Sesame Brown Sugar Shortbreads

This recipe originally appeared in the Barbara Tropp's China Moon cookbook. The recipe calls for dark brown sugar but I've made them with light brown sugar and the results are excellent. You need quite a few sesame seeds for this recipe so you want to get them at an Asian market. They are a fraction of the price of a grocery store.


¼ lb. Cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
¼ cup Dark brow sugar
1 cup All purpose flour
¼ cup (more or less) sesame seeds

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth. (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the flour and mix until well blended about 2 minutes.

Gather the dough unto a ball and flatten slightly. Lightly dust a large piece of parchment with flour and roll out into an 11X9 rectangle ¼ inches thick.

Lightly brush the dough with water using a pastry brush and then evenly sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. I generally lightly roll the seeds into the dough with the rolling pin. Cover and refrigerate until firm ( about an hour)

Preheat the oven to 350° Line large baking sheets with parchment. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter cut the dough into 9 1" strips and then crosscut the strips into 1½" pieces. Place them ½" apart on the prepared cookies sheets.

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 15 to 17 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack still on the cookie sheets.

Browned Butter Brown Sugar Shorties

Browned Butter Brown Sugar Shorties
Book: steve's recipes 3

Chapter: Cookies
Serves: 36

This shortbread cookie recipe was posted on CL 22 by claymonkey, linked to smittenkitcen.com crediting as being adapted from Gourmet.

People had trouble with texture and difficulty in baking these.

I have reworked and modified the recipe, keeping most of smittenkitchen.com's text.

This modified recipe seems to work very well.

They are NOT diabetic friendly.

8 ounces unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups AP flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)

Kosher Salt to finish the roll

Demerara or other coarse sugar to finish roll

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 (cream) together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.

Beat in vanilla and egg, then mix in flour, corn starch and salt at low speed until just combined.

Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 18-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 and Kosher salt and press the granules in with the paper you’d been using to wrap it.

Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on an un-greased 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.

NUTRITION FACTS Amount per Serving

Calories 57

Calories From Fat 16 %

Total Fat 2g 3%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Cholesterol 8mg 3%

Sodium 31mg 1%

Total Carbohydrate 10g 3%

Dietary Fiber 0g 0%

Sugars 5g

Protein 0g

Vitamin A 1%

Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 0%

Iron 1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

GREEK WEDDING COOKIES

1# unsalted butter
1/2C confectioners sugar
1 jigger brandy
2t almond extract
2t rose water
11/2t baking powder
1C chopped walnuts or almonds or combo - finely ground but not to a powder
Flour???

Cream butter and sugar in mixer
Add other ingredients - let it incorporate and now start adding flour
At least 3 cups to start with
Remove from mixer to a large mixing bowl and start adding flour - a 2# bag should do it, but have some extra on hand - knead flour in until it is a soft dough - not sticky
You may need more or less flour

Form cookies by hand - rounds
Place on sprayed cookie sheets - bake at 375' for 15-20 min
Do not let brown
When cool enough to handle, roll cookies in bowl filled with 10X powder and place in cookie cups
Makes 60 pieces

Dolmas Family Recipe

Lemon Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled
1 1/4 cups sugar
Grated peel of 2 lemons, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 3 large cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper; set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, 1 cup sugar, the lemon peel and juice until fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and combine.

2. Chill the dough until firm enough to handle. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls, then roll in the sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheets a few inches apart. Bake until golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheets to racks to cool completely.

Some notes: I found this recipe on the food forum and it evidently had been published in the Rachael Ray food magazine. The original recipe didn't call for vanilla, but in tasting the dough before baking it was definitely flat. Also make the cookies smaller than you think. The 1st tray I made the same size as I usually do snickerdoodles and they spread into each other. Also parchment only works marginally.. Silpats are much better. It also doesn't say to chill the dough but I found it was too soft to roll in sugar without chilling.