Recipe: Sample Recipes from Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson

SAMPLE RECIPES FROM:

Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson
Every once in a while, a cookbook comes along that instantly says "classic." This is one of them. Acclaimed pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and master baker Chad Robertson share not only their fabulous recipes, but also the secrets and expertise that transform a delicious homemade treat into a great one. It's no wonder there are lines out the door of Elisabeth and Chad's acclaimed Tartine Bakery. It's been written up in every magazine worth its sugar and spice.

Tartine Bakery Shortbread (with photo)
Finely textured and very tender, this is the perfect version of the Scottish cookie. Many recipes include some kind of starch that contributes, along with butter, to the shortness of the dough, which is where these cookies get their melt-in-the-mouth texture. Potato starch, cornstarch, and rice flour are among the possibilities. Rice flour gives a bit more crunch, while cornstarch is the softest of all, making a particularly short and flaky cookie.

Tartine Bakery Chocolate-Oatmeal-Walnut Cookies (with photo)
This version of chocolate chip cookies is like most of the cookies we make at the bakery: familiar flavors, but in a slightly different size or shape than you usually find, or with an additional ingredient that sets them apart from the average. I like delicate, petit four-sized cookies best (see variation; we also make this cookie in a five-inch version, but it is still very thin and delicate). These are to my mind a perfect little cookie, with chunks of chocolate and nuts and some oats for texture.

Tartine Bakery Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread (with photo)
Although we love having these bars fill our pastry cases in the fall and winter - they are one of the few bright colors in the sea of chocolate and caramel - a really cold lemon bar in the heat of the summer is very refreshing. I find the bases of most lemon bars to be undercooked and doughy, and the filling usually too scant, Just as we like to bake a lot of our pastries a little darker than many bakeries, we do the same with these bars: we bake the shortbread base until it turns golden brown, producing a deeper butter flavor and crispier crust. We also fill the crust with a little more custard than is typical. You will find that the bases of these bars not only have a nice toothsome bite, but will also stay crisp beyond the day they are made.

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