cookies that vaporize
Hand-formed butter cookies, very much like shortbread, have considerable appeal, for the dough is enormously manageable and, with their tender baked texture, the crescents and buttons disintegrate in the mouth in the most wonderful way possible.
Almonds (inside the dough and out), ginger, and lemon peel separately embroider each dough and distinguish it along the way.
A dough made with cool melted butter, leavened slightly, sweetened softly, baked, and rolled in more sugar to finish is exactly like adult clay: easily moldable into stubby logs, rounds, quarter-moons, and such. The beautifully malleable dough is handily put together in a mixing bowl; pliable, rich, but mostly dense, it can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen in logs or slabs for up to three weeks.
Presented en masse on a cookie plate, these morsels go so well with a composed fresh (or poached) fruit compote and, simply paired with hot coffee, can be designated as an American-style kind of petit four if made small and dainty. Delectable.
almond crescents
serving: about 28 cookies
ahead: 2 days
almond butter dough
21/4 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup very finely chopped almonds
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
about 3/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds, for pressing on the unbaked cookies
about 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, for dredging the baked cookies
Line several heavy cookie sheets with lengths of ovenproof parchment paper.
For the dough, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl. Scatter over the finely chopped almonds and whisk to combine.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, the 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add the flour-almond mixture and stir to form a dough, using a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle. Chill the dough, wrapped in food-safe plastic wrap or waxed paper, for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the slivered or sliced almonds in a small bowl and have at hand.
To form the cookies, scoop up level 1-tablespoon-size pieces of dough and roll into stubby logs. Place each log of dough, 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking pans. Form the logs into crescent shapes, tapering the ends slightly (without creating very pointy ends). Place some of the slivered or sliced almonds on the surface of each crescent. After the nuts have been applied to the tops of the cookies, go back and plump the cookies gently—as necessary—so that they’re even-shaped and well-formed.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until set and light golden. Let the cookies stand on the baking pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to cooling racks, using a wide offset metal spatula. Cool completely. Place the 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl. Carefully—the cookies are quite tender at this point—dredge the cookies in the confectioners’ sugar. After 20 minutes, coat them again in a second haze of confectioners’ sugar. Cool completely. Store in an airtight tin in no more than two layers, with waxed paper separating each level of cookies.
notes
• when pressing the almonds onto the unbaked cookies, do so firmly but gently; the dough is usually moist enough so that the almonds stick to the surface; if you are working with the cookie dough on a cold, dry day, it may be necessary to use a lightly beaten egg white for painting over the surface in order for the almonds to adhere (to do so, beat an egg white in a clean, dry bowl until light and frothy; use a small pastry brush to film the surface of each crescent, then press on the nuts)
• never consume raw cookie dough
almond crescents
ginger buttons
serving: about 28 cookies
ahead: 2 days
ginger butter dough
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup very finely chopped walnuts
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
about 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, for dredging the baked cookies
Line several heavy cookie sheets with lengths of ovenproof parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger into a medium-size mixing bowl. Scatter over the walnuts and whisk to combine.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, the 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. Using a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle, stir in half of the flour-walnut mixture. Blend in the crystallized ginger, then the balance of the flour-walnut mixture. Chill the dough, wrapped in food-safe plastic wrap or waxed paper, for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To form the cookies, scoop up level 1-tablespoon-size pieces of dough and roll into balls. Place the balls of dough, 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking pans.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until set and the bottoms are a light golden color. (To check the bottoms, carefully lift up a cookie with a spatula and peek.) Let the cookies stand on the baking pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to cooling racks, using a wide offset metal spatula. Cool completely. Place the 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl. Handling them thoughtfully—they are very tender when just-baked—dredge the cookies in the confectioners’ sugar. After 20 minutes, coat them again in a second haze of confectioners’ sugar. Cool completely. Store in an airtight tin in no more than two layers, with waxed paper separating each level of cookies.
notes
• crystallized ginger adds a sweet and spicy edge to the cookie dough; be sure to use the crystallized variety, for ginger preserved in syrup would add undesirable moisture to the dough
• never consume raw cookie dough
lemon melties
serving: about 28 cookies
ahead: 2 days
lemon butter dough
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
11/4 teaspoons lemon extract
21/4 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup very finely chopped walnuts
about 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, for dredging the baked cookies
Line several heavy cookie sheets with lengths of ovenproof parchment paper.
Combine the lemon peel and lemon extract in a small nonreactive mixing bowl. Set aside to blossom for 3 to 4 minutes.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter and 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar. Blend in the lemon peel–lemon extract mixture. Using a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle, stir in half of the flour mixture, the walnuts, and then the balance of the flour mixture. Chill the dough, wrapped in food-safe plastic wrap or waxed paper, for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To form the cookies, scoop up level 1-tablespoon-size pieces of dough and roll into fat logs. Place the logs of dough, 2 inches apart, on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until set and the bottoms are a light golden color. (To check the bottoms, carefully lift up a cookie with a spatula and peek.) Let the cookies stand on the baking pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to cooling racks, using a wide offset metal spatula. Cool the cookies for 35 minutes. Place the 21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl. Dredge the cookies in the confectioners’ sugar carefully, as they are fragile. After 20 minutes, coat them in a second haze of confectioners’ sugar. Cool completely. Store in an airtight tin in no more than two layers, with waxed paper separating each level of cookies.
notes
• allowing the lemon peel to blossom in the extract for a few minutes develops the intensity of the citrus and builds the flavor of the dough
• never consume raw cookie dough