What a "sweet" romantic treat

With Valentine’s Day just a month away, Sydney and I found ourselves discussing what our version of a romantic night would be. We both agreed a nice bottle of champagne with raspberries in the glass was a nice start. Both both of us have had the opportunity to indulge in our favorite champagne with a special person. I was completely blown away: as we were confining to each other I realized we had describe almost identical versions. The brands of champagne  were different.

DF for the past 25 years has bought home a bottle of  Belle Epoque. Our introduction to this prodigious delightful bottle of French bubbly was our wedding night. A unique man, who has become a good friend, had a bottle on ice waiting in our honeymoon suite the night we wed. It has become a tradition to indulge on this champagne every Valentine’s Day. I wanted to create a sugar cookie that resembled  Belle Epoque Rosé .

As I said resembles, the actual bottle is hand painted to perfection!

Sydney has her own personal and momentous reason for the champagne she prefers, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin; and was inclined to recreate a “sweet” treat for her heart. Sydney has a romantic story of her own, but I would never divulge her confidence . I can share with you that she also recreated an almond sugar cookie to resemble Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut.

her champagne and glasses is almost a replica

As alluring as the cookie look; the taste even better

Sydney’a Almond Sugar Cookies

226 grams / 1-cup Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed

360 grams / 3-cups All Purpose, extra  for rolling

6 grams/1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ -teaspoon salt

200 grams / 1 cup Superfine Sugar

50 grams/1 Large Egg, lightly beaten

2-teaspoon almond extract

Prepare  your mise en place with champagne bottle and glass cookie cutters.

The wire is for adding the bubbles to the top of the glasses

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Make sure to sift the flour, for a light cookie

Whisk lightly the egg and extract. Line four baking sheets with either a silpat or parchment paper. Cream together the butter and sugar, with a standing mixer with the paddle attachment.  Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. (Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until the dough forms that is not sticky.

We always stop the mixer and finish with a wooden spoon

Knead into a ball on cool floured workspace, such as a marble board or counter top. Roll the dough with a good rolling pin directly on your parchment paper or silpat, cut out the cookie shapes directly on the baking sheets.

This technique works best for large shapes without the cookie breaking while transferring it to the baking sheet

Place the baking sheets with the raw cookies in the refrigerator for 20 to 40 minutes. This step is imperative the cookie dough needs to rest, (it has been through the rolling)! Actually it needs to chill so it won’t spread.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Bake same sized cookies together and rotate baking sheets half way through baking, bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for about 2 to 3 minutes, and transfer to cooling racks till completely cooled.

Once completely cooled, decorate as desired. Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated cookies can last up to a month.

Due to the fact it is 2:00 am and decorating is involved, but the fun part, we will continue the techniques and royal icing recipe tomorrow! I am becoming a tad punchy and wouldn’t want to sound like a nincompoop.

Voila!