Homemade Samoas Bars

Girl Scout cookies. Gotta love them. Until you realize you just paid $4 for 5 cookies.

I made these for a potlock, and was told they were better than GS cookies. I used unsweetened coconut, so it was not supersweet like GS cookies, but definitely sweet enough. The original recipe also said to toast the coconut for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Yeah. Don't do that. At 5 minutes, the coconut wasn't really toasted. At 10 minutes, the coconut was extra crispy. Extra crispy coconut is not good coconut. Just hang out close to the oven while toasting, I think I toasted 7 or 8 minutes total, tossing every couple minutes.

Homemade Samoas Bars
Source: bakingbites.com
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for yet an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above, and you won’t quite get the Samoas look, but the results will still be tasty.

Christmas sables

I was asked to make Christmas cookies for a luncheon, and as soon as I read Dorie's suggestion of colored sugar for this recipe, I was sold. I didn't actually try a cookie after it completely cooled (as per her tip that they're better then), but the still-warm ugly cookies were mighty tasty. They were pretty popular though, seeing as most everyone who grabbed one said that they were doing so after hearing other people rave about them. In fact, they ate all my cookies, so I didn't get to taste one.


Source: Dorie Greenspan

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature, plus 1 large egg yolk, for brushing the logs
2 cups all-purpose flour
Decorating (coarse) sugar

Makes about 50 cookies

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add the sugars and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in 2 of the egg yolks, again beating until the mixture is homogenous.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and the counter from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek -- if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple more times; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough and the dough looks uniformly moist. (If most of the flour is incorporated but you've still got some in the bottom of the bowl, use a rubber spatula to work the rest of the flour into the dough.) The dough will not clean the sides of the bowl, nor will it come together in a ball -- and it shouldn't. You want to work the dough as little as possible. What you're aiming for is a soft, moist, clumpy (rather than smooth) dough. Pinch it, and it will feel a little like Play-Doh.

Scrape the dough out onto a smooth work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each piece into a smooth log about 9 inches long: it's easiest to work on a piece of plastic wrap and use the plastic to help form the log. Wrap the logs well and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Remove a log of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Whisk the remaining egg yolk until it is smooth, and brush some of the yolk all over the sides of the dough -- this is the glue -- then sprinkle the entire surface of the log with decorating sugar.

Trim the ends of the roll if they're ragged, and slice the log into 1/3-inch-thick cookies. (You can make these as thick as 1/2 inch or as thin as -- but no thinner than -- 1/4 inch.) Place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between them.

Bake one sheet at a time for 17 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet at the midway point. When properly baked, the cookies will be light brown on the bottom, lightly golden around the edges and pale on top; they may feel tender when you touch the top gently, and that's fine. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest a minute or two before carefully lifting them onto a rack with a wide metal spatula to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining log of dough, making sure the baking sheets are cool before you bake the second batch.

SERVING: Serve these with anything from lemonade to espresso.

STORING: The cookies will keep in a tin at room temperature for about 5 days. If you do not sprinkle the sables with sugar, they can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Because the sugar will melt in the freezer, the decorated cookies are not suitable for freezing.

Playing Around

LEMON SABLES: Working in a small bowl, using your fingers, rub the grated zest of 1 to 1 1/2 lemons (depending on your taste) into the granulated sugar until the sugar is moist and very aromatic, then add this and the confectioners' sugar to the beaten butter. (Sables can also be made with orange or lime zest; vary the amount of zest as you please.)

PECAN SABLES: Reduce the amount of flour to 1 1/2 cups, and add 1/2 cup very finely ground pecans to the mixture after you have added the sugars. (In place of pecans, you can use ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts.) If you'd like, instead of sprinkling the dough logs with sugar, sprinkle them with very finely chopped pecans or a mixture of pecans and sugar.

SPICE SABLES: Whisk 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg into the flour.


Dorie's tips:
* Use fresh butter that is soft, but not at all greasy -- if your butter is sitting in an oily puddle, it's gone too soft and your sables won't have their characteristic sandiness.
* Don't beat the butter (or the butter, sugar and eggs) so enthusiastically that the mixture is light and fluffy. You don't want to beat air into this dough, because it would cause the cookies to puff as they bake in the oven and sink as they cool on the counter.
* Be soft and gentle when you blend in the flour. This is the make-or-break step in the process. With the word "sandy" singing in your head, add the flour all at once and mix it only until it disappears into the dough. To guard against overmixing, you can mix in the last of the flour by hand.
* Shape the dough as the recipe directs and then make sure to give it a good, long chill; it will improve the flavor of the cookies and help them keep their shape under the oven's heat. Try to refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, but know that longer is better.
* Cool the cookies completely before you serve them. As seductive as the smell of warm butter, sugar and flour is, the cookies taste better when they reach room temperature.

Cookies or cheesecake...

That is the question. Or is it? Why choose when you could have both? Martha Stewart's cheesecake thumbprints were perfect for using up half a block of cream cheese left over from the Bavarian cheesecake. The only fault of these bite-sized buttery goodies is that they disappeared too quickly. While I would have preferred a higher cheesecake to cookie ratio, it didn't slow me down any. If I made these again, I would probably double the cookie recipe, triple the cheesecake recipe, and make bigger wells that could hold more cheesecake. But I'm not exactly known for my self-control when cheesecake is involved.

Cheesecake Thumbprints
Source: Martha Stewarts Baking Handbook

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar,
1/4 tsp salt, plus a pinch
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsps sour cream
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups flour

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 1/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt and beat until smooth. Add 1 egg yolk, sour cream, vanilla and beat until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350, with rack in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar on medium speed until well combined, scraping down the side of the bowel as needed. Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt and egg yolk, beat to combine. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour, mixing until combined.

Shape level tablespoons of dough into balls, and place on prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Using the lightly floured end of a think wooden spoon handle (or your thumb), make an indentation in the center of each ball.

Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven and make indentations again. Rotate sheets, return to oven and bake until edges of cookies begin to turn golden, 7-9 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Using a small teaspoon, fill the center of each cookies with about 1 teaspoon cream cheese filling, mounding it slightly. Return cookies to the oven, and bake until the filling is firm, 7-8 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container, layered between wax or parchment paper, at least 4 hours before serving. (Cookies can be refrigerated overnight.)

Lime Meltaway Cookies

I've never particularly been a Martha Stewart fan. I always found her slightly creepy with all her cooking and arts and craftiness. That, and the whole insider trading thing didn't help things either. But recently I find myself flipping through more and more of her books. Because while she's an icon that no normal woman could ever live up to, the woman can cook. And they're normal, easy to follow recipes.

These cookies are good as is, but I'm a child of the Sour Patch Kid and sour Tearjerker candy generation, so I like a little more bite in my sour goodies. I would probably throw in the zest of a third lime next time. Two limes is limey, but not overly tart.

Lime Meltaways
Source: www.marthastewart.com

Ingredients
Makes about 10 dozen
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Intense Chocolate Shock Cookies

If you're going to bake chocolate cookies, you may as well bake CHOCOLATE cookies. How can you go wrong with a recipe that's primarily chocolate with just enough other stuff to call it a cookie? This cookies will buy you the undying love of any true chocolaholic.

Intense Chocolate Shock Cookies
Original source unknown, but revived by baking blonde

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 TBS butter, cut into chunks
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a microwave save bowl combine the chopped chocolate and butter. Heat in microwave stirring every 20 seconds. Heat until almost melted, stirring until smooth and melted. Do NOT overheat chocolate mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy (about 2-4 minutes).
Reduce speed to low and slowly add the melted chocolate mixture. Beat to combine. Add the flour mixture until and mix until just combined.
Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Allow dough to firm up for 10 minutes before baking.
Drop dough by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes or until tops are shiny, center is soft but edges are set. Do NOT overbake. Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.

Almond Crescent Cookies

The best part of making cookies is experimenting with new recipes. Well...the second best. The best part is eating them. Preferably fresh from the oven.

These were simple to make up, and were a nice sandy texture from the ground almonds.

Almond Crescent Cookies
adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook by www.ishotthechef.com

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 c finely ground almonds
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
confectioners sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and the ground almonds and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Slowly mix in the flour until incorporated, but try not to overmix.

3. Make a ball with about 1-2 tbsp of the dough and roll into ovals and then form into crescents. Place onto the parchment lined sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion.

114. Bake for 12-15 minutes until very lightly browned. Cool cookies on the sheet for 1 minute and then remove to a rack to cool completely. When cooled, sprinkle liberally with confectioners sugar.

Makes about 4 dozen small or 2 dozen larger cookies.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

When I saw these pictures last year, I was ready to make an Icebox Cake. However, I didn't want to order the cookies online, nor could I find them locally. So I drooled and moved on. When I saw that Smitten Kitchen had a recipe for the cookies, I was THERE.

What I don't recommend though, is making the cookies in a small blender/food processor. I tried that. It wasn't pretty. The little food processor wasn't big enough for the batter. My kitchen will probably smell good forever though, because of the cocoa/flour powder flying all over the kitchen that I'll never be able to completely clean up. If, however, you're trying to make as big of a mess as you possibly can, then this is the way to do it. In the comments section, Deb of Smitten Kitchen suggested making the cookies in a mixer if you don't have a food processor, you just have to soften the butter a little more. I wish I had read that BEFORE making the cookies.

As soon as I ate one of these, I knew I was in trouble. Within minutes, my first tray of 12 were gone. And I only shared 2 with Tim. They had a deep chocolate flavor, they were rich and buttery like shortbread, and they were slightly caramelized. The first batch was slightly bitter because I overbaked it (I sliced them about 1/8 inch, and baked 13 minutes), but that obviously didn't slow me down any. This morning, I only baked them 10-11 minutes, and they were perfect. I ate the first tray, and used the second tray for pictures.

I still want to make the icebox cake at some point, but it will have to wait. The casualty rate on these cookies is too high, and I've already eaten too many cookies to make a cake. I think I'm going to have to make a double batch in order to have enough cookies to make the cake.

***The notes in the recipe are Deb's. Most of my cookies never inflated and deflated (thus my overbaking them), but baking 10 minutes worked well for me.

Chocolate Wafers
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert

Makes 50 to 60 1 3/4-inch wafers.

1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2.4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (see Note)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl. Pulse several times. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup. With the processor running, add the milk mixture and continue to process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl or a cutting board and knead a few times to make sure it is evenly blended.

Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the log of dough into slices a scant 1/4-inch thick (I went thinner, closer to 1/8 of inch. If you’re trying to emulate the store-bought wafers, slice as thin as you can, and watch the baking time carefully, as it might be less.) and place them one inch apart on the lined sheets (cookies will spread). Bake, rotating the baking sheet from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through baking, for a total of 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will puff up and deflate; they are done about 1 1/2 minutes after they deflate.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on racks, or slide the parchment onto racks to cool completely. These cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks or be frozen for up to two months.

Note: These cookies should crisp as they cool. If they don’t, you’re not baking them long enough, says Medrich — in which case, return them to the oven to reheat and bake a little longer, then cool again.

Chocolate Epiphany

As soon as I saw this book on the shelf, I knew it was coming home with me. Fortunately, I was at the library, so it didn't set me back $35, but it also means I have to give it up in two weeks. :( This book is the stuff chocolate covered dreams are made of. With recipes like Triple Chocolate Financiers, Ganache-Meringue Kisses, Chocolate Churros, Trio of Chocolate Mousse Cake, Gateau de Crepes with Green Tea Cream, how could you not love this book? In his Dark and White Chocolate Napoleon, he uses chocolate covered phyllo dough between layers of chocolate mousse.

While many of the recipes are complicated and read like novels, there are a handful of recipes for the novice baker such as myself. And really, the pictures are so yummy I would still attempt the more complicated recipes.

I made pastry cream earlier today for a Galette des Rois for tomorrow which required just egg yolks, so I decided to make a quick and easy cookie recipe from Chocolate Epiphany to use the egg whites. The cookies have a shiny, crisp exterior, and a soft, warm, chewy center. They do spread, so I could only bake a handful of cookies at a time. And even with a silicon baking mat, they do stick.

Unfortunately, Tim left the camera at work, so no pictures for you. You'll just have to make them yourself if you want to see.

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
Source: François Payard

2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. (1) Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen). (3) Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Cherry Pinwheels

If you like big soft cookies, I have a cookie for you. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of big soft cookies, and I would have preferred a richer, more chocolately flavor. They're fun and very pretty, but not something I have to have again. But, these are my new favorite style of cookie, the slice and bake. I currently have 3 different types of slice and bake cookies in my fridge and freezer, so I can have a variety of fresh baked cookies at a moments notice. Really, does life get better than that?

I omitted the food coloring, but I did find that the marachino cherry syrup stains fingers very nicely. I didn't dry them as well as I should have, so the cherry dough was stickier than the chocolate dough. Fortunately, that didn't seem to make a difference on the final product. And the extra cherry syrup colored the dough sufficiently.

Chocolate-Cherry Pinwheels
Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped and drained on paper towels
3 drops red food color
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions
1. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Place half of dough in another medium bowl.

2. Beat almond extract, cherries and food color into half of dough. Divide cherry dough in half. Wrap each half of cherry dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until firm.

3. Beat vanilla, milk and cocoa into remaining plain dough. Divide chocolate dough in half. Wrap each half of chocolate dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until firm.

4. Place one part of chocolate dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper; roll into 10x7-inch rectangle. Repeat with one part of cherry dough. Refrigerate both about 30 minutes or until firm. Peel top sheets of waxed paper from both doughs. Turn cherry dough upside down onto chocolate dough; roll up doughs together, starting at long side, into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours. Repeat with remaining parts of dough.

5. Heat oven to 350°F. Cut rolls of dough into 1/4-inch slices with sharp knife. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 1 inch apart.









6. Bake 8 to 11 minutes or surface appears dull. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.










Time Saving Tips:
Cookie dough rolls can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.

To freeze cookie dough rolls, wrap in foil or freezer proof wrap. To thaw, let dough stand 15 to 30 minutes until easy to cut into slices.

If you are making more than one batch of these cookies save yourself the hassle of dividing the batter and make your first complete batch cherry flavored and the second chocolate flavored.

Cinnamon Roll cookies

The plague is no fun. Not only am I miserable and coughing up a lung, I can't bake. Well, I can, but I typically bake to taste stuff, and then send the rest to work with Tim. And I personally wouldn't want to eat goodies from a plague-infested home, so I'm not into feeding others right now.

Solution: slice and bake cookies. I can make up the dough, bake a little for me, and throw the rest of the dough in the freezer for a later time.

Cinnamon Roll cookies
Recipe from Paula Dean's Christmas magazine through www.bakeorbreak.com
Dough:
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablesppons chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat together sugar and butter until creamy. Add egg and vanilla.In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to sugar/butter mixture. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle, 18″ x 10″.

Combine all filling ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over cookie dough and press down gently. Beginning with the long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Place seam side down and cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap and/or parchment paper. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.










Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut dough into 1/2-inch slices. On a sprayed/greased/lined baking sheet, place dough slices about 3 to 4 inches apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets, then place on wire racks to cool completely.









***A smart person would cut the log into two, because a clumsy person almost drops the entire log while transporting to the refrigerator. I may also try baking just 8 minutes. After baking 9 minutes, the cookies were warm and slightly crisp and yummy. However, by the time I ate the 6th cookie, they had cooled off, and were crunchier than I like. So either I need to eat faster, or shorten the baking time a smidge. Probably eat faster, I prefer these fresh from the oven.

***1/2/09: Reading comprehension fail! Yesterday I cut the slices about 1/4 inch, so they were rather crispy after baking for 9 minutes. Today I cut them 1/2 inch as the recipe stated, baked about 10 minutes and they were perfect. They spread more than yesterday, but they disappeared just as fast. I also made a quick icing with a little heavy cream, a couple drops of vanilla extract, and enough powdered sugar to thicken.

Brown-Sugar Brown-Butter Shorties

Mmmmm....delicate buttery goodness, with a hint of nutty flavor from the browned butter. And the fragrance....absolutely divine. I'm a sugar fiend though, I think I may sprinkle a little more sugar on top of the dough before baking next time.




Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties
Adapted by smitten kitchen from Gourmet


Makes about 32 cookies

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (flaky salt would be great in these)
Demerara sugar (Sugar in the Raw) or sanding sugar for rolling (optional)

Cut butter into four or five pieces and cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until just combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 12-inch log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, about 1 hour.












Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Unwrap dough and roll it in coarse sugar, if using, and press the granules in with the paper you’d be using to wrap it. Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit on sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool. (Cookies will quite fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool.)

Dough keeps, chilled, up to 1 week, or in the freezer, up to one month. Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.