If you give a book a cookie...

Rose water shortbread with bittersweet chocolate base.

I have been eyeball deep in autobiographies and I absolutely love them. I don't know what kicked off this obsession but I'm glad to have it as reading about the lives of others has sparked a curious baking endeavor. As I've been reading these life stories some kind of sweetie comes to life in my mind that is in someway reminiscent of the storyteller. It may seem strange...it certainly caught me off guard, but I love that it has challenged my penchant for unusual flavor profiles. I'll be posting the recipes inspired by these books over the next few weeks.

Great Great Uncle James.

The first in this new series of posts belongs to my great great uncle: James Wedgwood Drawbell. Uncle James was a tenacious Scotsman who forged a name for himself in the newspaper publishing world with over 20 successful years in the industry. In his early days of journalism he rubbed elbows with the likes of Noel Coward and Scott Fitzgerald. At 26 he turned a faltering Sunday paper in London into a success and over the years became known for recognizing new talent, pushing publishing into a new era of ideas and advocating important causes...which led to frequent and timely conversations with George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, D.H. Lawrence, Dorothy Thompson and then there was one kicker of an afternoon tea with Adolf Hitler.

He is a masterful storyteller. His use of language is captivating. It's easy to journey through his life as though having been present at every turn. It gives me hope that somewhere in my genetic make up there's a little of the same storytelling DNA floating about.

It seems his purpose for telling his story is twofold. One, the nuts and bolts of successful newspaper publishing. And two, to show that with faith, determination and gumption anyone can succeed in their vocation. Do I hear an Amen?

 The most important part of the book is the first 80 pages. It is the most heartbreaking part of his story and the most triumphant. The section is called The Thistle and The Rose and it recalls his childhood under the weight of poverty, the unpredictability of a tormented father and the protection of an adoring mother and siblings. It is this part of his story that inspired the recipe. James describes at length the love and devotion he has for his mother. Her tiny stature juxtaposed with the inner strength of a freight train, and her delicate kindness a gift to her children but a curse to her married life. His father, on the other hand, goes unnamed. James calls him the Pupil Teacher after his brief encounter with employment. At the deepest depth of his depravity this unnamed man was packed up by his sister and shipped off to a colony never to be heard from again! And the family, led by James' tiny mom, started a new life. His mother the Rose, his father the Thistle. However painful the thistle was in James Drawbell's life he managed to turn wounds into wisdom and walked away with a hearty sense of self worth and confidence.

So, inspired by his family and formative events in his childhood, I created a shortbread recipe: Rose water with bittersweet chocolate. Slightly obvious: shortbread being Scottish, rose for his mom and the bittersweet chocolate the stamp on his life left from his father. Before attempting this recipe I researched rose water pairings--I often use it with white chocolate and pistachios. I was delighted to see that it had been used with the darker chocolates in a handful of recipes (some savoury, oddly enough) so I gave it a whirl...or whurrrrrl. (*sigh* wish the accent also traveled genetically). The rosy aromatic buttery cookie with the melt-in-your-mouth intensity of the dark chocolate is a feast for the senses. A cookie befitting of a man who's life, though laced with the bitter, was tempered by the sweet.

Rose Water Shortbread with Bittersweet Chocolate

Adapted from 3 Martha Stewart shortbread recipes: here, here and Classic Shortbread recipe in the 2010 Holiday Cookies issue.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup + 2 Tbs confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
1 Tbs rose water
5 oz bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Spray an 8 inch square pan or round tart pan with removable bottom or stone cookie mould generously with spray oil. If using a regular pan I also line with parchment and add a little more spray oil on to that. My first three attempts with the baking stone I didn't spray enough! Set aside.
2. Combine flours, set aside.
3. In a mixer fixed with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar. Add rose water. *If you are not going to add chocolate later reduce rose water to 2 tsp. The chocolate will overpower the rose  if not enough rose water, but the rose will overwhelm the shortbread if too much.* It is important to add the rose water at this stage. It will change the texture entirely if added at the end or after the flour is added.
4. Add flour mixture all at once until combined. It will be crumbly at first but keep going until it forms a stiff dough.
5. Place dough on plastic wrap and using the wrap form dough into disk. Place disk in middle of stone mould and press into whole mould using the plastic wrap. Same process with other pans. Let chill for 20 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
7. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, pierce dough (not all the way through) all over. Bake until light golden brown and firm-ish in the center. This can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes. depending on pan. Re-pierce (not all the way through and not as often) with wooden skewer or chopstick to make slightly larger holes - this will grab the melted chocolate later and keep it from easily flopping off when all is cooled and done. Let cool 10 minutes on wire rack.
8. To unmould, place a tea towel onto a cutting board and then turn over onto mould so tea towel is between mould and cutting board. Invert so mould is upside down on teatoweled cutting board. Tap mould and cutting board very firmly on hard work surface. You may need an offset spatula or knife to loosen the edges first. Lift mould and using tea towel drag shortbread back onto wire rack to cool completely.
9. In a double broiler (pot with a few inches of simmering water and bowl placed on top - not touching the water) melt chocolate. Let cool.
10. Invert shortbread again so the bottom is facing upwards. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate and let harden.
11. Turn over, slice into wedges and enjoy! 

Shortbread can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell Like Scones

White Chocolate Pistachio Rose Scones

I'm not yet sure if this is bragging or a nerd alert, but I think I'm becoming a proper Whovian. What is a Whovian, you ask? Well, I believe it's someone who's knowledge and excitement for Dr. Who dodges most socially accepted circles. This is not unusual for me. Dr. Who isn't the only sci-fi or fantasy-ish world I have floated around in. I have dangerously nerdy knowledge of Middle Earth and the Force (be with you). Again, not really bragging, just clarifying that it's not out of the blue I would get pulled into the Tardis and love the ride.

I have scoured Netflix, the video store and legal online players to find episodes from every era of Dr. Who. I haven't been all that successful, but I have devoured what I can find. So far I've seen episodes involving 4 out of 11 Doctors, my favorite is Tom Baker, though how adorable is David Tennant? And my favorite companion is Sarah Jane Smith. To be fair, I'm only up to post millennium season two, so I have a long way to go this side of the Dr. Who "re-boot." I must say I am looking forward to Catherine Tate's version of the Doctor's companion since she's ridiculously funny...hoping they gave her cheeky dialogue. (Patience, Kristen there's a whole season between last viewed episode and Catherine...)

The companion I've traveled with most since this odyssey began is Rose Tyler. Not especially engaging, but likeable all the same. And without having seen episodes between the Tom Baker era and Rose Tyler's inaugural journey, I'm curious to know if she was the first to make-out with the Doctor or perhaps the first to lip-lock two different regenerations? (note: she wasn't really herself in either instance, but still - nicely done, Rose.)

And since I have at least another 5 episodes of Rose before I meet the next companion, it is befitting I bake White Chocolate Pistachio Rose scones to enjoy whilst watching.

These scones are delightfully aromatic, but beware of the amount of rose water you use. They could end up tasting like soap...or smelling like your gran at a Kenny Rogers concert.

So here's to Rose Tyler, kicking alien arse and snogging the Doctor from 2005-2006.

White Chocolate Pistachio Rose Scones

Here's what to do:
Preheat your oven to about 360 degrees F. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Rough Chop:
Belgian white chocolate into about 1 cup small chunks
Pistachios into about 3/4 cup small pieces (you could toast in a small frying pan over med heat if you like, but don't have to)

whisk together:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake/pastry flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder (fresh, opened within the last month)
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

In a measuring cup whisk together:
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use whole fat yogurt)
1 egg room temp (for room temp: place egg in small bowl and cover with hot water, let stand for 2 minutes)
1-ish tsp rose water (start with 1/2 tsp and add more until the yogurt has a slight rose scent)

Take dry ingredients and cut in one stick (1/2 cup) of cold unsalted butter (either by food processor, or pastry cutter or by hand...it's best to touch it as little as possible so the butter remains cold).

The texture should be sandy and mealy. Pour into bowl and add white chocolate chunks.

Pour wet mix on top and stir in with fork.

Don't over work it, just until all the wet is mixed in...should have some crumbly bits left at the bottom of the bowl. If you find it's still too dry, add a little more yogurt or heavy cream to help.

Dump out mix onto a lightly floured surface. gently work in any crumbly bits. Form dough into an 7-8" disc and cut into 8 pie-like portions. (for thorough pic by pic instructions see pumpkin scone recipe)

Place on parchment on cookie sheet.
*you could brush egg wash (one egg whisked) on top at this point, but you don't have to*
Bake for 20-ish minutes. Should be golden around edges and a little golden on top.

While cooling, melt 1/2 cup white couverture chocolate (I use Belgian white from the Bulk Barn) in a double broiler:

• bring about 2-3 inches of water in a saucepan to a simmer not a boil
• place a bowl on top - not in - the saucepan 
• place the chocolate in the bowl and stir while melting until almost melted 
• remove bowl and continue to stir until all the chocolate has completely melted

Pour chocolate into a piping bag (I just use a Ziploc and cut the very tip of one corner) and zigzag the chocolate over the scones. Or however you want to do it...there's no right way! While the chocolate is still warm sprinkle chopped pistachio on top and secure them with a little more melted white chocolate.

Enjoy!