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Cookie appreciation

Pastry chef Mindy Segal shares her obsession.

Mindy Segal says her dream bars are addicting. ( E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
Mindy Segal says her dream bars are addicting. ( E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS)Read more

Mindy Segal, author of a new cookie cookbook, has this great attitude about baking. And it's reassuring to someone as inexperienced with baking as myself.

She basically says: Look, if you can dress yourself - with a smidge of patience and some common sense - you can bake a decent peanut butter thumbprint with strawberry lambic jam.

But then Cookie Love, this first cookbook from the James Beard Award-winning pastry chef and longtime owner of Chicago's Hot Chocolate restaurant, has a warm, down-to-earth, hand-holding familiarity about it. Gone is the acerbic Minday Segal of Chicago restaurant lore, and in her place, is an approachable, self-deprecating casualness. That thumbprint recipe suggests using Beer Nuts. A shortbread recipe takes Folgers crystals. And how did she get her brownie recipe? She bartered with the pastry chef of the old Lakeview Supper Club.

Her edge isn't gone. It's just more playful. The following is an edited, condensed version of a longer interview.

Segal: I know what you're going to ask me.

Question: What?

Answer: "Why cookies, Mindy?"

Q: No, I was going to ask if you ever baked for a school bake sale?

A: I never have. My mom used to. She makes this Yum Yum Coffee Cake, and I have been remaking it my whole life - I add bananas and a cheesecake center and do a different streusel. She made that for bake sales a lot. She also made cookies from a box that were so good. This is a cliché, but one of my earliest memories was her aluminum bowl, her wooden spoon and actually looking over the counter as she baked.

Q: OK, now the obvious question: What is your favorite recipe in the book?

A: That's actually tough. The better question is "What do you like to make?" And so I will say, cookies suit different moods. But if you have a perfect snickerdoodle - crispy on the outside, smooth on the inside, with a hint of cinnamon or sugar - then I can't stop eating them. And I love the hot-fudge rugelach in the book.

Q: Why "Fig Segals"?

A: Because "Fig Newtons" would have gotten me sued. And we take black mission figs and cook them down with honey and red wine or port, and I don't think that's a Fig Newton.

Q: Tell me about the dream bars in the book.

A: Well, that's actually not my recipe. Basically, my mother's friend Phyllis Grossman was a phenomenal baker [and gave her mother the recipe]. I have had that recipe forever. When my staff cuts off pieces and puts some in their mouths, I say: "Wait! Understand that this is one of the most addicting things you will ever taste. Take a bite, and there is no going back."

Q: Is there a learning curve to this book?

A: I didn't think about it until I was writing, but I wrote it in a progression. You start with drop cookies, then go to shortbreads, then sandwich cookies. It's designed so that if you can make chapter one, you are ready for chapter two. I wouldn't point at any recipe and just make it. It's not for the skilled pastry chef.

Q: When do you know there are too many ingredients in a dessert?

A: I am a caramel-malt-butterscotch-milk-chocolate-smoked almond girl. So I don't know. . . . That said, restraint is one of the virtues of being a great chef.

Q: It's a fine line with desserts, between cloying and clever.

A: Yes. Balance! Restraint! But then, to understand balance takes a maturity you have to arrive at.

Q: Is there an ingredient that's overused in pastries?

A: You know what you should ask me: Is there an ingredient that's underused? There is: salt.

Q: Why salt in cookies?

A: "Why?" Seriously? If you don't understand the importance of salt and, say, vanilla extract in baking, you don't understand balance or baking.

Dream Bars

Makes 30 bars

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4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (64 percent to 66 percent cacao), melted

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 extra-large eggs, separated, at room temperature

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

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1. Invert a baking sheet; spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Line the top with parchment paper. With an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly across the parchment. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking pan (a quarter sheet pan) or glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; line with parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of overhang on the long sides.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed, 5-10 seconds. Add the granulated sugar; beat until mixture is aerated, 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together.

4. Add the water and vanilla to the batter. On medium speed, add the yolks, one at a time, mixing briefly until the batter resembles cottage cheese, about 5 seconds per yolk. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to bring the batter together. Mix on medium speed to make nearly homogeneous, 20-30 seconds.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

6. Add the flour mixture all at once; mix on low speed until the dough just comes together but still looks shaggy, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix. With a plastic bench scraper, bring the dough completely together by hand.

7. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using a rubber spatula and then your fingertips, press the dough into the corners of the pan and smooth the surface.

8. Remove the chocolate from the freezer; break it up into shards. Scatter the chocolate shards across the surface of the dough; press into the dough. Cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing down through the plastic to smooth the top. Refrigerate until the dough is set, at least 20 minutes or overnight. (If refrigerating the dough overnight, refrigerate the egg whites as well, letting them come to room temperature before proceeding with the meringue.)

9. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  

10. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and a pinch of kosher salt on medium speed until frothy, about 45 seconds. Add the brown sugar; whip on medium-high speed until shiny peaks form and the meringue holds its shape, 2-3 minutes. Spread the meringue evenly over the chilled dough.

11. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through the baking process, until the meringue resembles a lightly toasted marshmallow, 23-25 minutes. It will start to crack on the sides but should still be slightly soft in the center, and the bottom layer should be cooked through but still pale, not golden brown. (Do not overbake or the shortbread will be too crumbly to cut.) Cool completely in the pan. Once cool, refrigerate until chilled.

12. Lift the bar out of the pan using the parchment handles; transfer to a cutting board. Cut the bar lengthwise into 3 strips. Cut the bars crosswise into 10 strips to make small, rectangular bars. Serve the bars at room temperature.

Note: The bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Per bar: 151 calories, 2 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams fat, 31 milligrams cholesterol, 133 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber. EndText