Sable Cookies & Chocolate Fondue, A Yummy Antidote For The Winter Blues

Buttery, crumbly cookies dipped in creamy, liquid chocolate? We can’t think of a better antidote to this bout of cold weather that just won’t go away.

This sweet recipe comes from Tracy Kamperdyk Assue, the Westchester native now pleasing sweet tooths everywhere from the pastry kitchen of City Limits–a family-run diner with a 20-year legacy and locations in White Plains and Stamford. And it’s no wonder that she’s whipped up such a delightful creation. Hailing from famed NYC establishments like River Café, Lespinasse, and Amy’s Bread, Assue’s worked alongside some of the most respected chefs in the city. Cookies aside, she’s also responsible these days for bringing mini tarts, walnut raisin bread, banana cream pie, and other treats to the area’s dessert fans.

City Limits calls their creations “nostalgic pastries,” but to us, this is delicious comfort food, plain and simple.

FOR THE FONDUE

Ingredients

• 12 oz heavy cream
• 1/2  vanilla bean, seeded
• 10 oz  chocolate (Assue prefers Valrhona’s bittersweet)
• 1 oz butter

Directions

Bring heavy cream and vanilla bean seeds to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.

Mix gently with a whisk, starting in the center and circling out to emulsify. Add butter and stir until it’s well combined.

FOR THE COOKIES

Ingredients (yields about 50 cookies)

• 9 oz sweet unsalted butter, slightly soft
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeded
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 1/2 oz granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 oz brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp fine salt
• 15 oz all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup Turbinado sugar

Directions

Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds with a paddle until light and fluffy. Add yolks, one at a time mixing well before adding each one.

Scrape bowl with spatula. Add flour all at once, turning mixer on for a second then off for a second. Repeat until mixture comes together.

Scrape dough onto a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap and roll into a log. Sprinkle the outside of the log (or roll in) turbinado sugar. Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Once firm, slice log in 1/4 inch slices. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy with chocolate fondue.

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Christine Wei is the always hungry editor of Yummy Delicious, New York Family‘s food blog, and former senior editor at New York Family. She’s written about food, travel, and more for the likes of National Geographic Traveler, FATHOM, and Babble.com. Follow her at @xtinew and contact her at christine.edit [at] gmail [dot] com.