Breton Sand Cookies

Recipe Ingredients

2 1/3 cups	145g / 5.1oz	All-purpose flour
1 tablespoon	15ml	Double-acting baking powder
8 oz	227g	Unsalted butter - (2 sticks) - softened
3/4 cup	148g / 5.2oz	Sugar - plus
2 tablespoons	30ml	Sugar
1 teaspoon	5ml	Salt
5 teaspoons	25ml	Egg yolks - lightly beaten (large)

Recipe Instructions

Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside for the moment. Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until it is soft and smooth. Add the sugar in a slow, steady stream, followed by the salt, and continue to beat, scraping the bowl as needed, for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture is light, pale, and fluffy. Add the yolks and beat to incorporate. At this point, the mixture should be light, creamy, and satiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working with a large rubber spatula, fold in the sifted dry ingredients, taking special care not to overwork the dough.

Divide the dough in half and, working on a smooth surface, such as marble, mold each half into a log with a diameter of about 1 1/2 inches and a length about 8 inches. The dough is going to be baked inside muffin tins, so you might have to adjust the thickness of the logs to the size of the tins; the logs should be about 1/4- to 1/2- inch slimmer than the muffin cups. (The thickness of the log is more important than its length -- get the diameter right and the length will come along for the roll.) Wrap each log in a double thickness of plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours. (The dough can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for up to a month.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set out one or two muffin tins.

Unwrap one log and, using a sturdy chefs knife, slice the log into 1/3-to 1/2-inch-thick cookies. Put one slice of dough in each cup of the muffin tins. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are just firm. (Frozen cookies may take a minute or two longer.) These cookies are meant to be pale -- don't let them brown; it's okay if the bottoms are lightly browned, but the tops should remain uncolored. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

The dough can be made ahead, wrapped airtight, and kept refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for a month. The baked cookies can be packed in an airtight tin and kept for 3 to 4 days at room temperature.

This recipe yields about 32 cookies.

Source:
Cookbook Digest, May/Jun, 1999

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