is how to have your cake, and eat it all too. It's baking a plate of cookies (not 4 dozen) to greet the kids when they come home from school, or a few muffins (not 12) when that's all you need for Sunday brunch. It's for the perfect tart to end a small, romantic dinner--or the indulgence of a one-bowl dessert just for you (Honey Apple Oatmeal Crisp, anyone?). Most of all, it's to bring home the joy of baking, when home is just the two of you -
While working on this book, our order of Girl Scout Thin Mints arrived. I decided it would be nice to be able to bake a small batch of them myself, any time I wanted, thereby keeping me from gobbling the major portion of a box the day it arrived. Although it’s hard to duplicate a mass-produced cookie, these are very close. Now you won’t have to wait another year for your Girl Scout cookies to be delivered!
Makes 10 cookies; serves 2 or 3
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Pinch of baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 2 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons well-beaten egg or egg substitute
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Mint Chocolate Cookie Glaze (recipe follows)
PAN REQUIRED:
1 baking sheet
Place the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.
Place the butter, sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla in a medium-size mixing bowl, and beat with a hand-held electric mixer on low speed until blended, about 20 seconds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the butter mixture is well blended, about 20 seconds. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat just until the dough is blended, 10 to 15 seconds.
Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a 3-inch-long log, 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap it well in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is well chilled, 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the chilled dough into 1/4-inch- thick slices and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Bake until the cookies are set and slightly firm on top, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and slide the parchment to a wire rack. Let them cool completely, then remove the cookies from the parch- ment with a metal spatula.
When you are ready to glaze the cookies, place a piece of waxed paper on a wire rack. Pour the hot glaze into a small bowl. Working with one cookie at a time, plunge the cookies into the glaze and turn them with a fork to coat both sides. Lift the cookies out with the fork and transfer them to the waxed paper. Place the wire rack, with the cookies on it, in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm, about 15 minutes.
Mint Chocolate Cookie Glaze (Makes 1/2 cup) This glaze tastes just like the one on those Girl Scout cookies - smooth, dark, and minty.
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Combine all the ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high power until the shortening is melted, 30 seconds. Stir until the glaze is smooth and use immediately.
