Vanilla Cookies

Vanilla Cookies

I am on a mission to find good cookies recipes. Cookies that don’t taste like sugar mixed with flour. Perhaps I already mentioned that so far the best source was Cook’s Illustrated and this is the case this time. These cookies have nice buttery flavor and very sandy texture, which causes them to just melt down in the mouth. And this beautiful vanilla smell! Definitely this recipe will stay on my secret list of the best cookies recipes. Try also Almond Cookies, which are the best cookies ever.

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 sticks butter, softened
• 1/3 cup plus table spoon sugar
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 large egg white + 1 tbs water
• 4 tsp coarse sugar

Instructions:

1. Cook the egg: cover egg with water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water starts boiling remove pan from the heat and let sit for ~10 minutes. After that time discard hot water and pour ice water to the pan. Let egg sit in it for additional 5 minutes. Peel the egg, discard or eat 🙂 the white, preserve the cooked yolk.
2. Press yolk through the mesh strainer into a small bowl – this may take ~5 minutes to do.
3. Place sugar, salt, butter and yolk in the mixing bowl and start beating, until light and fluffy. About ~4minutes.
4. Decrease mixer speed to low and add vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
5. Scrape down the bowl, start mixer at low speed and gradually add the flour. Mix just until it’s incorporated.
6. Divide the dough in half and roll into two logs. Wrap it in parchment paper and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. Start preheating the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Remove the dough logs from the fridge. Working one at a time slice even portion of the cookie dough and place them on a baking sheet OR you can roll each piece of the dough and shape it into pretzel or other shapes that you like.
9. Brush the cookies with egg white mixture: beat with a fork egg white and water.
10. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
11. Bake the cookies for ~15 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. Rotate baking sheets halfway through baking.

Yield: ~48 cookies as pictured OR ~80 small cookies

Nutritional Info (3 cookies as pictured): Cal 127, Prot 1g, Carb 13g, Fat 8g, Fiber 0g

Vanilla Cookies