I tried Rose's recipe for Chocolate Neo Classic Buttercream Frosting as a topping for shortbread cookies last evening. I am a complete novice so I burnt the cookies but the Frosting is so smooth and good! I think I will try her ganache as the topping for shortbread cookies. The ganache in cupcakes is such a hit at my house my family made me make four batches last weekend. This is from Rose's book, "Rose's Heavenly Cakes." I don't have a rose mold so I just used a muffin pan to make cupcakes. It is amazing how the cake batter gets hot and rises up to envelope the ganach placed on top of the batter.

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Hi Marcia,
Are we understanding that the owner is making this cookie from grandmother's recipe but is not willing to share it?
Do you have a name of the store, a phone number, a website, and the city where the store is located?

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Hi Rosie, Suffice it to say, I am a GREAT FAN of yours! I have all your cookbooks, and use them a lot. I also love your newsletter, and save all of them! I am on a "mission" to make a cookie that we tasted while we were in Wisconsin. It was a very large (3") round soft cake-like shortbread/butter/sugar cookie about 1/2" -3/4" thick covered with sugar. It melted in your mouth! The only information I was able to glean from the store where it was purchased was that it was the owner's grandmother's recipe that she got in a newsletter many years ago. It may have been a Swedish cookie. I researched "Swedish shortbread," and one picture resembled the cookie, but I haven't made that recipe. Do you by chance have any idea what that cookie might be? The store called it the "standard" cookie. I would so appreciate any leads you or anyone else can give me. This recipe would be worth finding. Many thanks.

Marcia :)

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Hello, again!
I was just wondering, what is the difference between Chocolate Eclairs and Chocolate Shoux Buns . . is it just the shape (i.e eclairs are long and shoux buns are round?)
or is there a difference in the recipie / method?

i really am so sorry to pester you and ask all these questions, but as you can tell, I'm only a beginner and don't know a great deal about these things!
sorry again,
G xxxxx

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Hello, I'm currently doing coursework and a page is about modification possibilities of the products I have made. One of these produts is Raspberry mousse accompanied by millionaire shortbread.

Therefore, I was just wondering if you had any suggestions of what I could change? for example cooking temperatures? Anything at all really, especially for the caramel/toffee filling of the shortbread if that's possible?
Please Help! sorry for any inconvenience!

Thankyou,
G x

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have you ever had a short bread cake stacked with strawberries in between each layer i just did and would love to know how it was made its a thin shortbread like cake then strawberries stacked about 5 or 6 thin cakes high.
thanks so much for your time
barbara duff

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Thanks again for your advice :) You've been very helpful!

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Lauren,

In that recipe, if you use the cocoa butter then yes, the chocolate/cocoa butter mixture should be tempered should you be looking to create a firm, shiny, evenly colored chocolate coating. If using the vegetable oil then no, no tempering is required. The cocoa butter requires it simply because this vegetable fat is the reason chocolate has to be tempered in the first place to create that shine and "snap" of properly set chocolate.

I do not know why the recipe doesn't state to temper the chocolate but I'm sure it's for ease of the recipe. If you use cocoa butter and do not temper the entire mixture (melt the chocolate then add the cocoa butter to melt it gently as well) then the chocolate will probably bloom when it sets unless you can manage to melt the chocolate and cocoa butter very very gently without bringing the temperature up over about 88-90 degrees.

If you use the vegetable oil, the ratio of chocolate to oil seems appropriate enough to still allow the chocolate to set somewhat but you just won't achieve the same texture with the chocolate as you would a tempered coating.

If I were you, I'd avoid the cocoa butter and opt for canola oil.

By the way, I'm from the south and my mother used to always use paraffin wax melted and mixed with chocolate for a similar candy we'd have during christmas (something as a chocolatier I'd never do only because I'm fussy), so you can also go that route since it's a neutral flavor. Just google parrafin + chocolate to find a recipe with the right proportions.

Hope this answers your questions.

Zach

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Thank you for your help Zach.

I am planning to attempt the Daring Bakers challenge of Chocolate Covered Marshmallow cookies, and the recipe can be found here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/chocolate-covered-marshmallow-cookies-recipe/index.html

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Lauren,

This depends on which you choose (oil. vs. cocoa butter) and what you're using it for. If you are adding an oil to the chocolate and you want it to set the chocolate similar to how when you normally temper, then no, you don't have to temper the chocolate (though it will not set up as well as when you temper chocolate normally. The proportion of oil to chocolate will be imporant depending on what you're using it for.

If you are adding cocoa butter to the chocolate (and you want the chocolate to set) then yes, you will have to temper it. However, if this is to be mixed with other ingredient (such as cream) then no, you don't have to when adding the cocoa butter.

I think I could answer this question better if you tell me what the exact application is you're planning.

Zach

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If melting oil or cocoa butter with chocolate to create a mix used for coating, is it necessary to temper the chocolate?
If it is, does one first temper and then add the cocoa butter, or add cocoa butter to chocolate and temper?

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I've been experimenting with shortbread variations for a long time and figured I'd offer up one of my versions. It's a terrific companion for latte. I use the basic shortbread receipe....2 Cups flour, 1/2 cup confectionery sugar and 2 softened sticks of butter. Cream the softened butter, add 1 tsp Orange extract. Add sugar and mix. Fold in flour, do not over mix. Chop up 4 oz of Ghirardelli Chocolate Citrus bar and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and fold into the shortbread mix. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Using a springform pan is a plus when baking.

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Hi Rose:

I am a NYer transplanted to the pacific northwest, and the lack of neighborhood bakeries has led me to learn to bake. My quest for a lard bread recipe brought me to the Bread Bible (thanks!), but I am still searching for the perfect anisette toast/cookie recipe. Any suggestions, or tips on getting a good strong anise flavor? I have a decent recipe that comes thisclose texture-wise to the hard butter-less biscotti I'm looking for, but suspect that the anise itself is missing the mark I can find anise extract at the local market, but don't know what the good stuff might be and if I'm missing out on something. Many thanks.

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Rose, I missed the very rude and childish posting sent to you by Diane P. I am sorry anyone could be so unkind to you. I am in total agreement with Zach. You are incredibly generous with your time and knowledge.I've had such pleasure reading all the postings. I feel angered that she should trespass on your wonderful blog with such drivel. Cheers, Melinda

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Rose, I agree w/expat. If you can stand to revisit this site after some of the above very bizarre postings, I would like to get back to the subject of your excellent recipe for Shortbread. For six years I owned a small artisan bakery in Montana (6000 ft) and used a modified version of your recipe to the delight of my customers. While it differs somewhat from the original cookie, the heart and soul of the recipe remains yours. I would like to offer you my variation in thanks for the many years of happy baking I have enjoyed from you. (ps. I hope this works, I've never posted to a blog before) INGREDIENTS: BUTTER 210 gr; 6xSugar 25 gr; Br Sugar 60 gr; Pastry flour 310 gr; Cornmeal 15 gr; salt 1gr; powdered ginger 1gr. INSTRUCTIONS: Process sugars, cornmeal, salt and ginger for 1 min til fine. Add butter and pulse til it picks up the sugar mixture. Add the flour and pulse to crumbs. Knead til it comes together and roll out to 10" x 9". (you can knead it in a gallon ziptop bag and then use the same bag to roll it out..just fold the top down a few inches to get to the 10x9 dimension. Chill it then tear off the bag and cut 1"x3" cookies. Separate cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 275 for 40 to 60 min. I added the cornmeal because some of my employees never learned the concept of a light hand. It kept the tender,crumbly texture even if over worked a bit. It also adds a little grittiness which I like although it may not be to everyones taste. The small amount of ginger just seems to highlight the butter flavor without adding a gingery flavor at all. This is probably way too long, so Happy New Year to you and all your readers and Happy Baking in 2007.

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Well, the dates on the posts don't say April 1, so I must assume that some of the above posters must have forgotten to take their medicine.

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Hi Rose,

I used to have your book The Cake Bible, but I lost it. Is there anyway you can regenerate the recipes for me in soft copy and send them to me?

I hope that's not asking too much.

Thanks!

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Rosa, my employer lives in another state and also has a home in my state
in which she has your christmas cookie
book which has shortbread recipes in it.
how can I e-mail her your recipe for
shortbread online? I cannot copy
the recipe from the book and do not
want to type the entire recipe. thank
you, carol

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Message above to Diane posted by Zach Townsend, frequent blogger.

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Wow, you sure let me down. I had so much respect for you and your talent.
What would it take in your busy life to type it out for me. Sorry, I should
have known that people like you have too big a head and can't be bothered
with people who have helped make your living by buying your books and
telling others how great your recipes are. This will be great conversation
over lunch at work on Mon. What a huge let down! Poo-poo to you!

What a huge disappointment you are. I would think you would be flattered to
take the time to t;ype the recipe for me and mail it. I thought that's what
this time of year was all about, especially. Giving. I will tell my
coworkers that you couldn't be bothered. I shared the story with them last
week, and they were excited about this recipe. I'll continue to make my
favorite recipes from your book, but it won't be with the excitement I've
had in the past because now I've had this negative connection with the
author. I hope life treats you better than you treat others. Again, poo
poo on you.

Diane,

I assist with the organization of Rose’s blog and saw your message to her (above) and feel compelled to answer. First, I cannot believe that you would post such an incredibly rude message to Rose considering the enormous amount of time that she devotes to this blog, which has THOUSANDS of readers, many of whom post regular questions to her. Rose responds to every one of them in a timely manner and with thoughtfulness. She does this as a favor to her readers as this is not the primary intention of the blog. On top of answering the questions, she spends a great deal of time putting together her postings where she shares her thoughts, recipes and tips, even providing photographs and details to further enhance what she’s communicating to us. The majority of her postings extend into great detail to ensure we understand and have the best information. Just spend time researching the blog and you’ll see what I mean. On top of this blog, which has grown tremendously in the past year, she is in the midst of book writing and editing, keeping her previous books up-to-date for the sake of her readers, and attending events – all which take a considerable amount of time. And she does this with great enthusiasm and love for her craft.

Despite her regular schedule, she manages to spend many hours per week devoted to the readers of this blog. I happen to know she spends many late-night hours doing so to ensure she answers every one as thoroughly as possible. You will not find another author who devotes as much time and detail communicating to her readers as Rose does – everyone on this blog will agree. However, it is very unreasonable for you to assume she can re-write a recipe every time someone requests it. There is one of her, but thousands of us! What’s wrong with your just buying another book if the one you have is falling apart? I cannot imagine that someone would be daft enough to believe anyone going above and beyond to address all the questions that she does would have the time to “type up a recipe and mail it to you.” I think you are presumptuous, rude, and judgmental about someone you do not know, and obviously have an overblown sense of entitlement, which most definitely goes against “the spirit of the season” as you like to point out.

I think the rest of us on this blog would appreciate it if you would stay out of the blog if this is the type of attitude you have simply because Rose could not recreate a recipe that you wanted.

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Please, I have been trying to contact you. I have your book Rose's Christmas Cookies, that was given to me in the early 90's. The book has fallen apart and I am missing the David's Dream Bars recipe. Please would you send it to me. I would be so appreciative. Thank you. Sincerely,
Diane Puchyr
upstate ny

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Hi Rose,

I 'm trying to bake chocolate chocolate chip cookies from the recipes I obtained through the internet. Most of the recipes use "cups" as a measurement tool. I do not understand what type of cup does that mean, is there a standard cup size that is used to measure the ingredients?

Also can I know how long can cookies last? Thanks in advance!

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I finally got around to trying the variations I asked about. I tried the mini-chocolate chips and toasted pecans, separately. The cookies with the nuts were wonderful, divine, in fact. My kids loved the ones with the chips, but I probably won't do that again. I like better the idea of a chocolate frosting or maybe even dipped in chocolate, like Melting Moments.

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