Grand Central Bakery | January Baking

January Baking

The holidays are over, and with them the requisite baking projects - Bûche de noel, pumpkin and pecan pies, stollen, gingerbread. These are all excellent baked goods that I somehow can't get through November and December without making and/or eating - but seem out of place come January. And except for citrus, seasonal fruit is gone, too. This is the season to call upon your larder. All that time you spent this summer freezing berries, making jam, canning fruit? Reap the rewards!

Summer's bounty

Now, I'll admit there's a certain amount of smug self-satisfaction as I gaze at my rows of jewel colored preserves. Perhaps I've got a bit more ant than grasshopper in me. And the memory of canning in the 100 degree heat, sweaty, irritable and festooned with burns, is fading; in its place is a tanned and strapping girl ladling hot apricot or strawberry jam into sparkling jars, the mid-Summer sun streaming through the windows, maybe a little Etta James on the stereo.

under Penny's watchful gaze...

What to bake with your stash of goods? Lots of stuff. Tonight is linzer torte, that great little Austrian tart whose key component is a cookie-like latticed dough, rich and delicate with nuts and spices. The filling is always some sort of jam, but which jam is entirely up to you. I made individual tarts in 5" tart tins and chose a couple different fillings.

Plum Jelly & Quince Linzers

Some were made with plum jelly (made from my every-other-year plum tree bounty), and some with quince paste. I was craving a little tartness with the nut and butter rich dough. You could use any sort of jam, of course, and even a "jam" made of stewed dried fruit.
The point is this in an elegant tart that is flexible, easy, and makes excellent use of your extra jams, jellies and preserves. It goes without saying that it is great with a little vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.