Black-Pepper Shortbread Cookies with Strawberries and Meyer Lemon–Ricotta Dip

Ingredients

Dip:
1 cup Calabro ricotta
1 Meyer lemon
3 tbs. sugar
Salt and black pepper


Black-Pepper Shortbread:
1 stick of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tbs. lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. salt
50 grinds black pepper, plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Micro-plane the zest of 1 lemon, and add it to a cup of ricotta. Add lemon juice to taste, plus sugar, a pinch of salt, and one grind of black pepper. Refrigerate.

Shortbread: Place the butter and confectioner’s sugar in a standing mixer and beat until creamy. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, and beat until uniform. Sift the flour onto a piece of parchment paper, and add the salt and pepper. Slowly add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic in a flat square shape, and refrigerate 3 hours. Using half the dough at a time, roll into a rectangle between two pieces of parchment until a quarter-inch thick. Prick even holes in the dough, cut into rectangles (approximately 3-by-1.5 inches), and grind a little more black pepper over the top. Bake at 300 degrees until a pale golden, about 20 minutes.

(Published 2012)