Friday, February 14, 2014

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY | BON APPÉTIT BOX № 2

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The Valentine's version of the "Bon Appetit Box" is finally ready (and just in time for Valentine's Day!). So much effort has gone into this post, from the recipe testing to the photography editing to the recipe writing . . . The whole process took a lot of time, but I enjoyed the challenge and am relieved that I was able to complete it. At the moment, I am in a euphoric state and am ready to just relax and get away from my screen for a while. Hope you enjoy the recipes (even though I know you won't be able to use them for this Valentine's; next year, I promise I will get things up here earlier), and happy happy Valentine's Day!


LA BON APPÉTIT BOX {a valentine's version}
* french butter cookies
* valentine's cookies
* honey & lemon madeleines
* chocolate financiers


— continue reading for the recipes & more photographs of the Bon Appétit Box

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

VALENTINE'S COOKIES & ROMI-UNIE CONFITURE

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Normally, Valentine's Day is not a big event in our household, mostly because my grandfather's birthday is only a few days before (and our whole family gathers to celebrate that), and also because a lot of chocolate is consumed at the end of January when the Salon Du Chocolat is held in Tokyo. But since Valentine's is not just about chocolates, and ever since I started this blog I am always looking for an excuse to try something new, I decided to plan a Valentine's post. And to be honest, it was supposed to be up by now (over the weekend to be exact), but partly because a snowy dark day prevented me from photographing the results (public excuse), and partly because I did not have the good grace to follow my baking agenda closely (truth), I am running late.

This post is part of the said Valentine's post. After looking at numerous photographs of pretty linzer cookies on the internet and in magazines, I decided I wanted to try them myself. I didn't want to use the traditional dough which contains nuts (usually hazelnuts or almonds), because I already had a different treat that includes almonds planned for the Valentine's post. But I did know what kind of jam I wanted to use for the filling — jam from a lovely shop called Romi-Unie Confiture.

Romi-Unie Confiture is a small cozy shop, on a quiet street in Kamakura, that specializes in handmade "confitures". There are a myriad of jams to choose from; every single one with a lovely name; most in French. My favorites are their "Anniversaire" (strawberry & raspberry), and "Claire" (kiwi fruit & apple) confitures, but I wouldn't really know because I have yet to try them all. For these Valentine's cookies, I wanted to use a raspberry jam, and after much consideration, I picked the "Paris" raspberry confiture with kirschwasser (cherry brandy), and the "Tartiner Framboise" chocolate spread with a hint of raspberry. The jams were so full of flavor, I decided to use an uncomplicated but delicious plain butter cookie dough which I (not so coincidentally) posted about previously. I know the jams I have written about here are impossible to buy unless you are in Japan, but any good quality jam would work. I recommend choosing something that is not overly sweet, because the cookie dough has enough sugar and a dusting of confectioner's sugar will be added on top. For those of you who do live in Japan, you can visit the shop, or buy online here.

* Romi-Unie Confiture
1-13-1 Ogigayatsu
Kamakura, Kanagawa
248-0011 Japan

* { valentine's cookies, cookies adapted from lionel poilâne, via dorie's website and paris sweets by dorie greenspan }
— continue reading for the recipe and assembly instructions

Sunday, February 9, 2014

POILÂNE'S PUNITIONS | FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES

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Poilâne's Punitions. I feel like I should just write "Need I say more?", post the recipe, and move on.
To be very honest, I did not know about this legendary boulangerie before reading about it in a magazine, right before a trip to Paris. The author recommending the place wrote about the three things she would always buy there: the "Punitions", the flour, and the salt. At the time, I was not into baking nor was I one to understand the quality of ingredients used in baked goods. But still, I was intrigued and made a trip to the Poilâne on rue du Cherche-Midi, and went to see for myself.
In the magazine photograph, the cookies looked plain and pale and exactly what a butter cookie should look like. Well, it turned out that the photograph was, in a way, telling exactly the truth. The Punitions were plain and pale and exactly what a butter cookie should taste like, but perfectly so. They were the ultimate butter cookies. The texture crisp, delicate, and crumbly, and most a beautiful shade of blond ("most" because due to the fact that they are handmade there are a few darker-toned ones which are even more beautiful), the sweetness understated, and the packaging very pretty. I didn't understand what made them so, but I did understand that they were perfect. Poilâne's Punitions left a very big impact on my tongue.

A while ago, I came across Dorie Greenspan's website and discovered that she had posted the recipe for Poilâne's Punitions (which she learned from Monsieur Lionel Poilâne himself). I was surprised that I had forgotten about these cookies (so much for my tongue's memory), and that I had not thought of looking for a good butter cookie recipe before. Well, better late than never; I am extremely happy that I found this recipe. I will admit, they probably do not taste quite as good as the Punitions sold in Poilâne. This is probably due to the fact that I am not using the exact same butter, flour, oven, etc., but they are still delicious and very easy to make. I recommend using a cookie cutter with scalloped-edges to make them as pretty as the original Punitions, and also to bake them a bit longer than the original recipe because I think the slightly darker ones are the best Punitions. And for those of you who were wondering, "punition" means "punishment" in French. If you are interested, you can learn why these cookies are called "Punitions" on Poilâne's website, here.

* note: if you plan to use a food processor to make the dough, read the recipe originally posted by Dorie Greenspan, here, to learn the perfect way

* { poilane's punitions adapted from lionel poilâne, via dorie's website and paris sweets by dorie greenspan }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe