When Bird Bakery landed in Highland Park Village this winter, it brought much more than monster cookies and tuna melts. The San Antonio-transplant, owned by journalist and TV host Elizabeth Chambers Hammer and her husband Armie Hammer, gifted Dallasites with Plugra butter, Valrhona cocoa, and other high-quality ingredients, along with an excellent backdrop for the blogger set, complete with a neon Tyler Ramsey installation.
Today, Bird Bakery has bestowed us with even more to cherish: recipes. Below, we’ve selected a few Valentine’s Day-appropriate sweets so you can treat yourself at home, and feel good about doing so. As Chambers Hammer told us, “I wouldn’t use any ingredients that I wouldn’t want my daughter to eat.”
Bird Bakery’s Rustic Apple Pie ••••••••••••••
FILLING
Ingredients
- 1⁄4 cup, 1 1⁄2 Teaspoons- cornstarch
- 1⁄2 teaspoon- salt
- 1 tablespoon- cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon- nutmeg
- 1 cup- granulated sugar
- 1 cup- light karo syrup
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and syrup. Set aside.
TOPPING
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup- dark brown sugar
- 1⁄2 cup- light karo syrup
- 1⁄2 cup- texas pecans, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup- flour 1⁄2 cup- butter, softened
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, combine dark brown sugar, syrup, pecans, flour and softened butter. Set aside
PIE CRUST DOUGH (bottom of pie)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1⁄4 cup- flour
- 1 tablespoon- granulated sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon- salt
- 1⁄4 cup- shortening
- 3 ounces- cold butter, cubed
- pinch- ice water
DIRECTIONS
In a medium metal bowl with an electric mixer, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Slowly incorporate shortening until the mixture creates course crumbs. Add the butter chunks and mix until the dough begins to come together. Incorporate the ice water and mix for 5 seconds. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, kneading with lightly floured hands. Wrap kneaded dough in parchment paper and place in refrigerator.
PIE CRUST DOUGH (top of pie)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups- all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1⁄2 cups, 2 tablespoons- shortening, cubed
- 1⁄4 teaspoon- salt
- 1⁄2 egg 1 teaspoons- distilled white vinegar
- 2 1⁄2 tablespoons- ice cold water
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Slowly incorporate shortening. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat together egg, vinegar and water. Combine together the liquid mixture with the flour mixture, using a fork, until mixture forms a ball.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, kneading with lightly floured hands. Wrap kneaded dough in parchment paper and place in refrigerator.
ASSEMBLING THE PIE
Using a 9 inch pie pan, roll out pie crust dough (bottom dough) and cover the entire pan. Scoop 1⁄2 cup of the FILLING in the bottom of the pie shell. Pile 5 sliced and peeled apples into the crust. Pour 1⁄2 cup of the FILLING over the apples and dot the top with 3 tablespoons of butter. Pile 2 sliced and peeled apples on top.
Roll out and place the pie dough crust (top dough) over the pie and fold under bottom dough crust and seal so no apples or filling is showing. Create a crimping of the crust along the rim of the pie.
Make 4 unconnected large slits in the top of the pie in the shape of an addition plus sign (+). Bake at 350 degrees until the top crust has risen and is not raw
Spread 3 tablespoons of TOPPING onto the top of the baked pie and place into the oven until the topping is bubbly and caramelized (about 10 minutes). Enjoy!
Bird Bakery’s Sugarbird Cookies ••••••••••••••
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and rolling pin if necessary
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks very high quality unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons high-quality pure almond extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 265 degrees.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and almond extract to the creamed butter mixture.
Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, incorporating well. Transfer the dough and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm or over night for best results.
Roll dough over floured surface into desired thickness and cut into the shapes of choice. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
ROYAL ICING
INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 cup egg whites
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Gel-paste food coloring
DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk eggs on high until frothy. Slowly incorporate vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add food coloring 1 drop at a time, until desired color is achieved.
If making more than 1 color, divide icing and color accordingly. Spread evenly over cookie surface using brushes or a piping bag. Enjoy!
Bird Bakery’s Gluten Free Brownies ••••••••••••••
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- 1 2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 1/3 cups almond flour
- 8 eggs, yolk and white separated
- 1 ¼ Tbsp baking powder
FOR GARNISH
- powdered sugar or chocolate ganache
- 1 sliced, blanched almond
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300° with rack in center position. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and then remove from heat. In a large bowl, cream together butter and half of the sugar, slowly adding in the egg yolks. Once well incorporated, add flour and baking powder.
Place remaining sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed – about 4 minutes – until stiff peaks form.
Slowly add the melted chocolate to the large bowl. Fold in the egg-white mixture until all of the ingredients are well incorporated then pour batter into pan.
Bake for 60 minutes at 300 degrees. Rotate halfway through, bringing temperature down to 275 degrees. Bake until center is firm, being careful not to crisp the edges.
Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift brownies out of pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Drizzle with chocolate ganache or dust with powdered sugar and garnish with one blanched, sliced almond.
