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Dec. 14th, 2004 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickI mixed up dough for sand tarts this morning. They're one of my more-favorite holiday cookies. There are others that I can make, but I don't like them as well. My very favoritest cookie is oatmeal-raisin-walnut, but they are not festive. I am also not amenable to suggestions like "So add colored sprinkles to them!" -- anyone who suggests such a thing will be soundly ignored and damn lucky I don't stone them. Heretics. I also kind of like moravian spice cookies, but they're a fair amount of work and there will be bitching if I don't make them in different shapes.
I am morally opposed to cookie shapes outside of the approved forms which are as follows:
(All ya'll who are now rolling your eyes, think for a minute -- every chef on the planet cooks like this. If a chef is plating a hundred servings of the main entree, he or she should produce a hundred absolutely identical plates. There is nothing wrong with this. The only people who slam uniformity in cooking are the ones who can't fucking manage it.)
Anyway. Sand tarts.
Cream 3/4 cup of butter and 1 1/4 cup sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt, one egg, one egg yolk (reserve white for later)
Mix.
Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing with a sturdy spoon. Most mixers won't handle this. You may have to sort of knead the last cup in with your hands.
Divide dough into four balls and shape each ball into a flattened hamburger-patty shape. Put the patties (laid flat) in a gallon ziplock and set them in the fridge overnight. (The reason you are dividing the dough now is that it will harden up solid like a rock by tomorrow morning and you will not be able to divide it then. Just divide the dough now. I've made these before, and I know how it works. Take my word for it. This step is WORTH YOUR TIME.)
Preheat oven to 400. Roll out one patty of dough pretty damn thin. Do not overflour. Work quickly in a cool setting. Chill leftover bits while you work through the other fresh patties. You can reroll the dough twice before cookie quality is adversely affected. When cutting out cookies, place cutters carefully to maximize dough use so that you can avoid rerolling. (Spade shapes do not tile well. This is unfortunate, but life is like that sometimes.)
Cut cookies into shapes. The world will not end if you make some other shape, but spades are proper. Put cookies on cookie sheet. They don't move much, so you can put them pretty close together. I do not suggest using the air-bake cookie sheets. With sand tarts, browning is essential so that they develop the full buttery flavor. Browning happens a lot better on regular old-style cookie sheets. Now, using the egg white from before, glaze top of each cookie. (Use your finger for this. Dip finger in egg white, smear egg white over cookie. You will not die of salmonella. One egg white is sufficient for one batch of cookies.) Put one sliver of slivered almond on each cookie and then sprinkle a pinch of sugar over that.
Cook at 400 for eight minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom. They burn fairly quickly, so keep a sharp eye on 'em. I only do one tray at a time because they are sort of fussy. These should be stored in an airtight thingie or else they get soggy. They're supposed to be crispity.
The doily project continues. Thebookcase DVD shelving unit project had been put on hold until I located the paint, which I have now done. I have even opened the paint and it is still a liquid, so we're two for two, here. There will be painting tonight, I think. Possibly there will also be cookies. Cookies AND painting. I can see that.
I am morally opposed to cookie shapes outside of the approved forms which are as follows:
- oatmeal -- round lumps
- sand tarts -- spade shaped
- currant cookies -- round with fluted edge
- brownies -- squares
- moravian spice cookies -- plain round, or the four suits of cards: diamond, spade, heart, and club. Make equal amounts of each suit.
(All ya'll who are now rolling your eyes, think for a minute -- every chef on the planet cooks like this. If a chef is plating a hundred servings of the main entree, he or she should produce a hundred absolutely identical plates. There is nothing wrong with this. The only people who slam uniformity in cooking are the ones who can't fucking manage it.)
Anyway. Sand tarts.
Cream 3/4 cup of butter and 1 1/4 cup sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt, one egg, one egg yolk (reserve white for later)
Mix.
Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing with a sturdy spoon. Most mixers won't handle this. You may have to sort of knead the last cup in with your hands.
Divide dough into four balls and shape each ball into a flattened hamburger-patty shape. Put the patties (laid flat) in a gallon ziplock and set them in the fridge overnight. (The reason you are dividing the dough now is that it will harden up solid like a rock by tomorrow morning and you will not be able to divide it then. Just divide the dough now. I've made these before, and I know how it works. Take my word for it. This step is WORTH YOUR TIME.)
Preheat oven to 400. Roll out one patty of dough pretty damn thin. Do not overflour. Work quickly in a cool setting. Chill leftover bits while you work through the other fresh patties. You can reroll the dough twice before cookie quality is adversely affected. When cutting out cookies, place cutters carefully to maximize dough use so that you can avoid rerolling. (Spade shapes do not tile well. This is unfortunate, but life is like that sometimes.)
Cut cookies into shapes. The world will not end if you make some other shape, but spades are proper. Put cookies on cookie sheet. They don't move much, so you can put them pretty close together. I do not suggest using the air-bake cookie sheets. With sand tarts, browning is essential so that they develop the full buttery flavor. Browning happens a lot better on regular old-style cookie sheets. Now, using the egg white from before, glaze top of each cookie. (Use your finger for this. Dip finger in egg white, smear egg white over cookie. You will not die of salmonella. One egg white is sufficient for one batch of cookies.) Put one sliver of slivered almond on each cookie and then sprinkle a pinch of sugar over that.
Cook at 400 for eight minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom. They burn fairly quickly, so keep a sharp eye on 'em. I only do one tray at a time because they are sort of fussy. These should be stored in an airtight thingie or else they get soggy. They're supposed to be crispity.
The doily project continues. The
