Whole Wheat Sablés with Cacao Nibs

Modified from Orangette's recipe

Utilizing my new grain mill that Doran's folks gave us for Christmas, I used freshly stone ground whole wheat pastry flour (soft winter wheat berries), but you can also use a mixture of regular whole wheat flour and white flour. And I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t substitute white whole wheat flour for the regular whole wheat, if you have it. I roasted the cacao nibs for 15 minutes, since the ones I bought from the co-op were raw.

2 cups (9 oz.) whole wheat pastry flour, OR 1 cup (4.5 oz.) all-purpose flour plus 1 scant cup (4 oz.) whole wheat flour
14 Tbsp. (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (3 ½ oz.) sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup (about 1 ¼ oz.) roasted cacao nibs

If using the two flours, combine them in a bowl, and mix with a whisk or fork.

In a medium bowl, with a large spoon or an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy but not fluffy, about 1 minute (with the mixer). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and add the nibs. Beat briefly to incorporate. Add the flour, and mix until just incorporated. Scrap the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it a little with your hands to make sure that the flour is completely incorporated. Form the dough into a 12-by-2-inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into ¼-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared sheet pans.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies for a minute on the pans, then transfer them (with or without their parchment) to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

These cookies are good on the first day, but they’re best with a little age, after at least a day or two. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.

Yield: about 48 cookies

Ham & Swiss Football Sandwiches

To make these addicting ham and cheese sliders, we take soft, squishy dinner rolls, smear them with bracing yellow mustard, and stuff them with smoky Black Forest Ham and Swiss cheese. Football Sandwiches are typically then brushed with a sauce that uses a whopping 12 tablespoons of butter as the base. We cut the fat down to 4 tablespoons and pumped up the flavor with finely chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and plenty of poppy seeds. Letting the sandwiches sit for 10 minutes before baking allows the rolls to absorb the sauce. After about 30 minutes in the oven (20 covered and 10 uncovered), the sandwiches are slightly crisp on the outside, soft inside, and loaded with oozing, melted cheese. We prefer the soft white dinner rolls found in the bakery section of your supermarket, but dinner-size potato rolls will also work in this recipe.

12 square, soft, white dinner rolls
6 tablespoons yellow mustard

12 thin deli slices Black Forest ham (8 ounces)
12 thin deli slices Swiss cheese (8 ounces)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice rolls in half horizontally. Spread 4 tablespoons mustard on cut sides of roll tops and bottoms. Arrange roll bottoms, cut side up and side by side, in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Fold ham slices in thirds; place a slice on each roll bottom. Fold Swiss in thirds, then once in half, and place over ham. Season with pepper and cap with roll tops.

2. Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds in bowl. Microwave until butter is melted and onion is softened, about 1 minute. Whisk Worcestershire, garlic powder, and remaining 2 tablespoons mustard into butter mixture until combined. Generously brush tops and edges of sandwiches with all of butter mixture. Spoon any remaining solids over sandwiches.

3. Cover dish with aluminum foil and let sit for 10 minutes to allow sandwiches to absorb sauce. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until cheese is melted around edges and tops are slightly firm, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve.