Here's the rub...

  It is about the butta. 

Or sweet and salty. Or perfecting the basic pastry crust.  Sigh.   

I am learning every week.  As a vender at the Healdsburg Farmer's Market, Saturdays and Wednesdays. I bake cookies, brownies, and Focaccia bread.  I change the recipes, often; the Focaccia bread turns out differently every time. Is it my oven? (in terms of temperature) or not enough steam in the oven? Or I didn’t kneed it enough?  Ugh. Baking bread is difficult. Cookies are my friends. But I am perfecting one cookie and two brownie recipes. They are winners because of my customers in the market:  Raisin Dusted Oatmeal cookies, Cranberry oatmeal white chocolate cookies, Salted Caramel Brownie, and Raspberry dusted brownie. I have been picking blackberries on the farm and in the creek by my house, so I thought, ummm: pie. New product:  Rustic Wild Blackberry Hand Pie.  As I get my kitchen Aid out, (my old iron horse mixer keeps working) but it means…the crust.  I made it by hand (first time) with the pastry blender with my girlfriend. By hand? I needed some support. It was ok.  But I use my old pal mixer now.

It must be flaky, sweet, and not dry. I have tried many recipes to make the perfect crust. I know, there is a home baker out there who knows what I am saying. Through my failures, I can say, unsalted butter and Crisco is the way to go. My mom swears by shortening. She is right….but it needs butter too, unsalted butter.  When you roll the dough out with the unsalted butter and Crisco, (it is soft), you can see bits the butter in the dough, and you know it will be, well.....Perfection.  I may not be an authority in making the ideal crust, it is my experience. Oh, put the bowl, beaters, butter, flour, sugar, Crisco in the fridge to get cold….burr. Use ice water with an egg. I know, a lot to do but means a flaky tender crust.

I bake modern cookies, brownies, and pie. www.speechlesscakes.org

See me at the Healdsburg farmer's Market, Sat. & Weds.

See u at market, k