cookies

Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookie

Ingredients:

For cookies:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• White or colored sanding sugars

For Filling:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make cookies:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
• Beat together butter and confectioners sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in zest and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture just until a soft dough forms.
• Put sanding sugars in different bowls. Roll a scant teaspoon of dough into a ball and drop into sugar, turning to coat. Reshape if necessary and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat, spacing balls 3/4 inch apart, until baking sheet is filled.
• Bake until tops are slightly cracked but still pale (bottoms will be pale golden), 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to a rack to cool completely.
• Form and bake more cookies on second baking sheet.

Make filling and sandwich cookies:

• Beat together all filling ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until combined well. Transfer to sealable bag and snip off a corner.
• Turn over half of cookies and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon filling on flat side of each. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently.

• Cookies keep in a metal cookie tin at room temperature 4 days.

  Orange Cardamon Cookies

  Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

  • Makes 18 – 24 cookies using a 3-inch round or 2 3/4-inch square cookie cutter
    Garnish with sugar icing, decorative sugar, piping. Using a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip results in cleaner lines of icing.

  Make dough:

  • Whisk together flour, zest, cardamom, and salt.
  • Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Quarter dough and form each piece into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, until firm, 2 to 3 hours.Dough can be chilled up to 2 days.

  Cut and bake cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
  • Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into an 11-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Slide dough in parchment onto a tray and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
  • Cut out as many cookies as possible with cookie cutter (chill dough again if necessary), reserving and chilling scraps. Transfer cookies to a parchment- lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.
  • Bake until edges are golden-brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto a rack to cool completely.
  • Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) on cooled freshly lined baking sheets.
  • If icing cookies and coloring icing, transfer small batches to small bowls, 1 for each color, and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color of icing into separate sealable bags, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 bottom corner of each bag. Pipe icing onto a plate to test consistency. If too thick, thin a small batch with a few drops of orange juice.
  • Decoratively pipe icing onto cookies, then sprinkle with decorative sugar (if using) and let dry completely, about 1 hour (depending on humidity).

  • Cookies keep, layered between sheets of parchment if iced, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

  Double Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

  Ingrdients:
  For dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  For ganache

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 3/4 lb fine-quality white chocolate, melted
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  Makes 40 cookies using a 1 3/4-inch fluted round cookie cutter

  Instructions:
  Make dough:

  • Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
  • Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half and form each piece into a 6-inch square, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
  • Dough can be chilled up to 2 days.

  Make ganache while dough chills:

  • Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan, then stir into melted chocolate. Stir in butter and vanilla until smooth. Cover surface with parchment paper and chill, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 30 minutes.
  • Ganache can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with parchment. Bring to room temperature, then beat with mixer before using.

  Cut and bake cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
  • Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into a 14- by 10-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick). Slide dough in parchment onto a tray and freeze until dough is firm, about 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Cut out as many rounds as possible from first chilled square with cutter, reserving and chilling scraps, then quickly transfer cookies to a buttered baking sheet, arranging them 1/2 inch apart. (If dough becomes too soft, return to freezer until firm.)
  • Sprinkle half of cookies with decorative sugar (if using), then bake cookies until baked through and slightly puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on sheet on rack 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely (cookies will crisp as they cool).
  • Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once).

  Assemble sandwich cookies:

  • Beat ganache with an electric mixer at high speed just until light and fluffy. Transfer to a sealable plastic bag (snip off 1/8 to 1/4 inch from 1 corner with scissors). Pipe ganache onto flat sides of plain cookies, then top with sugared cookies to make sandwiches. Chill, layered between sheets of parchment, in an airtight container until filling is set, at least 1 hour.

  • Sandwiched cookies keep, chilled, 4 days.

  recipes by gourmet.com