Valentine Linzer Cookies

Mozart´s house in Vienna

After enjoying desserts that seemed to be almost exclusively adorned by giant "erdbeeres" (strawberries) at a Viennese cafe, it is a good idea to walk them off under snowflakes sprinkled by clouds onto the sidewalks, and head to a small apartment that is announced by large, proud, flags that sway in the breeze over centuries-old cobblestones. After you climb the staircase, you can find documents signed by Mozart, as well as reproductions of the Marriage of Figaro, which he composed in that very house, which he lived in for four years. To this day, Austrian and foreign spectators flock daily to the Mozartkonzerts, to watch men in bulky pastel-colored wigs sing and play instruments. The harmonious symphonies bring tears to the public´s eyes, even if they have heard them time and time again. Even the tourists who didn´t listen to classical music are converted to Mozart after this initiation.
When Mozart began living in Vienna, he took a trip to do several concerts, stopping long enough to write a famous symphony in the town of Linz,the home of the oldest torte known in the world. Might he have eaten a piece of this torte, as he scribbled notes furiously with a quill pen, with music flowing from imaginary instruments dancing through his head?

History
The linzer torte, or a deep dish pie made with almond flour crust, has a lattice top that is dark brown in color, and is brimming with preserves; it is a good way to showcase a special jam one has previously prepared. It was created in Linz in the 17th century. Rumor has it that the recipe travelled with Austrian immigrants to Wisconsin.  The traditional ways of cutting the cookie version of this torte are to have a bottom circle surrounded by scallops and a top cookie that has three holes in the middle, called eyes (Augen).  It is made with almond flour, though some cooks substitute pecans or hazelnuts, which must result in a tasty dough as well.

Recipe
Wilton Linzer Sandwich Cookie Recipe, which comes with cookie plunger for the Linzer Cookies http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2308-3800
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup finely ground almonds (2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam or apricot jam or black currant jam
Confectioners´sugar (optional but recommended)

First, you blanch the nuts if they have the skin on them, then remove the skins, and grind them in a coffee grinder. Beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy.Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Combine nuts, flour, and cinnamon, and add to the mixing bowl. When the dough is completed, chill in the refrigerator,  in 2 separate pieces, and take out later to roll out 1/8 in. thick and cut out the cookies. Cut out the same number of tops and bottoms. The bottoms don´t have any holes, and the tops will have cut-out hearts, stars, circles, etc. Place the cut-outs on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Using parchment paper is fun, and is often advised especially when you´re working with almond dough, for some reason.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until ight golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes; remove from sheet and cool completely. Invert botton cookies and spread with a teaspoon of jam. After the cookies are out of the oven, use a sifter to place the confectioner´s sugar on them, and make sure you do it BEFORE you fill the cookie. If you make a mistake and do it after you filled the cookie, just open up the sandwich, rearrange the jelly or put some more in the center, and close it up again.  Makes 20-24 cookies.

The traditional preserves used to fill these cookies are black currant, raspberry and apricot.
In addition to apricot and strawberry (I didn´t have raspberry) I also used chocolate hazelnut spread, as some people do. What´s that you say? That´s not traditional? I don´t understand what you mean....All I know is that it´s delicious.

Upcoming recipes
New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake
Guatemalan White Canillitas
Spanish Natillas with Berries
Irish St. Patrick´s Cakes
Salvadorean Pastelitos de Leche Poleada (Custard Tartlets)
and more!

References
http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-linzer-cookies-1209.html
www.foodtimeline.org

Videos of Vienna: http://www.ehow.com/video_4978602_vienna-tourism-mozarts-house.html
Video of Vienna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roSgVaeTOsQ


Here´s other recipes: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/video/#v4989312001
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Linzer-Cookies-233295
 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/raspberry-linzer-cookies/

Candlemas/Chandeleur and Heart Crepes

In a French university, students swarm around a stand like blue morpho butterflies do around ripe bananas. The rules for the queue are the same that applied in my high school for a bake sale: if you push a little more to get to the counter, you´ll get your crepes faster. Plus, if you´re small, you just might be able to fit next to the last person on the edge of the counter, much like an extra last-minute dinner guest crams into a corner at the dining table. 

Inside a couple of stands, there´s a "crepe sale". A few of the classmates donned aprons; they swirl crepe batter around in a couple of skillets. Another heats up sliced apples, sizzling in butter, to make "Crepes au Pommes". Still another collects the coins and takes the orders from the clients. There is an impromptu sign offering many kinds of flavors: nutella, apple, preserves, mushroom or ham and cheese savory crepes, among others... Instead of placing the filled crepes in a paper cone, they slap them on paper plates to deal them out to the customers, like cards.

Chandeleur, or Candlemas, Crepe Day in France

This festive crepe sale might very well have taken place on February the 2nd, or the Chandeleur (Candlemas). Many centuries ago on this day, the Virgin Mary went to the temple in Jerusalem to be purified, forty days after Jesus was born; the young boy was thus presented in the temple.  The French celebrate this day by making and of course eating crepes. The golden disks symbolize the sun

Golden disks symbolize the sun

that begins to appear in the springtime, which is what the Romans originally celebrated on this same day, before the festivity turned into the Chandeleur. The Celtic and Roman pagan rites by Candlemas, and torches were taken into the town to conmemorate the day. 

On this day, cooks are supposed to place a coin on their left palm, and use their right hand to maneuver the skillet handle and flip the crepe. If they are successful, this will grant them good luck and prosperity during the entire spring season!

History of the Crepe

The Ancient Romans concocted the Alita Dolcia, a fried food vaguely similar to current pancakes. Today´s pancakes and crepes evolved in the Middle Ages. 

The crepes (from the latin word crispus that means curly, like its edges indeed are) originated in Brittany, where they make sweet crepes like the ones featured in this article today, and savory crepes made with buckwheat flour that are called "galettes" (which means pebble, what it used to be cooked on) and often feature a sunny-side up egg on top. They are now habitually eaten all over France.

Recipe

5 crepes (1/2 of Alton Brown´s sweet crepe recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crepes-recipe/index.html) 

For the liqueur stated in the recipe, choose rum

1/2 lb. of strawberries

Juice of half a lemon

Nutella

About Crepes: If you want to make savory crepes as well for Candlemas, you could opt for the plain crepe version, which is more versatile, so you don´t have to make two different crepe recipes. However, if you want a sweet crepe that tastes good all by itself for dessert, (such as prepackaged crepes sold for a snack in a gas station or supermarket) without a filling, you should choose the sweet version and place liqueur in it. 

Procedure

Mix the ingredients stated in Alton´s sweet crepe version (1 egg, 6 tbsps. milk, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup flour, 1.5 tbsp. butter, 3 3/4 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1 tbsp. rum) with a wire whisk, in a small bowl. Heat the skillet at medium heat, placing a little bit of melted butter, which will suffice for all of the crepes. Remember that the first crepe is the hardest, so don´t despair if it tears a little, or doesn´t turn out as well. Measure 1/4 cup of the batter and pour quickly into the center of the skillet, then drop it quickly aside and swirl the batter to cover the bottom of the skillet. As soon as bubbles surface, try unsticking the crepe from the sides with the spatula. If the bottom of it looks golden, it´s time to turn it over. 

Wait only a few seconds, then take it out of the pan, as the second side takes much less time to cook than the first side. Continue with the rest of the crepes; don´t add any more butter, as it won´t be necessary.

This "bat-heart" is why I decided to use a template

To cut the crepes into a heart shape, print a template if necessary: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/images/bheart2.gif  Fold a crepe in half, place the folded template on top (if you need it) and use the shears to cut the heart shape. Open it up, place it on a plate, and decorate it with cut strawberries that have flower shapes. To make it even more romantic, place one heart on top of another.

Like the ´80´s song: Two of Hearts

To cut the strawberries follow these instructions. Flower 1: Take the tip of the strawberry and make four incisions that don´t reach the top of the strawberry (if they reach the top of the strawberry, the pieces will be completely cut off), leaving a center square. Those four incisions will create four flexible petals around the strawberry core. Flower 2: Make three or four incisions lengthwise on the strawberry. Take the top of the strawberry and twist lightly to turn it into a fan.

Second Crepe Heart with Strawberry Coulis Center: Fill 2 crepes with a tablespoon of nutella each, and roll them. Place the rolled crepes, one on each side, and bend into a heart shape; each one will shape one half of the heart. Take the strawberry coulis (instructions below) to fill the empty space in the center, on the plate. Take the decorated flower strawberries and place to further adorn the dish. 

Strawberry Coulis 1: Place the hulled, halved strawberries with the juice of half a lemon in a blender and puree them for a few seconds.

Strawberry Coulis 2: Place the hulled, chopped strawberries with the juice of half a lemon in a skillet, and heat for a few minutes. Puree them in a blender, or beat in a bowl with a mixer.

References

http://www.goosto.fr/recette-de-cuisine/theme/crepes-10002253.htm

http://www.formatage.org/branches/fetes/chandeleur/origine.html

http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq2.html#pancakes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%AApe