Have you ever eaten something, and after the first bite you knew that you would spend the rest of your life trying to find that heavenly flavor again? I had that experience in December of 2008. A coworker gave me a little Christmas tin of her mother's signature cookies. There were maybe 8 or 10 little Christmas-tree-shaped cookies and they were... *sigh* ...life changing. Chase can't remember the heavenly flavor, which simply means that I hid the little golden nuggets from him and consumed them all myself - they were that good!
I kid you not, I have spent hours on the internet at various points over the past 4 years trying to find the recipe. But, you wonder to yourself, Steph, why didn't you just ask your coworker for the recipe? Yes. Yes, that's a good idea. However, my coworker's mother made them - a family recipe - that was not to be shared outside of the family.
Really? you wonder. Really. I begged. I pleaded. I groveled. I whined. I wished. I prayed. I dreamed. I salivated. All to no avail - I walked away from that Christmas knowing the flavor of Heaven, but unable to recreate it. This family is as serious about cookies as I am (except they protect their recipes - I like to share mine).
Now, I consider myself something of a cookie connoisseur. I know a good cookie when I see/taste it. I specialize, generally, in the heavy, moist, gooey, rich, classics like chocolate chip, monster, peanut butter, and chocolate sandwich. But my versions of these classics all have a little something to make them special. I like the concept of the annual Christmas cookie exchange, but I actually don't like the practice, because it's rare to find cookies as good as mine. (Also, I'm very humble about my cookies.) I put my heart and soul into my baking, and I don't waste time making stuff that is mediocre. My recipes are top notch - at least in my book. :)
So yesterday when I, again, searched for "flaky Christmas sandwich cookie," I wasn't very optimistic. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but 286,000 search results, the fourth of which shone from the screen like a beacon. From the website "Tasty Kitchen," a blessed baker by the tag of "lisaslater" posted a recipe titled, "Cream Sandwich Cookies." Oh. My. Word. It's them.
I know you're wondering what they look like, so here they are:
They look innocent. They look homely. They look plain. They're only about an 1.5 x 1.5 inches. But they are 1.5 square inches of pure taste bud ecstasy. There's a cake out there called "Better than Sex Cake." These are SO much better than that - if you can even begin to imagine!
The top and bottom cookie part is actually more of a pastry/pie crust-type of square. The green in the middle is such a rich frosting that a tiny bit goes a long way. But, you're wondering, Steph, what are they made of, and how can I, too, enjoy this little piece of Heaven? Well, my friend, you are in luck! As they are NOT a family recipe, and as I am not of the habit to hide my recipes, here it is:
Swedish Tea Cookies
For the cookies:
1 cup butter (softened)
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups sifted flour
Granulated sugar for sprinkling
Mix together the butter, cream and flour. (It will be like a pie crust dough.) Place flattened baseball-sized portion between 2 layers of wax paper and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Repeat with rest of dough and refrigerate.
Once chillded, remove wax paper from one side and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Replace waxed paper and press down to help sugar stick. (You want the sugar to all stick, but you don't want to skimp on the sugar either!) Repeat sugar sprinkling on other side of dough. Turn onto cutting board and cut into 1.5 inch squares - I used my pizza cutter. (If I can find a cookie cutter that wouldn't waste any of the dough, I might try cutting them with a cookie cutter next time instead of just squares - it would be more festive, but I don't want to waste a crumb of this dough!)
Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Prick each square 3 x with a fork. Bake for 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Baked cookies should be puffy but not brown. Carefully move to wire rack to cool.
For the frosting:
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla (or 1/4 tsp almond extract - I used vanilla)
Mix butter, powdered sugar, and egg yolk. Add vanilla. Put the frosting on the cookies to make sandwich cookies and enjoy!
These are delicate, light, sinfully buttery... *sigh* Heavenly. Seriously. I don't rave about food very often at all. You NEED to try these. They're worth the effort (and the calories). Merry Christmas, and happy baking!
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