Our life revolves around bread and butter.
Bread is now just graduating from an yeasty dough to a SourDough.
And butter is damning the cookies to stay on in our bodies in adipose fatty tissues and in the form of cellulite .
Crazy ,isn't it all?
On the one side we're trying to reduce all processed food and go back to nature and on the other hand we indulge excessively.Binge actually.
On chocolate.Somehow , I can't let go. And just because you are reading this... I know you can't either.
So , butter cookies.
At that time, there was almost 1.5 kg of amul butter in my fridge. I had been planning to make desi ghee or clarified butter. But the butter cookies called first.
They were pretty, but looked kind of like Ugly Betty.
So we decided to jazz them up a bit.
Dipped into melted chocolate to which I added oil based raspberry extract.
And of course some sprinkles.
A super simple butter cookie for which I used a Ruler.
Yup.
These are super easy and easy to remember too.
You can frost with royal icing too.
For the
Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies
You need
1.5 cups maida or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
115 gms or 1/2 cup soft amul butter( if you're using unsalted butter add 1/4 tsp salt)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup or 115 gms sugar -grind in mixer jar or use icing sugar
Some coarsely powdered sugar for dusting
For dipped chocolate
125 gms dark chocolate
Oil based essence -I used raspberry -optional
Sprinkles and sea salt
In a large bowl place the butter and the sugar. You can beat it with a paddle attachment or with an electric whisk or with a wooden spoon. Just beat it till its nice and fluffy and pale and you cant feel the sugar grains.
Add in the vanilla and the milk , whisking it all into one homogeneous mix.
Beta the egg and add only half. This is Alton Brown's recipe that I have modified to suit Indian ingredients and weather and humidity etc. So that's why ,only half of the egg.
Sift in the flour , baking powder and salt if you are using it. Mix it in with a spatula to get a soft dough.
Divide it into two and wrap with cling film and chill for 2 hours.
Since I made double the dough,I used a full egg.
After 2 hours, preheat oven to 175C.
Place cling film or parchment paper on the counter and sprinkle coarsely ground sugar. Place one half of the dough. Cover with film or paper and then roll out to 1/4 inch thick .... to an almost rectangle.
Use your steel ruler and pizza cutting wheel to make 3/4 inch by 3 inch cookies .
Gather scraps and reroll. You've not altered the flour butter ratio so you can reroll as many times.... but be miserly with the extra sugar. You'll be adding chocolate and sprinkles.
Oh ,I rolled out cookies to cut out hearts and shamrocks and tulips too.
Place on paper or foil lined cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes till they are just beginning to brown around the edges.
Be sure to rotate the trays midway.
When you are baking cookies , use a timer on your phone.
Never , ever walk away from cookies.
Bring them out while they are still soft. Let them sit on the cookie sheet 2 minutes and then simply transfer to wire rack.
Allow them to cool 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, place the chopped chocolate and microwave at 40% power in spurts till the chocolate is melted.
Place the sprinkles in another bowl.
Make sure the cookie monsters aka children are not around...Assembly line production here.
Dip halfway into chocolate, shake off excess, dip into sprinkles ,place on parchment paper or film.
Sprinkle a bit of sea salt if you are using it now.
Allow the chocolate to set.
And serve with a glass of milk.
Use the cookie to stir the milk....so there'll be cookie and chocolate and chocolate and cookies in the milk.
And many happy contented faces.
Oh they go superbly with coffee.
If you're catering to adults... go easy on the sprinkles and concentrate on the salt.
There's something insane about salt and chocolate.
Forbidden fruit???
I generally make this on autopilot. And they are perfect, every time.
You have to try them.
And if you don't eat egg, replace that with milk. Simple.
So what are you baking today???
