The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets (12 page)

Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Place the slices upright on the baking sheet and return the sheet to the oven.

Bake the biscotti until dry to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Biscotti will keep for at least two weeks. Store in an airtight container.

SHAKE IT UP:
Substitute dark rum or coconut rum for the crème de banane.

Black and White Russian Cookies

M
AKES
12
LARGE
COOKIES

I
ONCE WROTE AN ARTICLE FOR A NEWSPAPER
rounding up the best black and white cookies in Brooklyn. I tasted cookies that were delicate and crispy, cookies that were thick as slices of pound cake, cookies that were slicked with fondant, and cookies that were slathered with buttercream. You might think that after all that, I’d be sick of black and whites. To the contrary—I was inspired to invent my own version. These cookies are a take on the popular white Russian cocktail made from vodka, coffee liqueur, and milk or cream.

FOR THE COOKIES:

1¼ cups cake flour

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup well-shaken buttermilk

¼ cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlùa

FOR THE ICING:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water, divided

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons coffee liqueur, such as Kahlùa

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

TO MAKE THE COOKIES
,
sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, instant espresso powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated.

Combine the buttermilk and the coffee liqueur in a liquid measuring cup. Gradually add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour, beating just to incorporate after each addition.

Drop six large (about ⅓ cup) spoonfuls of batter onto each baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are puffy and the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE ICING
,
combine the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, 1 tablespoon of the water, and the coffee liqueur in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon half of mixture into a smaller bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and the remaining 1 teaspoon of water.

Spread half of the flat “bottom” side of each cookie with the coffee icing and half with the cocoa frosting.

SHAKE IT UP:
Substitute Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s, for the coffee liqueur.

Pistachio-Coconut Madeleines

M
AKES
22
TO
24
MADELEINES

M
Y ORIGINAL PLAN FOR THIS RECIPE
was to make very sophisticated madeleines, which are small shell-shaped French confections on the line between cookies and teacakes flavored with Cognac. But ultimately the Cognac wasn’t bold enough to hold its own against the pistachios. The solution? Coconut rum. Coconuts and pistachios aren’t the most conventional pairing, but they work exceptionally well together here. You could serve these madeleines with a classic Kir Royal or a tropical Mai Tai.

A special shell-shaped madeleine pan is needed for this recipe, but don’t let that discourage you. They can be found at most cookware and kitchen supply stores for less than ten dollars.

FOR THE MADELEINES:

½ cup shelled natural pistachios

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans

½ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons coconut rum

FOR THE GLAZE:

00 confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons coconut rum

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two madeleine pans with butter, or spray them with nonstick spray. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE MADELEINES
,
pour the pistachios into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and set aside to cool slightly. Combine the flour and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until light, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the flour mixture and the chopped pistachios and mix until incorporated. Add the melted butter and the coconut rum and mix until smooth.

Carefully spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each madeleine mold and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a madeleine comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove the madeleines from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE
,
combine the confectioners’ sugar and the coconut rum in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Dip the pretty “shell” side of each madeleine in the glaze and set on a cookie sheet until glaze hardens, about 15 minutes.

SHAKE IT UP:
To make chocolate-hazelnut madeleines, omit the pistachios and increase the flour to 1 cup. As a final step before baking, stir ½ cup mini chocolate chips into the batter. Substitute hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico, for the coconut rum.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Orange Liqueur Cream

M
AKES
8
WHOOPIE
PIES

B
ACK WHEN
S
EX AND THE
C
ITY
was still airing new episodes on HBO, I went through a major Cosmopolitan phase. I bought myself a set of fancy martini glasses and all the cocktail ingredients, including a big bottle of Grand Marnier that took me ages to finish. Besides vodka and cranberry juice, what goes with orange liqueur? Chocolate. These whoopie pies have rich, fudgy cakes that perfectly offset the delicate, floral cream filling.

FOR THE CAKES:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

FOR THE CREAM FILLING:

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

1½ cups marshmallow cream

2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.

TO MAKE THE CAKES
,
whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until just combined.

Using a ¼ cup measure, drop mounds of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. You should have 8 cookies on each sheet. Bake until cookies are puffed and spring back when touched, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE CREAM FILLING
,
beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and marshmallow cream in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add the orange liqueur and beat until smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies, spread heaping tablespoons of the cream onto the flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Clearly Cosmo

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce orange liqueur

1 ounce white cranberry juice

½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

Thin slice of fresh orange

Combine the vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, shake, and then strain into a martini glass and garnish with the orange slice.

M
AKES
1
DRINK

Dark and Stormy Hermits with Raisins and Rum

M
AKES
ABOUT
18
BARS

W
HAT’S A GIRL GOT TO DO TO GET A DECENT HERMIT THESE DAYS?
Make them herself, I guess. Most of the recipes I’ve come across in recent years for these classic New England bars call for making them like drop cookies, or frosting them with icing. But the hermits I relished as a child were baked in logs and cut into squares, and served with no garnishes except for a glass of milk. My recipe stays true to the hermit’s humble roots, but it does include dark rum, which enhances the flavor of the raisins and calls to mind the dark and stormy cocktail made with rum and ginger beer.

¾ cup raisins

¼ cup dark rum

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground all spice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup molasses

In a small bowl, combine the raisins with the rum and let stand for at least 30 minutes, or until the raisins are softened and slightly plump.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the molasses and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Gradually add the flour to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the raisins and the rum and beat until just incorporated. Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.