Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen
12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
Press mixture into bottom of pan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:
While crust is baking, prepare topping.
In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

Petits Fours

Directions

Trim 1/4-inch from each of the short ends of the pound cake. Cut cake into 1-inch slices. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 4 rounds from each slice of pound cake, using your finger to release each piece from the cutter.

Place rounds on a wire rack set over a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Ladle icing over each; let stand at room temperature until dry.

Gently lift cakes from wire rack using a spatula and transfer to a serving platter.

Decorate with butterflies or other store bought decorations. Store petits fours in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Buttery Pound Cake
Make 1 loaf
3 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
3 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together milk, eggs, and vanilla; set aside.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until well blended. Add butter and half of the milk mixture; continue mixing until moistened. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 minute.

Scrape down sides of bowl. Add half of the remaining milk mixture. Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining milk mixture. Beat again on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

While cake is still warm, invert onto a wire rack. Completely wrap in plastic wrap to keep cake moist.

Petits Fours Icing
Ingredients

Makes enough for 32 petits fours
9 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Gel food coloring, in desired colors

Directions

In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, mix sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup water, vanilla and almond extracts together until they are warm, well combined, and smooth. Stir in enough food coloring until desired color is reached. Do not overheat. Let cool about 8 minutes before pouring.

Rice Paper Butterflies
Store-bought marzipan
Black gel food coloring
8 1/2-by-11-inch sheets of rice paper
Butterfly template
Black fine-tip edible marker
Luster dust, in desired colors
Clear piping gel
Clear edible glitter
1/4-inch long floral stamen wires (not edible)
Toothpicks, cut in half
Directions

Place marzipan in a small bowl. Add a few drops of black food coloring and knead into marzipan until it reaches desired color; cover and set aside.

Place rice paper over butterfly template and trace butterfly design onto rice paper using edible marker. Turn rice paper over and trace design onto opposite side.

Using your fingertip, color one side of the wings with luster dust, then cover with piping gel. Working over parchment paper, crush glitter in your hands and sprinkle over piping gel; shake off and reserve any excess. Let stand until no longer tacky, 30 to 60 minutes. Place a sheet of parchment over wings and weight down with a book, if necessary, to keep rice paper from curling, up to 1 hour. Repeat process with opposite side. Carefully cut out wings; set aside.

Using black marzipan, form a 1/2-inch ball. Roll out into a 1-inch long tube to form the body of the butterfly. Using a small knife, make a small slit, about 1/4-inch long, into each of the long sides of the body. Place one wing into one of the slits and pinch the center of the body to adhere. Repeat process with opposite side. Insert two stamens into one end of the marzipan to form the antennae.

Insert toothpick halves into the bottom side of each butterfly. Let butterflies air-dry overnight. Use to decorate petits fours.

Italian Panzanella

Ingredients

Serves 4
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups large cubes country bread (5 to 6 ounces)
1 pound plum tomatoes, cut into small pieces
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
4 ounces provolone cheese in one piece, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil; season with salt and pepper.

Add beans, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and cheese. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to 8 hours. Just before serving, stir in basil.

Raspberry-Rhubarb Turnovers

Makes 8
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 pound store-bought or homemade Puff Pastry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
6 ounces rhubarb, stalk split into quarters and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
16 raspberries
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry dough to a 17 1/2-by-9 1/2-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. Using a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, trim to a 16-by-8-inch rectangle. Cut out eight 4-inch squares. Place squares on prepared baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar and vanilla bean seeds until well combined.

Transfer to a medium bowl along with rhubarb, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest; mix until well combined. Gently fold in raspberries. Let filling stand until juicy.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream; set egg wash aside. Stir filling and strain, discarding excess liquid, and divide equally among the pastry squares, placing it in the center. Brush edges with egg wash. Fold dough diagonally over filling to form a triangle, and press to seal. If desired, crimp the edges using the floured tines of a fork. Place filled turnovers on a baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. The filled turnovers can be frozen for up to 3 weeks; no need to thaw before proceeding.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush tops of turnovers with egg wash, being careful not to let it drip over the edges, as this will prevent even puffing. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar, and bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until turnovers are puffed and deep golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Using a thin metal spatula, immediately transfer turnovers to a wire rack to cool. They are best eaten the same day they are baked.

Brownie Cookies

Ingredients

Makes 34
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted, then let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined. With mixer on low, alternately beat in chocolate and flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not overmix).

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cookie comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Pesto Potato Salad with Green Beans

Pesto Potato Salad with Green Beans
Adapted so wildly from this recipe that they’re no longer on speaking terms

Now, I’m going to have to insist that you make your own pesto. Okay, I can’t insist, but I do highly recommend it. Even the best store-bought stuff lacks the flavor wallop of making your own — they may look green, but turn out to be mostly oil — and with basil inching its way towards Greenmarkets, it’s more delicious than ever to make your own. Brightening the flavor with vinegar and a good helping of salt and pepper keep this from bland-dom (a critique of many pesto potato salads), and the green beans provide the perfect antidote to those carb-phobic types.

Serves 10

4 pounds small Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, quartered
1 pound green beans, cut into one-inch segments
1 to 2 small garlic cloves, peeled

2 bunches of basil (about one ounce each)
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons (or more to taste) mild vinegar, such as champagne, white wine or a white balsamic
1/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Parmesan cheese to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add beans; cook four minutes longer. Drain well and let cool, then transfer potatoes and beans to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, discard the stems from the basil and wash and dry the leaves. Puree them in a food processor with garlic, drizzling in enough olive oil that it gets saucy. Season the pesto with salt and pepper. [Alternately, you can swap this step with one cup of prepared pesto, but seriously, I think you'll be missing out.]

Toss the beans and potatoes with pesto. Stir in vinegar and pine nuts and season with salt, pepper and/or additional vinegar to taste. Finally, shave some wide flecks of parmesan over the salad with a vegetable peeler.

Serve immediately, or make this up to two hours in advance. It can be stored at room temperature.