Bon Appetit Desserts (160 page)

It is especially important to use parchment paper when baking these Florentine-style lace cookies—they are a cross between a cookie and candy, so they tend to be sticky and would otherwise be difficult to remove from the baking sheet. Lining baking sheets with parchment paper creates a nonstick surface, protects the cookie bottoms from burning, and ensures easy cleanup.
Makes about 1½ dozen

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

⅓ cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

⅓ cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup coarsely ground pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon orange juice

¾ teaspoon finely grated orange peel

COOKIES
: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir butter, sugar, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Add pecans and vanilla; stir to combine.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until bubbling and lightly browned, about 11 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes. Carefully transfer to rack; cool completely.

FILLING
: Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread 1 teaspoon filling onto bottom of 1 cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature.

Vanilla Crescents with Pistachio Filling

Tender crescent-shaped pastry encloses a filling that resembles marzipan in texture, but has a delicate pistachio flavor. The filling, pastry, and aromatic vanilla sugar can all be made ahead, but the cookies are best eaten the same day they’re baked.
Makes 2 dozen

¾ cup sugar

1 2-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise, chopped

1 cup unsalted natural pistachios

1 large egg white

1 drop of vanilla extract

1 drop of almond extract

1¼ cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour (sifted, then measured)

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

⅓ cup sour cream

1 large egg yolk

1 egg yolk, beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

VANILLA SUGAR
: Mix sugar and vanilla bean in processor 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to scrape down sides of bowl. Spoon into jar and seal tightly. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 day.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store at room temperature.

FILLING
: Sift vanilla sugar through fine strainer set over small bowl. Combine pistachios, 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar, egg white, vanilla extract, and almond extract in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until chunky paste forms, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Transfer filling to bowl.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

DOUGH
: Place flour and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add sour cream and egg yolk; using on/off turns, blend until small moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap; flatten into disk. Wrap and chill at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly butter parchment. Divide dough disk in half. Wrap and chill 1 half. Shape remaining dough half into round. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar on work surface. Place dough round atop sugar. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar over. Roll dough out to 12-inch round, about ⅛ inch thick, sprinkling top and bottom of dough round with 2 tablespoons more vanilla sugar while rolling. Using fluted pastry cutter, cut dough round into 12 wedges. Shape half of pistachio filling by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls into 12 ovals. Set 1 oval at base of each wedge. Roll wedges up from base to point to form cylinder. Arrange cylinders on prepared baking sheet. Form into horseshoes (crescents will form while baking). Repeat with remaining dough half, vanilla sugar, and filling. Bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar into glaze.

Brush glaze lightly over hot crescents. Continue baking until light golden, about 5 minutes. Slide parchment with crescents onto rack and cool 5 minutes. Remove crescents from parchment and cool completely on rack.

DO AHEAD
:
Crescents can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Hazelnut-Apricot Windows

These shortbread-like cookies are inspired by the Austrian Linzertorte, which also features a jam filling inside a buttery crust flavored with nuts and lemon peel. Dividing the dough into four equal parts and working with only one portion at a time ensures that the dough remains properly chilled for easy rolling. The cookies work just as well with raspberry, cherry, or plum preserves.
Makes about 4 dozen

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked

1 tablespoon plus ⅔ cup sugar

14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

½ teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2⅔ cups unbleached all purpose flour

Apricot preserves

Powdered sugar

Combine hazelnuts and 1 tablespoon sugar in processor; grind nuts finely. Using electric mixer, beat remaining ⅔ cup sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in hazelnut mixture, then egg, egg yolk, lemon peel, lemon extract, salt, and cinnamon. Beat in flour. Gather dough into ball. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Flatten each into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 dough disk between sheets of parchment paper to scant ¼-inch thickness, sprinkling dough with flour to prevent sticking and occasionally peeling off top parchment to remove wrinkles. Peel off top sheet of parchment. Using 2-inchdiameter fluted pastry cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing ½ inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll, cutting out more cookies and placing on baking sheets. Using 1-inch-diameter fluted pastry cutter, cut out centers from half of cookies, making rings. Gather centers as scraps. Bake cookies 5 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and bake cookies until light golden, about 6 minutes longer. Cool cookies on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Arrange whole cookie rounds on work surface. Drop generous ½ teaspoon preserves in center of each. Arrange cookie rings on work surface. Sift powdered sugar over. Place 1 cookie ring atop each whole cookie round, forming sandwich with preserves in cutout center.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight containers between sheets of waxed paper in refrigerator

Lemon-Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies

These are wonderful sugar cookies with the crunch of poppy seeds and a lemony cream cheese filling. Assemble the sandwiches shortly before serving to keep them crisp. If you like, skip the filling and serve the tasty cookies on their own. If you can’t find a fluted pastry cutter, use a plain round cutter; the only thing that will be missing is the scalloped edge.
Makes about 2 dozen

2¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1¼ cups sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon lemon extract

8 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese room temperature

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon lemon extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

COOKIES
: Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in egg, then poppy seeds, lemon peel, and both extracts. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each in plastic and chill 2 hours.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to ⅛-inch thickness. Using 2½-inch-diameter fluted pastry cutter, cut out cookies. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather dough scraps; reroll and cut out more cookies. Chill cookies on baking sheets 15 minutes.