I usually buy my currants from nuts.com, but recently I picked up a bag of Whitworth's Zante Mini Currants that were on sale at Rodman's. These currants were so plump and tender, unlike any currants I've ever seen before. And it's no wonder -- the package describes them as "partially rehydrated" and explains that "We add a little extra moisture after drying to ensure they are the juiciest out there." Now rehydrating dried fruit might be cheating a little, but I don't care -- I love these plump little nuggets of raisiny goodness.
I decided to use the currants in a recipe for Currant-Ginger Shortbread from The New York Times. To make the dough, you cream cold butter with sugar until light and smooth (note that this recipe accompanied an article about the importance of handling butter properly, which specifies that "cold" butter is 65 degrees); and add flour, salt, currants, and diced crystallized ginger. I rolled out the dough 1/4-inch thick. I didn't pay attention to the exact dimensions of my rectangle of dough -- instead, I focused on getting a uniform thickness (which I accomplished with the aid of pastry rulers) and perfectly straight sides. I ended up with a beautiful slab of shortbread dough that I chilled until firm.
I cut the chilled dough into rectangles that were 1-inch wide and 2-inches long and ended up with 52 cookies. Before baking, the cookies were pristine and uniform, with perfectly straight edges, 90 degree corners, and a completely smooth and even surface. All of the currants and bits of crystallized ginger were neatly embedded inside -- although you could see the dark spots of currants through the dough. While the cookies were in the oven, the currants erupted through the tops of the cookies and the edges expanded in an uneven fashion, so the overall appearance of the final cookies was quite wonky.
However, I really liked the shortbread. The ginger in particular really boosted the flavor, and the short, buttery texture was delicate but satisfying. Even though these cookies tasted great and I enjoyed them, I would rank them below two other similar recipes -- Alice Medrich's Pebbly Beach Fruit Squares and the Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies from King Arthur Flour. Then again, I love a chewy cookie. But making this shortbread has given me the idea of that those other two recipes could be improved with the addition of chopped crystallized ginger.
Recipe: "Currant-Ginger Shortbread" from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
I decided to use the currants in a recipe for Currant-Ginger Shortbread from The New York Times. To make the dough, you cream cold butter with sugar until light and smooth (note that this recipe accompanied an article about the importance of handling butter properly, which specifies that "cold" butter is 65 degrees); and add flour, salt, currants, and diced crystallized ginger. I rolled out the dough 1/4-inch thick. I didn't pay attention to the exact dimensions of my rectangle of dough -- instead, I focused on getting a uniform thickness (which I accomplished with the aid of pastry rulers) and perfectly straight sides. I ended up with a beautiful slab of shortbread dough that I chilled until firm.
However, I really liked the shortbread. The ginger in particular really boosted the flavor, and the short, buttery texture was delicate but satisfying. Even though these cookies tasted great and I enjoyed them, I would rank them below two other similar recipes -- Alice Medrich's Pebbly Beach Fruit Squares and the Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies from King Arthur Flour. Then again, I love a chewy cookie. But making this shortbread has given me the idea of that those other two recipes could be improved with the addition of chopped crystallized ginger.
Recipe: "Currant-Ginger Shortbread" from The New York Times.
Previous Posts:
- "So Much Goodness to the Square Inch: Pebbly Beach Fruit Squares," March 7, 2017.
- "A Chewy Childhood Favorite: Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies," July 29, 2014.
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