Recipe: The Ultimate Cocktail Cookie
These buttery morsels bring a hint of sweetness to savory cocktail bites.
I have been making Dorie Greenspan’s savory cocktail cookies for years and have typically followed her recipes to the letter. And why not? She’s amazing. The cookies are essentially a shortbread batter elevated with sweet and savory ingredients that produce the most tantalizing bouchee (delectable morsel) which after just one bite will transport you to a state of food nirvana. The collection of recipes produce chocolate cayenne; almond, rosemary and parmesan; and apricot tarragon cookies. And nary a one is better than the other.
But never satisfied to leave well enough alone, I was curious what would happen if I adapted the recipe and made it my own. My thought was to sweeten the pot, add apricots to the strictly savory recipe of rosemary and almonds and add a whole egg instead of egg yolks which I knew would plump up the cookie and bind it better when baked through. I was right on all counts and this sweet and savory version will add a patina of sophistication to your next cocktail party. Next up for me: chocolate cayenne with minced bacon. Now that’s going to be totally awesome. Or not.
Sweet and Savory Cocktail Cookies
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup whole dried apricots, softened in boiling water for ten minutes and then chopped
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
2 cups all-purpose flour (additional flour for rolling and cutting)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Add the whole almonds to a food processor and pulse to the consistency of grainy flour. Add the rosemary and sugar and pulse until completely combined. Now add the chopped apricots and pulse until they are well integrated. Add the flour and pulse into a fine grainy mixture. Now add the butter and cheese and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and pulse until large clumps of dough form.
3. Flour your work surface. Transfer the dough and press into a disc. Lightly flour the disc and with a rolling pin very gently roll into a larger circle until the dough is 1/2″ thick.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 and a 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out cookies as close together as possible. Arrange the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden; you may need to spin the sheet half way through if your oven cooks unevenly. Let the cookies cool on the baking.
The rolled-out cookie dough can be wrapped in plastic and kept frozen for 2 weeks. The baked cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
