FESTIVAL OF DELIGHTS from p. 79100 NOVEMBER 2020
comes together. Divide dough in half; shape
into 2 disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic
wrap; chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.- Preheat oven to 350°F. (If dough has
chilled longer than 2 hours, let stand at
room temperature until slightly softened,
about 10 minutes.) Unwrap 1 dough disk,
and roll between 2 sheets of parchment
paper to about^1 / 4 inch thickness. Remove
top parchment sheet. Using a 2-inch fluted
round cookie cutter, cut 36 circles from
dough, rerolling scraps as needed. Arrange
dough circles at least^1 / 2 inch apart on 2
baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
(Discard dough scraps.) Freeze dough
circles until firm, about 10 minutes. Bake
in preheated oven until tops are dry but
cookies have not started to brown, 10 to 11
minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets
2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack, and let
cool completely, about 15 minutes. Repeat
process with remaining dough disk to make
72 cookies total. - Place white chocolate in a small micro-
wavable bowl; microwave on high until
melted and smooth, about 1 minute and
30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds.
Transfer chocolate to a piping bag or a
ziplock plastic bag with an^1 / 8 -inch hole
snipped in the corner. Drizzle 36 cookies
with chocolate. If desired, decorate choco-
late drizzle with gold leaf and edible flowers.
Chill drizzled cookies until chocolate is set,
5 to 10 minutes. - Make the dulce de leche peda filling:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread powdered
milk in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet
lined with parchment paper. Bake in pre-
heated oven until light golden brown, 12 to
16 minutes. Sift through a fine wire-mesh
strainer. Combine sifted powdered milk and
dulce de leche in a large nonstick skillet;
cook over medium-low, stirring constantly
using a rubber spatula, until well combined
and no dry bits of milk powder remain, 3 to
4 minutes. Add ghee, milk, salt, and cinna-
mon; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture
is shiny, well combined, and mostly smooth,
4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool
5 minutes. - Transfer filling to a piping bag or ziplock
plastic bag with a^1 / 2 -inch hole snipped in the
corner. (If bag is too hot to hold, wrap in a
dish towel.) Arrange the 36 undecorated
cookies upside down on a clean work
surface. Pipe about 2 teaspoons filling
onto center of each cookie. Sandwich with
decorated cookies; gently press to spread
filling to edges. Let cool 15 minutes. —H ETA L
VASAVADA
MAKE AHEAD Dough can be made and refri-
gerated up to 3 days ahead. Unfilled baked
cookies can be frozen up to 1 month. Assem-
bled cookies can be stored in an airtight
container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Chhundo and Goat Cheese
Crostini
PHOTO P. 73
ACTIVE 45 MIN; TOTAL 5 HR 10 MIN
SERVES 10 TO 12Chhundo, a sweet and tangy marmalade-
like pickled condiment with light heat and
fragrance from Kashmiri chile powder, tops
these crostini. Green mangoes are essential
for this recipe—seek out large mangoes with
light green skin and crisp white flesh.CHHUNDO
5 cups shredded unripe unpeeled
green mangoes (from 3 large
mangoes)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick
11 / 2 tsp. Kashmiri red chile powder, plus
more to taste
1 /^2 tsp. ground cardamom
CROSTINI
3 0 (^1 / 2 -inch-thick) crusty baguette slices
3 Tbsp. ghee, melted
10 oz. mild goat cheese
Edible flower petals, for decoration
(optional)- Make the chhundo: Stir together shred-
ded mangoes, sugar, and salt in a large
saucepan until sugar is moistened; let
stand until mangoes release juices, about
10 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium-
high, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to
medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally,
until most of the liquid evaporates and
mango mixture is loosely glazed, 12 to 15
minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cinna-
mon stick, chile powder, and cardamom.
Spoon mixture into a clean lidded glass jar;
secure lid. Let cool completely at room tem-
perature, about 4 hours. - Make the crostini: Preheat oven to
400°F with racks in upper and lower third
positions. Arrange baguette slices evenly
on 2 baking sheets; brush with melted ghee.
Bake in preheated oven until crisp and light
golden, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating baking
sheets between top and bottom racks half-
way through bake time. Let cool 5 minutes.
Spread about 2 teaspoons goat cheese
onto each toast; top each with about 2
teaspoons chhundo. Sprinkle assembled
crostini with edible flower petals, if desired.
—HETAL VASAVADA
MAKE AHEAD Chhundo can be refrigerated
in an airtight container up to 3 months.
Crostini can be baked 1 day ahead and
stored in an airtight container at room
temperature.
WINE Off-dry Washington State Riesling:
2019 Charles Smith Wines Kung Fu Girl
Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
with Dulce de Leche Peda Filling
PHOTO P. 74
ACTIVE 1 HR 5 MIN; TOTAL 3 HR 25 MIN
MAKES 3 DOZEN COOKIESAdorned with edible flower petals and gold
leaf, these stunning sandwich cookies are a
celebration unto themselves. Store-bought
dulce de leche enriches the filling inspired
by peda, a creamy Indian milk fudge tradi-
tionally flavored with cardamom. For where
to buy gold leaf and edible flowers, see p. 75.CARDAMOM COOKIES
43 / 4 cups (about 20^1 / 4 oz.) plus 2 Tbsp. all-
purpose flour
21 /^4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
3 / 4 tsp. fine sea salt
11 / 2 cups unsalted butter (12 oz.),
softened
11 / 2 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (4-oz.) white chocolate bar, roughly
chopped (about^3 / 4 cup)
Gold leaf and edible flowers, for
decoration (optional)
DULCE DE LECHE PEDA FILLING
13 / 4 cups nonfat powdered milk (about
43 / 4 oz.)
1 (13.4-oz.) can dulce de leche
3 Tbsp. ghee
3 Tbsp. whole milk
3 /^4 tsp. fine sea salt
1 / 4 tsp. ground cinnamon- Make the cardamom cookies: Whisk
together flour, baking powder, cardamom,
and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Com-
bine butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment; beat on
medium speed until mixture is light and
fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape
sides of bowl as needed. Add egg and
vanilla; beat until well combined, about 2
minutes. With mixer running on low speed,
gradually add flour mixture; continue beat-
ing until dry ingredients are incorporated
and dough just starts to clump together,
about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides
of bowl as needed. Turn mixture out onto a
clean work surface. Knead until dough just