Pear Caramel Ice Cream with Pecan Shortbread Cookies

The hunt for new Christmas cookie recipes has started.   I love giving bags of cookies to friends and family and to make it fun I try new cookies every year.  My stack of Christmas cookie magazines increases every year, so does the list of delicious cookies I tried.   I like to choose cookies that have interesting texture and color so when paired together they visually please the eyes.  I love making small cookies, almost like miniature, so you can taste more than one and don't feel guilty.  These are keepers.

The first new recipe I tried this year comes from the book A Passion for Desserts by Emily Luchetti, a simple and delicious pecan short bread. Emily is the executive pastry chef at Farallon and Waterbar restaurants in San Francisco, and has published many amazing books, and has also been writing a blog for years (which I just discovered, not sure why I didn't find it earlier, she is one my favorite pastry chefs).

I will definitely make these cookies again, they are buttery shortbread cookies, studded with pecans, and they melt in your mouth.  The only drawback is that they are a little too fragile and crumbly, maybe adding a tad less butter would help.  They are not too sweet, and don't they look great as ice cream sandwiches?

Since I had some pears that needed to be used and some left over caramel sauce I decided to try the ice cream recipe that was paired with the cookies in the book.  I used the most amazingly colored crimson pears I have ever seen, which I bought on a whim, just for the color. 

Isn't the color amazing?

The ice cream is delicious, the flavor of the pears is intense, and the swirls of caramel bring it to a different realm.  However I decreased the sugar by a 1/4 cup and it was still too sweet, maybe it was the omission of the pear liquor, which Emily adds in the recipe but I didn't.   The ice cream  was perfect paired with the cookies since they are really not sweet at all.

 
 

You can find another pear ice cream recipe from David Lebovitz clicking on the link.

Pear-Caramel Swirl Ice Cream
adapted from Passion for Desserts

Six ripe pears (about 3 pounds)
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 large egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup cold Caramel Sauce

Peel, halve, and core the pears.  Slice them 1/2 inch stick.  Cook the pear slices, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice over medium heat, until the pears are soft and the juices have evaporated.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then puree until smooth.  Refrigerate until cold.

In a bowl, whip the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar.  Bring cream to a boil, then pour onto the yolks to slowly temper them until they are thickened into a custard.  Immediately strain and add the cold milk.  Refrigerate until cold.  Stir together the pear puree and the egg custard.  Freeze according to your ice cream maker.   (Note:  the yield is more that my ice cream maker could freeze, so I had to freeze in two batches).

Pecan Cookies

3 1/2 ounces butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup pecan pieces

Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth, 30 seconds.  Add the flour, salt and pecans.  Mix just until combined.  Roll dough into a log, 1 inch thick, using a sheet of parchment paper.  Chill or freeze until hard.  Pre-heat oven to 325F, cut log into 1/4 inch thick slices, place on a paper lined baking sheet and bake until light golden.  Let cool.

Basil Ice Cream, Strawberries, and Balsamic Reduction

Taking this picture was a lesson on patience, setting, styling, and I know I wouldn't get an A, but I have no more ice cream so this picture has to do. I don't have much of a set up yet, so I take pictures with natural light and a white foam board to reflect the light. I initially put the plate on the freezer with the quenelle of ice cream, but as soon as I took the plate out, droplets of condensation started forming, which made the balsamic reduction smear and look horrible. I didn't have more ice cream left (yes it was so good we gobbled it up pretty fast), and the sun was moving closer and closer to the plate! I quickly wiped the plate and took few more pictures before it was too late. This is the only one that made the cut, and only barely I am afraid. Everything looks nice and shiny except for the ice cream blob, the picture doesn't do any justice to the pale green ice cream unfortunately.

I made the ice cream for my husband's birthday and served it with cream biscuits. The dessert got a 10 from a man with a very discerning palate, which means it was pretty good.

The recipe comes from Pastry Chef, cookbook author extraordinaire, David Lebovitz, one of my favorite people in the pastry realm. As told in his books, David started his career in pastry while working on the savory side of the Chez Panisse kitchen. He later became Pastry Chef, and worked there for many years. Eventually David left the Bay Area and moved to Paris where he still resides (did it do it for the French macaroons?). Check out his website because he is not only funny, but extremely knowledgeable on all things pastry. His cookbooks are fun to read and a great source of inspiration. Years ago, I casually bought David first book Room for Dessert not knowing who he was, but I immediately knew it was love when I read that not only he doesn't like chocolate and raspberries together, but he is also crazy for cardamom, one of my favorite spices. When David came out with The Perfect Scoop, I knew that sooner or later I had to buy it, and I am happy I did. The book has plenty of ice cream recipes to choose from in the second chapter (Green Pea Ice Cream anyone?). In the next two chapters, you can find great sorbet and granita recipes like Cantaloupe sorbet, Leche Merengada, or Mojito Granita. He doesn't stop at the frozen part though, but also includes three more chapters: one on sauces, one on crunchies to mix in, and one on vessels you can bake to present your creations with. Are you running to your local bookstore yet?

Basil Ice Cream
adapted from the Perfect Scoop

1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
pinch salt
5 large eggs
zest of one lemon

Grind the basil leaves with the sugar and 1 cup of the cream until the leaves are ground as fine as possible. Pour half of the mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining 1 cup of the cream.

Warm the other half of the basil mixture with the milk and salt. While the milk is warming up break up the yolks with a whisk. When the milk start simmering, turn the heat off, and pour it slowly into the yolks whisking to temper them until they thicken into a custard. Strain the yolk custard into the reserved cream-basil mixture, mix well, add the lemon zest and chill completely. Freeze the ice cream base in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Buon Appetito!

Cookbook Review

If you live in the Bay Area, are passionate about baking, and have to add to your cookbook collection, this is a great chance not only to buy a brand new baking book, but to have it signed by the author, Flo Braker, an amazingly talented baker and cookbook author.

Flo Braker will be signing her new book Baking for All Occasions at a new bookstore devoted to books about cooking and gastronomy, Omnivore Books on Food in SF, on Saturday, March 14, from 3 to 4 PM. She will be joined by special guest Amy Pressman of Los Angeles, one of the founders of Bakers' Dozen.

Flo has a great eye and palate for delicious recipes, she has written many cookbooks and is a teaching instructor. Baking for All Occasions has lots of wonderful recipes, from simple cookies to scrumptious cakes like the one on the cover, Eggnog Pound Cake with Crystal Rum Glaze (can I say YUMMY!). The recipes are explained in every detail to set you up for success. I have tried many of her recipes (my favorite of all is her Panforte recipe from Sweet Miniatures), they are well written and easy to follow, and they always turned out perfect, like these Congo Brownies.

Congo Brownies
from Baking for All Occasions

Congo layer
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ounces butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, egg white, and vanilla until just blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until the batter is smooth. Spread the batter onto a lightly buttered and floured quarter sheet pan (13x9" pan). Sprinkle the walnuts evenly on top and gently press them into the batter. Partially bake at 350F until the layer is no longer shiny and is beginning to come away from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while you make the brownie layer.

Brownie Layer
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring with a silicone spatula until smooth. Let cool 5 minuted. Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until the batter is smooth. Scoop the tick batter onto 8 or 9 different areas of the still warm Congo Layer. With the offset spatula, spread the batter as evenly as possible. Bake until the brownie layer top is no longer shiny; appears set; feels firm rather than soft; and a round wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist chocolate crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack completely. The top layer will set as it cools.

Flo decorated the brownies with a chocolate glaze made of 3 ounces of chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet), and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. I simply melted some chocolate, put it into a paper cone and drizzled it on the brownies.