{"id":1569,"date":"2006-12-05T03:39:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-05T03:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elitemporaryblog.wordpress.com\/2006\/12\/05\/hop-to-it"},"modified":"2015-09-24T03:53:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T03:53:59","slug":"hop-to-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Hop to it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sun set at 4:18 this afternoon. That means that the street lamps outside my office window shuddered ominously to life at ten minutes after three<\/span>, people. Six o\u2019clock this evening was indistinguishable from midnight. I don\u2019t know how it is where you are, but around here it\u2019s very, very dark.<\/p>\n

When Brandon moved to Seattle<\/a> last June, he was more than a little apprehensive of all this, and with good reason. No sane person moves to \u201cThe Rainy City\u201d \u2013 or, more fittingly, \u201cThe Rainy and Really, Really Dark City\u201d \u2013 without some reservations. I tried to soothe him with the usual consolations \u2013 it doesn\u2019t really <\/span>rain so much as sort of mist, and I mean, hey, have you seen <\/span>our summers<\/a>? \u2013 but he wasn\u2019t convinced. I really tried, fellow Seattleites, but it\u2019s not easy to find nice things to say about our wet, stumpy days and long, loooong<\/em> nights. I guess we all have to live them for ourselves, and make our own peace with clouds and damp ankles.<\/p>\n

As for me, there is just one thing that keeps my head above water \u2013 no pun intended, I swear \u2013 through these soggy, sloppy months: the kitchen. (That, and the sheer force of will to survive to see next summer.) I mean, hell, when nighttime starts in the late afternoon, how else is a girl supposed to while away the bleak, inky hours? With a pot of soup, that\u2019s how \u2013 or a slow braise, or some butter cookies scented with the cheering zest of this season\u2019s \u201cit\u201d citrus<\/strong>, the Meyer<\/a> lemon<\/a>. In the end, you know \u2013 and at the holidays \u2013 it always comes back to cookies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
If you haven\u2019t bought a Meyer lemon yet this year, consider these your marching orders. As my dad used to say, hop to it<\/em>! And while you\u2019re at it, make sure that your stock of butter, flour, and sugar is in good shape. You have Christmas presents to bake, by god. And \u2013 lucky you! \u2013 this particular present makes a batch big enough for giving to friends far and wide, and for eating straight from the sheet pan<\/strong> too. It also makes a long, pitch-black night pass pretty painlessly.<\/p>\n

What we have here is basically a French-style shortbread<\/span>, called a sabl\u00e9<\/span>, or \u201csandy\u201d cookie, for its fine, crumbly texture. This particular specimen, however, gets a gussied up for the holidays, with a sugar collar and a spritz of zest from a Meyer lemon. The hybrid cross of a regular lemon and a mandarin, Meyer lemons are sweeter and less tart than a typical supermarket lemon, with a complex, floral aroma that feels mysterious and familiar<\/span> at the same time. Mixed into a batter and baked, their zest blooms into a delicate, spicy scent that fills the room, and a flavor that makes these cookies damn near impossible to stop eating. With an edgy tinge of salt and a bit of textural intrigue from Turbinado sugar, these will have a space in my Christmas cookie tin for years to come \u2013 assuming, of course, that I can get them packed safely away and into the freezer before I eat them all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
And as for those dark nights and clammy days, well, it\u2019s no coincidence, I think, that on the very day I baked these cookies, Brandon turned to me and said, quite out of the blue, \u201cYou know, winter here really isn\u2019t bad at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meyer Lemon Sabl\u00e9s<\/strong>
Adapted from Amanda Hesser\u2019s Cooking for Mr. Latte<\/em><\/p>\n

I am not ordinarily drawn to such a plain, humble-looking cookie, but after baking these fragrant, buttery lovelies, I am officially reconsidering my ways. They\u2019re good<\/em>. With their subtle citrus flavor and crisp, shortbread-like texture, they would sit beautifully, I imagine, next to a cup of tea. And as we found last night, they happily team with a glass of sauternes to make a soft, gentle finish to a hearty winter meal.<\/p>\n

About the Meyer lemons: if you can\u2019t find them in your local market, you could certainly use a regular lemon here \u2013 no sweat. And Brandon also thinks that the zest of another winter citrus would work nicely in these too \u2013 maybe a tangerine, Satsuma mandarin, or good ole navel orange?<\/p>\n

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
\u00bd cup confectioner\u2019s sugar
\u00bd cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from about 2 good-size fruits)
\u00be tsp coarse sea salt or Kosher salt
4 large egg yolks
\u00bc cup coarse Turbinado sugar, for rolling logs of dough<\/p>\n

In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, and whisk to mix thoroughly. Set aside.<\/p>\n

Put the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl). Beat (with the paddle attachment, if you\u2019re using a stand mixer) on medium-low speed until the butter is creamy; then add the confectioner\u2019s sugar and beat for a minute. Add the granulated sugar, and beat for a minute more. Sprinkle the lemon zest and salt into the bowl, and mix briefly to just combine. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing briefly to incorporate after each addition. With the mixer on low, add the flour in three doses, mixing just until the flour is absorbed. Use a rubber spatula to do any last scraping and stirring; do not overmix. The dough will be quite thick and dense and sticky.<\/p>\n

Divide the dough between two large sheets of wax paper. Using the paper as an aid, smoosh and roll and shape one blob of dough into a rough log about 1 \u00bd inches in diameter. Roll up the log in the paper, and twist the ends to seal it closed. Repeat with the remaining blob of dough. Chill the two logs until the dough is cold and firm, at least two hours and up to a couple of days.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and set a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Put a large sheet of parchment paper on the counter, and pour the Turbinado sugar onto it, making a ridge of sugar approximately the length of the dough logs. Remove a log from the fridge, unwrap it, and roll it lightly in the sugar to press the crystals into its sides. Coat the log as thoroughly as you can; then slice it into \u00bc-inch-thick slices. [I found that a thin paring knife works well.] Lay the slices on the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Refrigerate the remaining dough.<\/p>\n

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until just golden around the edges, rotating the sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. [Keep in mind that the cookies will continue to brown a bit after you have removed them from the oven, so it\u2019s best to err on the pale side.] Cool them on the silicone mat or parchment paper on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.<\/p>\n

Store the cookies in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze them in a Tupperware, with a sheet of wax paper between each layer.<\/p>\n

Yield: about 80 silver-dollar<\/a>-size cookies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sun set at 4:18 this afternoon. That means that the street lamps outside my office window shuddered ominously to life at ten minutes after three, people. Six o\u2019clock this evening was indistinguishable from midnight. I don\u2019t know how it is where you are, but around here it\u2019s very, very dark. When Brandon moved to Seattle last June, he was more than a little apprehensive of all this, and with good reason. No sane person moves to \u201cThe Rainy City\u201d \u2013 or, more fittingly, \u201cThe Rainy and Really, Really Dark City\u201d \u2013 without some reservations. I tried to soothe him with the usual consolations \u2013 it doesn\u2019t really rain so much as sort of mist, and I mean, hey, have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHop to it | Orangette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hop to it | Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The sun set at 4:18 this afternoon. That means that the street lamps outside my office window shuddered ominously to life at ten minutes after three, people. Six o\u2019clock this evening was indistinguishable from midnight. I don\u2019t know how it is where you are, but around here it\u2019s very, very dark. When Brandon moved to Seattle last June, he was more than a little apprehensive of all this, and with good reason. No sane person moves to \u201cThe Rainy City\u201d \u2013 or, more fittingly, \u201cThe Rainy and Really, Really Dark City\u201d \u2013 without some reservations. I tried to soothe him with the usual consolations \u2013 it doesn\u2019t really rain so much as sort of mist, and I mean, hey, have…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/molly.wizenberg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-05T03:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-09-24T03:53:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Meyer_lemon_sables_table_text.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mollyorangette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mollyorangette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/\",\"name\":\"Orangette\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Meyer_lemon_sables_table_text.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Meyer_lemon_sables_table_text.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/\",\"name\":\"Hop to it | Orangette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-12-05T03:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-09-24T03:53:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#\/schema\/person\/72d7c362f82fa0578c635d88a69d07fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hop to it\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#\/schema\/person\/72d7c362f82fa0578c635d88a69d07fe\",\"name\":\"Molly\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/orangette.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/orangette.net\/author\/molly\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hop to it | Orangette","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/12\/hop-to-it\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hop to it | Orangette","og_description":"The sun set at 4:18 this afternoon. 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