Hey, carlo - two questions. 1) Are these donuts (sans jelly) anything like beignets? and; 2) Do you have any tips for making miniature cookies? I'm thinking about setting aside a day to make 1 1/4 -2 inch holiday cookies - sent away for about half dozen miniature cookie cutters. But what about cooking time for these little things? What's best butter cookie recipe you know of? Frosting? Decorating tips?
No, these are a bit more bready than beignets which have more air in them..
2) Do you have any tips for making miniature cookies?
..a..er.. OK, .. MAKE THEM SMALL... :^)~
Easy is alway the Best Butter CookiesPreheat oven to 375°F.
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (I use only the egg yolks)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix well.
Divide dough into four portions. Roll out one portion at a time on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut into shapes with floured cutters and place 1inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.
Makes 60 cookies.Insider info.. The butter should be unsalted, which always has a fresher dairy taste. Besides, like almost all recipes, the amount of salt called for assumes you'll use sweet, unsalted butter.
Be sure to cream the butter and sugar well enough to blend them thoroughly but not so much that the mixture is mushy-soft and greasy looking. Next add the remaining ingredients (except for the filling) and mix only until you get a uniformly colored dough. The dough should be slightly firm, not hard. If it's too soft and sticky, refrigerate it for several minutes; do not add more flour. Use only egg yolks; I once tried the recipe with whole eggs and the cookies were granular and weirdly shaped.
To form each cookie, pick up rounded tablespoon size lumps of dough and gently roll them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Don't handle the dough too much, or the cookies will harden. Flatten the balls, then press the center with your thumb (I use my index finger) to make a hollow for the filling. Place each cookie on an ungreased cookie sheet, then load the centers with your choice of filling. Lekvar or fruit butters are ideal because they don't run, but you can use preserves, chocolate chips, chopped nuts or dried fruit.
You can do amazing things with this simple recipe: Use almond extract instead of vanilla; add freshly grated lemon or orange peel; add about a cup of finely grated, sweetened coconut; or 3/4 cup toasted ground almonds.
You can roll the dough to make cutout cookies of various shapes. In that case, refrigerate the dough for at least a half-hour before you roll it. For crisp cookies, roll the dough 1/8-inch thick; for softer cookies, make it 1/4-inch thick.
You can form the dough into logs to make "refrigerator" cookies. Chill the logs thoroughly, then slice them into rounds for baking. You can roll the log in chopped nuts before you refrigerate it; in that case the wafers bake with a crumbly, attractive nut-flavored edge.
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies add cocoa powder and melted chocolate to the basic dough. There's a vanilla icing between the layers; you could also add a film of raspberry preserves. If you prefer, serve these cookies as wafers, iced with fancy decorations or dipped in chocolate or fondant.
The Raspberry-Almond Cookies are bar-type cookies, made in one sheet, then cut into squares. For these, simply press the dough evenly into a cookie sheet, Bake the dough to harden it a bit, then layer the remaining ingredients on top. You are not limited to raspberry preserves -- use any flavor that suits your fancy.
ENJOY!