Butter Cookies, Sweet or Savory
Cookies, of course, are a great gift food. Every sane person loves them, they transport from stoop to stoop well, and they are a great way to highlight local Wisconsin ingredients. They don’t have to be fancy either. I have had a simple butter cookie—made with that yummy Organic Valley cultured butter—on my pop up menu from the beginning and it’s always been one of my most popular items. I was thinking about that cookie the other day: It’s got a nice tender crumble and a rich buttery flavor that would work well with many ingredient combinations. I wondered: Could you adapt the recipe so that it could serve as a base for sweet or savory applications (kind of like how I treat my compound butters)? Intrigued by the idea, and by the thought of having buttery cheddar biscuits at hand to nibble on, I decided to give it a shot.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter
1 egg yolk
+ see recipe variations for additional ingredient suggestions
Directions
Whisk flour, powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Beat butter and a scant ⅓ cup (65 g) sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add yolk to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium low until just combined.
Using plastic wrap, shape into a log then roll in turbinado sugar to coat. Rewrap, then chill or freeze until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 350°. Take the dough out and leave it on counter until you can slice it cleanly.
Evenly place ¼ - ½ -inch thick slices of dough on a parchment covered sheet pan and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
Suggestions
Variation #1: Cherries and Cardamom
Add 2 teaspoons cardamom to dry ingredients and ¼ cup chopped dried cherries to mixed dough.
Variation #2: Zesty Cheddar Biscuits
Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne, ¼ teaspoon sharp paprika, and ½ teaspoon dry mustard (such as Coleman’s) to dry ingredients. Replace sugar with 4 oz finely shredded sharp cheddar. Roll in dough log in walnuts, pecans, or hickory nuts.
Variation #3: Herbed Cream Cheese Biscuits
Replace sugar with 4 oz cream cheese. Add 3 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme and rosemary) to dough and combine. Roll in remaining herbs and sliced almonds or chopped hazelnuts. Maybe sprinkle sliced dough with sea salt before baking.
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