Sometimes there are bad days, and for bad days, there is chocolate and caramel. I was so dreading this last weekend because I still hadn’t fully nailed laminating croissants yet and still needed something to upload for my second episode of PUTZY. So at the last minute (not always a great way to start something…) I changed and decided that on Saturday, I would make (and film myself making) a full-on Thanksgiving meal where I got to choose everything on the menu.
I quickly realized that filming myself doing something putzy is also very putzy in itself. Camera angles vary, and it’s not as simple as making each dish individually. For instance, I switch between mashing potatoes and sauteeing breakfast sausage for stuffing. This is good for maximizing kitchen efficiency but not ideal for explaining how to make each piece of the pie.
It was a full day of cooking and I filmed the whole eight hours in little segments at different parts of my kitchen. Afterwards, I selected all the .mov files and deleted them. Good riddance. No one wants to watch chaos unfold.
But the meal was actually really yummy! If I got to pick the Thanksgiving menu it would include…
For me, turkey has way too low of a return on investment. It occupies your oven for around four hours and, in my opinion, roasted poultry just isn’t yummy enough to justify taking up the same amount of time as four bundt cakes.
Filet mignon, on the other hand, barely needs any oven time or seasoning and tastes like a standing ovation.
As for dessert, I have never been huge on pies and I think I missed the pumpkin spice craze. To me, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and whipped cream is the only celebration-worthy dessert!
Alas, I lost my PUTZY time on Saturday and attempted to demonstrate croissants on Sunday. But by then my energy was gone. Sometimes this happens. I gave myself the grace to mope a bit, then dusted the flour off and picked myself up. I was too much in my head and needed to return to my usual curiosity about food and JUST HAVE FUN! So there is no PUTZY episode planned for tomorrow, but don’t despair. I will be back when I find something marvelously putzy to show you!
And that’s where I’m at now. I have extrapolated my croissant-laminating lessons into biscuits, I’ve eaten a filet mignon that was taller than my stilettos, and I’ve indulged a sudden craving for cookies. Which brings me to…
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
This is my response to sugar cookies. I am so over those. They don’t taste that good to me! I’d rather give those precious calories to a noble cause like chocolate. From my YouTube searches, some decorations for sugar cookies require a day for the icing to dry! Another low ROI if you ask me.
These chocolate caramel shortbread cookies are one of Jimmy’s favorites. It’s a simple Scottish shortbread cookie painted with a homemade caramel sauce and a little chocolate ganache flair. While I admit that brightly decorated cookies are indeed beautiful, I think there is a rich elegance to decorating in caramel and chocolate hues.
Yield: 12-15 cookies (using 3″ in diameter cookie cutter, cookies are 1/2″ thick)
Ingredients
For the shortbread
1 cup softened, salted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream, as needed
For the caramel (from Sally’s Baking Addiction)
1 cup cane sugar
6 tbsp salted butter at room temperature, sliced into tablespoons
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp kosher salt
For the chocolate ganache
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or melting discs
1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Process
For the shortbread
Cream butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so it is fully incorporated. On low speed, add in the flour. Dough will be just crumbles. Dump the dough crumbles on to a floured surface and squeeze the crumbles with your hands, compressing them together. If the dough does not come together, add a bit of whipping cream slowly–about a half tablespoon at a time–until it comes together. Flatten to a half inch-thick using a floured rolling pin. Cut the dough with a cookie or biscuit cutter and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
For the caramel
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the sugar on medium heat. Use a wooden spoon or high-heat spatula to stir it as it turns an amber color. Once all of the sugar is melted, add in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The butter will splatter because it is colder than the sugar. This is normal, but be careful not to get splattered with hot sugar! Stir it with your wooden spoon until the butter and sugar are both melted, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the heavy whipping cream, continuing to stir as you do so. Allow it to boil for a minute and then remove from heat completely. Stir in the salt and allow to cool slightly so it will thicken more. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to a month! After the cookies have cooled slightly, spoon caramel sauce over the cookies, spreading it generously.
For the chocolate ganache
In a small glass mixing bowl combine chocolate with cream. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between, until melted. Place a quart-sized Ziploc bag in a drinking glass, folding the sides over the lip of the glass. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the bag and seal it. Cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag. Pipe chocolate designs over the caramel spread on the cookies. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Store cookies on a covered baking sheet on the counter. The caramel and chocolate will stick to the other cookies, so if you’d like to maintain their aesthetic, do not stack or stagger them.