Vanilla Simple Syrup

One of my favorite treats when I'm out and about are those delicious tea lattes from that ubiquitous coffee chain, but I also love recreating the experience at home for a fraction of the cost. This is the secret ingredient, and it's super easy to make. You could also use this syrup in coffee, hot chocolate, or even in a cocktail recipe! 

Vanilla Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

3 Cups of Sugar
3-1/2 Cups of Water
1 Vanilla Bean

Cooking:

Take the vanilla bean and slice it in half, lengthwise. With the tip of a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the flesh. In a saucepan, pour in your water and sugar together, then add the vanilla bean halves and the seeds. Whisk over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove the bean halves and pour into a resealable container. It will be good for a week or two, but if you have a sweet tooth in the morning, like I do, it will be gone before then! 

Chocolate Truffles Three Ways

Each year I endeavor to come up with a new home-made Christmas item. This year, I was a little slow off the mark, but Design Sponge shared a brilliant idea. These truffles from Johnny Battles of Sweeteeth were so inventive that I had to give them a try, (with a twist, of course!) Here, I have down-sized the recipe a bit and used another three combinations of flavors: Lavender and Star Anise; Pink Peppercorn and Orange; and Vanilla Curry. These are very easy to make and you could add any of your own flavors, as it is so easy to modify! Thank you so much to Mr. Johnny Battles and Design Sponge! I feel like I might actually be ready for Christmas now!

Lavender and Star Anise Chocolate Truffles

Yield: Approximately 40 Truffles.

Ingredients:

7 Ounces of 60% Dark Chocolate (From a bar, not baking chocolate)
6 Ounces of Heavy Cream
2 Ounces of Light Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon of Star Anise
3 3 Inch Sprigs of Lavender
1/2 Cup of Cocoa Powder for Dusting

Cooking:

Chop your chocolate into small bits. The smaller you chop, the quicker it will melt and you will have less issues making the ganache smooth. Place the bits into a large glass or stainless bowl. In a saucepan on the stove, heat the cream, corn syrup, star anise and lavender on high heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and cover for 15 minutes. Place back on eye and heat until it comes to a boil again. Pour through a fine mesh strainer over chocolate. With a whisk, beat the chocolate cream mixture until there are no lumps and it is smooth. You can re-heat it over a double boiler or for 10 second intervals in the microwave if it cools too much and there are still lumps. I didn't have this problem though, so hopefully you will not. Pour into a shallow glass or metal pan. Cover with plastic wrap, with the wrap pressed to the ganache mixture. Cool in the fridge for approximately 1-1/2 hours, or until it is set. It will be firm, but still gives a little when you press it. Take a pan and sift cocoa powder into it. Remove the cooled ganache from the fridge. With a small spoon, gather approximately 3/4 teaspoon of the mixture (this does not have to be accurate at all, they're fun when uneven) and roll in your hands to soften the edges, then drop into the cocoa. Coat them entirely in the cocoa and place in an air-tight container. These will keep in the fridge for up to 8 months!


Pink Peppercorn and Orange Chocolate Truffles

Yield: Approximately 40 Truffles.

Ingredients:

7 Ounces of 60% Dark Chocolate (From a bar, not baking chocolate)
6 Ounces of Heavy Cream
2 Ounces of Light Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon of Pink Peppercorns, Crushed in a Mortar and Pestle
3 3 Inch Pieces of Orange Peel, without Pith
1/2 Cup of Cocoa Powder for Dusting

Cooking:

Repeat above, but substitute Pink Peppercorns and Orange Peel for Star Anise and Lavender.




Vanilla Curry Chocolate Truffles


Yield: Approximately 40 Truffles.

Ingredients:

7 Ounces of 60% Dark Chocolate (From a bar, not baking chocolate)
6 Ounces of Heavy Cream
2 Ounces of Light Corn Syrup
1 Vanilla Bean

2 Teaspoons of Curry Powder

1/2 Cup of Cocoa Powder for Dusting



Cooking:


Slice the vanilla bean down the length and scrape the seeds from the inside. Put both the bean and seeds into the cream, along with 1 teaspoon of the curry powder. Repeat as above without the Star Anise and Lavender. For the dusting, add the remaining teaspoon of curry powder into the cocoa pan for a little extra punch!

Earl Grey Shortbreads

One of the many things I love about food blogging is the welcoming community of other food bloggers. Last month, my friend, Kristina,  who is a fabulous blogger and crafter, told me about the GIANT food blogger cookie swap happening this year. Julie of The Little Kitchen and Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil collaborated on organizing one of the largest cookie swaps ever, with over 22,000 cookies being mailed out! I really wanted to be a part of something that big! It was such fun to develop a recipe, come up with some cute packaging and send out a dozen cookies to each of these fabulous bloggers: Bibberche, Snack Time Munchies, and Sorelle e Cibo. In return, I received some chocolate biscotti dipped in peppermint candy from Shannon The Cookie Monster, some sprinkled chocolate thumbprint cookies from Natalie of Oven Love, and I also received some great hazelnut cookies, but I'm not sure who they were sent by!
I am a huge fan of tea, which you may already know, so I am constantly coming up with things into which I might incorporate tea flavors.  This recipe idea came to me from a Food and Wine Magazine recipe for Green Tea Sables. My recipe is a little more complicated, though, because with Earl Grey, you have to steep the tea into the butter to infuse the flavor. I feel it's definitely worth the extra effort!  The Bergamot in the Earl Grey gives these buttery cookies just the slightest floral note, perfect for an afternoon snack.

Earl Grey Shortbreads

Yield: 36 Cookies

Ingredients:

3 Sticks of Butter, at Room Temperature
3-1/2 Tablespoons of Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea
2-1/2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
1-1/4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Salt

Cooking:

In a saucepan, put in the 3 sticks of butter and melt on low, careful not to let it boil. When the butter has completely melted, add in the tea. Remove from the heat. Let the tea steep in the butter for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Line a dish with plastic wrap and pour in the melted butter through a fine mesh sieve. Press the the tea leaves to squeeze out any remaining butter. Place the strained butter in the fridge and let cool until solid. (This can be made ahead.) Remove the butter from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. In a mixer, whip the room temperature butter until light and fluffy on high speed. Add in, slowly, the sugar. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Next, with the mixer on slow, add in the flour mixture. Continue mixing until the butter mixture is incorporated into the dry. Remove from the mixing bowl and bring together two disks. Wrap in plastic and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 325. Remove your dough and roll out the mixture on a lightly floured surface to approximately 1/4 inch. The dough will be slightly crumbly, but as you roll it out, it should begin to stick together. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 inch by 2 inch strips. Place on a greased cookie sheet or a silicone baking mat with about 3/4 inch space around each cookie. Bake for approximately 14-16 minutes. The cookies will be just very, very slightly golden at the corners. Let them cool completely before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Sweet Potato Meringue Tartlets

I'm not a particularly picky eater, but there are a few things that I won't eat, and sweet potatoes are one of them. However, my husband loves them, and since we are celebrating his 30th birthday next week, I felt I should make something just for him. Inspired by Tartelette's gorgeous pumpkin tarts, I made a sweet potato version. You can tell that I have a long way to go before I reach her level, but it was fun to try something a little more advanced. For the crust, I modified Grace Parisi's delicious recipe a bit, and for the filling, it's an adaptation of a sweet potato cheese cake recipe, topped with toasted meringue.

Sweet Potato Meringue Tartlets

Makes approximately 12 Tartlets or 2 Whole Pies

Crust Ingredients:

1-1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Stick of Butter, Chopped into Tablespoon Sized Bits
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1/4 Cup of Ice Water


Preparation:

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients with the exception of the ice water. Pulse until the butter is in small crumb pieces. Slowly drizzle the ice water into the mix while pulsing. Once the mixture is moistened, remove from the food processor onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This dough can be made ahead.

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness and place into a ramekin or pie tin (you can also make these in regular sized pie tins.) Trim the excess dough. Fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove crust. Drop the oven temperature down to 375 degrees, and remove the pie weights or beans, and bake until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Filling

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Sweet Potatoes, Cooked
1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream
2 Eggs
4 Ounces of Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons of Sugar 
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon of Salt
1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Allspice
1/8 Teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg
1/8 Teaspoon of Cayenne

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, combine all the ingredients and whip on high speed until they are fully combined and light and fluffy. Pour into the crust. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the filling is fully set.


Meringue Topping

Ingredients:

4 Egg Whites
1/4 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
3 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar (If you don't have Agave Nectar, you can substitute 5 Tablespoons of confectioner's sugar)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to broil. In a mixer on high, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together until it is a soft foam. Begin adding your agave nectar (or sugar) and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. In a piping bag, or a plastic sandwich bag with the tip cut off, pipe small dots of meringue across the pie surface. Place the pies back into the oven for approximately 1 minute or until the tips of the meringue are just toasted.

Green Tea and Dark Chocolate Scones

I have a weakness for all things British, especially proper tea time. I think there is something lovely about breaking the day just before evening falls with a light snack and some caffeine. The caffeine part is probably not the best habit for a good night's rest, but I do love strong black tea! 

Scones are a traditional offering for tea, the soft crumbly texture goes down very well with a strong cuppa. These scones use the same ingredient in a Starbucks Green Tea Latte, Green Matcha. Matcha is a finely ground high grade green tea, and you can find it at tea stores, or online. I got mine here and you can use it to make green tea lattes at home, as well as scones! A little goes a long way and the flavor is more intense than with the whole leaves. 

In this recipe, the bitterness of the chocolate perfectly offsets the sweet, fragrant green tea and helps keep the scone a little more moist. I also think that chocolate makes everything better! 

Green Tea and Dark Chocolate Scones

Ingredients:

2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour

1/3 Cup of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

6 Tablespoons of Cold Butter, Chopped into Small 1/2 inch Cubes

1 Ounce of 70% Dark Chocolate, Chopped into Small Bits

1 Large Egg

1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream, plus 2 Tablespoons

2 Teaspoons of Green Matcha

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and whisk together. Put in the cold butter cubes and with a pastry blender or a fork, mash the butter into the dried mixture until the mixture is crumbly with pieces no larger than a pea. Put the chocolate into the dry mix. Meanwhile in a saucepan, pour 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and the matcha powder. Whisk the two together on medium heat. Remove the cream from the heat as soon as it starts to bubble. Whisk occasionally until the cream comes to room temperature. Whisk the egg into the cream. The cream must be room temperature or it will cook the egg. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir with a spatula until the dry ingredients are moistened. Take your hands and gather the dough into a ball against the bowl. When it is coming together in one piece, roll or flatten the mound out on a lightly floured surface. You can use your hands to flatten the dough. It needs to be about an inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into wedges. Place on a greased cookie sheet or a silicone sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining heavy cream. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They cook very quickly. You want the edges to be just lightly browned, but no more than that as they will get very dry. Remove and allow the scones to cool before serving.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cupcakes with Lime Curd Filling

So, this is the culmination of my Strawberry-Rhubarb-Lime kick. As you might have read in my Lime Curd post, I made some of Martha Stewart's delicious Meyer Lemon Cupcakes for my cousin's wedding shower. I loved that surprise of the lemon curd on the inside, so for a summery and slightly different take, the rhubarb goes into the cake batter and icing, with the tart lime curd hidden in the center. It's perfect for a summer party!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cupcakes with Lime Curd Filling

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs, Separated
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Cake Flour (not self-rising)
1 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
1/2 Cup of Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
1 Cup of Lime Curd 
Strawberry-Rhubarb Buttercream Icing (See Recipe Below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in muffin tin, this recipe will make approximately 12 cupcakes. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until light and fluffy. Pour in your vanilla, then add egg yolks, one at a time until they are incorporated. Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a separate bowl and slowly add these dry ingredients into your mixer while it's on low. Once the flour has just been incorporated, add in your Greek yogurt. Finally, add in the Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote. Transfer this mixture to another large bowl and clean your mixing bowl, then dump in the egg whites. Mix your egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the egg whites into your batter bowl, one-third of the egg whites at a time. Fill the muffin cups halfway and place in the oven to bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. (Approximately 20 minutes.)  When the cupcakes have completely cooled, scoop out some of the center and spoon in a dollop of lime curd. Pipe your Strawberry-Rhubarb Buttercream on top. You can decorate with a strawberry or a bit of lime to hint at the hidden fruit.







Strawberry-Rhubarb Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Cut into Small Pieces
1-3/4 Cups Confectioners' Sugar, Sifted
Pinch of salt
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/8 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup of Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Directions:

In your mixer, beat your butter until creamy and then slowly add the confectioners' sugar and pinch of salt. Add the vanilla, then slowly add the milk, then the Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote, and mix until smooth. Place into a piping back or resealable sandwich bag with the corner cut off and decorate away!

Delicious Delicious Lime Curd

Last year, for my cousin's wedding shower, I decided I needed to be ambitious and make Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes from scratch. Making cupcakes for 50 people is exhausting, and I was so glad I cheated and bought lemon curd. Thinking on it more though, I felt I really should give the lemon curd a try, but maybe with limes, since I love limes even more! This is my Lime Curd recipe, based on Martha's Meyer Lemon Curd recipe. It's delicious in cupcakes, or on scones, or poundcake, or pancakes, or just straight from a spoon! I think I'm going to try some at the bottom of some panna cotta. I'm sure the creaminess would perfectly offset the tart limeyness. 

Lime Curd

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Sugar

Zest of 2 Limes

2 Eggs

2 Egg Yolks

1/2 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

2.5 Ounces of Chilled Butter, Chopped into Small Cubes

Tools:

Instant Thermometer

Fine Mesh Strainer

Cooking:

In a mortar and pestle, grind your zest into your sugar. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can make do with a bowl and the back of a spoon. Prepare a bowl with ice water and set aside. Fill a saucepan or double boiler with water and bring to a simmer. Place a heat proof bowl on top and add your sugar, eggs and egg yolks. Whisk constantly. When the sugar has dissolved, add your juice and whisk until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Remove from heat and add your butter one piece at a time. Once your butter is incorporated, put the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store the curd in a sealed container until ready for serving.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

I LOVE rhubarb! Just a few years ago, rhubarb was introduced to me via an amazing pie with strawberries and huckleberries in Montana. A convert was born! Rhubarb is not a vegetable I grew up with and I am still amazed that something so celery-like can produce such a delicious, tart flavor.

I made this dish a few weeks ago to include in a cupcake recipe, but I've since been enjoying this sweet, summer compote on all kinds of goodies. It's wonderful over ice cream, biscuits, toast and even great on pound cake!  

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients:

6 Stalks of Rhubarb, Chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 Pint of Strawberries, Roughly Chopped

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1/2 Cup of Water

Cooking:

In a saucepan, combine all your ingredients and bring to medium heat. Stirring occasionally, cook the fruit down until the fibers are soft and it's a preserve-like consistency. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Torte with Chambord Cream

I have recently noticed more and more people with gluten allergies. This is a really delicious dessert which is gluten free, but will also appeal to gluten lovers. It's very dark and rich, which makes the light and fluffy Chambord cream a perfect compliment. It's also very easy to make!

Dark Chocolate Torte

Ingredients:

16 Ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Chopped or Chips
1 Cup of Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons of Chambord
9 Eggs, Separated
1 Cup of Sugar

Tools:

9" Spring Form Pan
1 Round of Parchment Paper, Cut to fit the inner bottom of the pan

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a double boiler, or if you don't have one, I use a pyrex bowl on top of a saucepan of boiling water, pour in your chocolate bits, butter and Chambord. Melt slowly while stirring. Turn off heat once completely melted and allow to cool. Rub butter across the interior of a spring form pan very uniformly.Place your parchment paper inside the pan and smooth across the bottom. In a mixer, whip your egg whites into soft peaks. Remove from mixing bowl and set aside. Add to the mixing bowl your egg yolks and sugar, mix until a creamy, soft lemon color. Add 1/3 of your yolk mixture into your chocolate and combine. Repeat with remaining thirds until the mixture is incorporated. Remove 1/3 of this mixture and reserve for icing. To the remaining yolk/chocolate mixture, fold in 1/3 of your egg whites very gently. Once it is just incorporated, add another 1/3, and repeat until all the egg whites have been incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for approximately 45 min, until the sides start to pull away just slightly. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Unlatch spring form sides, and gently lift away. Place a cake plate upside down on the cake top and pick up the whole assembly and flip gently. Remove spring form bottom and parchment paper. Ice the top of the cake with the reserved batter from earlier.

Chambord Cream

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Chambord

Cooking:

In a mixer, whip all of the ingredients on high speed until cream forms peaks. Cut your cake and serve with a huge dollop of Chambord Cream on top!

A Chocolatey Twist on my Grandmom's Poundcake

We have passed this simple pound cake recipe down three generations, if not more, and I thought about humbly trying to improve upon the classic. I loved it! The cream cheese addition makes the cake wonderfully moist. Even after a week, it was still delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour, Plus a Bit More for Flouring the Bundt Pan
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1 Pinch of Salt
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Stick of Butter, Room Temperature
2 Eggs
1 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Cup of Milk
1/2 Package of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (Or chop your favorite dark chocolate bar into chips and add instead)
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Paste

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together all the dry ingredients (sugar is always considered a wet ingredient.) In your electric mixer, put in the stick of butter and the sugar and cream together on medium speed. Add the eggs, then cream cheese, then milk. Blend until smooth. Slowly add in the sifted dry material, a little at a time, to the wet mix, until it's all incorporated. Add your chocolate chips and vanilla paste, blend until just incorporated. You do not want to over mix. Meanwhile, take your bundt pan and smear the entire inside surface with butter, then put in a bit of flour and shake around the pan until all inner surfaces are coated in flour. Pour your batter into the bundt pan, and place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the sides start to pull away from the pan and a knife comes out of the cake without any batter attached (you will see some melted chocolate on the knife, which is fine, but you don't want any wet batter on the knife.) Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, run a knife around the sides and the center of the pan, then place a cake plate on top of the pan, and flip the cake out. It should release easily if the pan was evenly floured. Serve hot! To store the cake leftovers, I recommend covering and placing into the refrigerator. A cold slice can sometimes make a delicious breakfast treat!

Amazing Cupcakes!

Last Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity of joining my fellow members of the Atlanta Food Blogger's Alliance at the lovely Chocolate Pink. Chocolate Pink began 5 years ago as the brainchild of Pastry Chef Christian Balbierer and Michael Goodrich. They were driven to create a dessert shop of quality, hand-made, from scratch pastry available to the general public. They have definitely succeeded.
The AFBA was invited to participate in the first ever Chocolate Pink Cupcake Tasting Contest. Everyone present was able to taste 8 amazingly inventive cupcake flavors: Chocolate Fudge, Sweet Potato with Brown Butter, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Nutella, Dulce de Leche, Pumpkin Maple with Bacon, Strawberry Pop-Tart, and Cookies 'n Cream. Incredibly enough, they offer even more cupcake flavors on their everyday menu!
Of the eight flavors, I thought Strawberry Pop-Tart was outstandingly original, and it tasted just like a Pop-Tart's sophisticated city cousin. The icing was light and airy, but creamy and buttery, as well, because Chocolate Pink uses a Swiss Meringue Buttercream (which I have to learn to make!) The strawberry jam swirled beneath the icing evoked just the right amount of tartness, and the cookie on top added a great crunch. Another favorite was the Chocolate Peanut Butter, which tasted just like a certain peanut butter filled cup. There was a layer of creamy peanut butter buttercream, with a layer of chocolate ganache below and a roasted peanut on top. The textures were fantastic together, and this cupcake won the vote for Best Overall Cupcake. My other two favorites, while the flavors may seem odd, were Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Maple, which I loved more than the Chocolate Peanut Butter!
Another cool thing about Chocolate Pink Cupcakes are the variety of icing and cake base combinations. There are 7-8 different types of cake bases used. These are not your grocer's boxed cupcake mix!
So...enough waxing on about all those cupcake flavors. I have good things to share! I am posting a coupon below for one free cupcake, no purchase required, with an additional 25% off anything else you might like to purchase in the store AND the recipe for the amazing Chocolate Pink Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake! They were so generous to share this with us and I hope that you will enjoy this in your own home!

Ruby Grapefruit Meltaways

These cookies are so citrusy and delicious. They literally melt in your mouth; I think it has something to do with all the delicious butter! Give them a shot and let me know what you think.

Ruby Grapefruit Meltaways

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
1 Cup Confectioners' Sugar
Finely Grated Zest of 1 Grapefruit
2 Tablespoons Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 Cups Plus 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Cooking:Cream butter and 1/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar until fluffy in an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the grapefruit zest, juice and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch and salt, then slowly add to butter mixture on low speed until just combined. Divide dough into two balls, and roll each into a log about 1 inch thick. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour, but you can freeze the dough as well if it's for a future event. To cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the logs and cut into 1/4" thick cookies. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1" apart and bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are just turning slightly golden. Let the cookies cool down a bit, then add a few at a time to a large plastic baggie with the remaining confectioners' sugar and shake to coat. The recipe should make about 4 dozen. Enjoy!