I am tickled to now be developing recipes for The East Nashvillian which highlight some of our neighborhood’s most talented artisans and purveyors. For the holiday edition that is now on newsstands, we showcased Olive and Sinclair Chocolate and Woodland Wine Merchant. Click here for a full listing of where to pick up your copy as they are all over Nashville. Meanwhile, here she is…..
Olive and Sinclair Chocolate is the foremost bean to bar chocolate maker of the South . Owner, founder and maker, Scott Wintherow, has moved his Inglewood chocolate haven to Fatherland Street. This is where single origin beans are slow-roasted and stone ground in small batches. Winthrow presented at this fall’s Southern Coterie Summit with the beloved “chocuterie” which featured his buttermilk white chocolate. Thanks to Olive and Sinclair, we were inspired to do a little holiday baking…
More Than Just Buttered Pecans
(Yields 12 cookies)
1 cup raw pecans
8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
1/3 cup sugar, plus some for finishing
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2.75 ounces Olive and Sinclair Salt and Pepper Buttermilk White Chocolate
2.75 ounces Olive and Sinclair 45% Cacao Buttermilk White Chocolate
½ cup finely chopped roasted and salted pistachios
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast pecans until fragrant and crisp, about 6 minutes. Let cool and finely chop them. Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Incorporate vanilla, salt and flour, fold in pecans. This dough will be sand like. Don’t worry! Divide into 12 pieces and squeeze into balls about the size of golf balls. Roll in sugar and flatten into discs using the bottom of a glass. You may need to reshape the edges a bit. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet about 3 inches apart and sprinkle with a little more sugar. Bake until golden brown (approximately 20 minutes). Cool on wire rack. Meanwhile, melt Olive and Sinclair white chocolates in a double boiler. It is very important that liquid does not come into contact with the chocolate. Using a metal spoon stir and remove from heat right before the chocolate is completely melted, as it will carry through its cooking temp. White chocolate has a very low burn temperature and will seize up if taken beyond that point. Dip the cookie into the chocolate and then roll in the pistachios. Finish with a final sprinkle of sugar.
Woodland Wine Merchant gave us the perfect pairings for our holiday confection…
Owner, Will Motley recommends Quinta do Infantado Tawny Port. It is a medium to dry tawny port with notes of dry fruits, roasted nuts and dark chocolate. Coming in at $16 a bottle, can’t you taste the dark chocolate with our cookie?
Tyler Zwiep says Broadbent Rainwater Medium Dry Madeira is the way to go. “It’s got this caramelized sweetness to it, with a savory, nutty quality that makes it very versatile. It has just enough sweetness to give a rich mouthful, but it has enough dryness to be refreshing with desserts,” says Zwiep. At $17, this Madeira will proudly grace the holiday table of any discerning East Nashvillian!
