Source: WSJ Yield: approx 32 – 2”cookies
Ingredients
- 155g butter (11 Tbs)
- 67 g granulated sugar (1/3 C)
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 210 g flour (1 -3/4 C)
- 1/2 C decorative sugar (for rolling)
Directions
- Beat butter on medium until soft and whipped, 2-3 mins. Add sugar and beat until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Add flaky sea salt and beat briefly to combine.
- Add flour and beat until almost all flour disappears (dough should be moist but crumbly). Use spatula to scrape bottom of bowl to incorporate.
- Scrape 1/4 dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap to form a 6” log. Repeat until you have 3 logs. Roll logs in sanding sugar and wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can freeze at this point, just thaw for 30 min on countertop when ready to use.)
When ready to bake:
- Preheat oven to 325 deg F.
- Remove plastic wrap and cut dough into 3/8” slices. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake 18-21 mins, rotating halfway through. Cool on sheets 1-2 min before moving to rack to cool completely.
Variations
- Orange Ginger
- In a small bowl, rub 1 Tbs orange zest into granulated sugar
- Beat butter with 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- Toss 1/4 C finely chopped crystallized ginger with flour
- Toss 1/2 tsp orange zest with sanding sugar
- Matcha and White Chocolate
- Reduce flour to 1-1/2 C
- Beat 4 tsp matcha powder into butter-sugar mixture
- Beat 1/2 C finely chopped white chocolate into dough
- Combine sanding sugar with 1/2 tsp matcha
- Strawberry and Black Pepper
- Combine 1/4 C dutch process cocoa powder with flour
- Stir 3 oz finely chopped semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate into dough
- Add a bit of flaky sea salt to sanding sugar
- Apricot, Rose water, and Pistachio
- Beat 2 tsp rose water into butter mixture
- Add 1/2 C finely chopped dried apricots and 1/2 C finely chopped raw pistachios, stir to break up clumps
- Add 2 Tbs finely chopped pistachios to sanding sugar
- Chai Spice
- Combine 1/4 tsp flaky sea salt, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, and 1/8 tsp ground black pepper. Beat into sugar mixture.
- Lightly pulverize 4 tsp loose tea mixture (English Breakfast, Darjeeling, earl grey are good choices) and add to butter mixture.
- Add 2 pinches ground cinnamon to sanding sugar.
- Meyer Lemon and Thyme
- Rub 1 Tbs lemon zest with granulated sugar (or 1-1/2 tsp each lemon and orange zests). Add 1/2 tsp minced thyme leaves to sugar.
- Add 1/2 tsp lemon zest to sanding sugar.
- Turkish Coffee with Cacao Nibs
- Simmer 1 C double strength coffee with 2 Tbs sugar over medium heat until syrup reduces to approx 1-1/2 Tbs. (Alternately, you can mix up an equivalent syrup using coffee syrup or espresso powder, and sugar.) Cool to room temp.
- Add 1/2 tsp ground cardamom to butter mixture. Beat in cooled coffee syrup, then flour, then 1/4 C cacao nibs.
- Add 2 pinches ground cardamom to sanding sugar.
- Lime In The Coconut
- Reduce flour to 1-1/2 C, add 1/2 C unsweetened grated coconut.
- Rub 1 Tbs grated lime zest into sugar.
- Add 1/4 C grated coconut and 1/2 tsp grated lime zest to sanding sugar.
Notes
1/4/26 dough works great for thumbprint cookies. After mixing, form ~Tbs balls and press thumb. Chill 10 min. Fill and bake 325°F 18min
