Mamas French Butter Cookies From Virginia Willis Recipes

FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the butter and shortening on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating on low until well combined.
• On low speed, slowly add the reserved dry ingredients. Beat until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until very firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using an ice cream scoop or a melon baller, take some of the dough and shape it into small 1-inch balls. (Keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator, as it must be kept chilled.) Place the dough balls on an ungreased baking sheet and press with the tines of a fork to flatten. Bake until pale golden, but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheet on a rack. Then, using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

MAMA'S FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES FROM VIRGINIA WILLIS

Steps:

• In a bowl, sift together first four ingredients. Set aside.
• In large bowl, cream butter and shortening on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. add egg and vanilla extract and beat on low until well combined.
• On low speed, slowly add dry ingredients. Beat until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until very firm and cool, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350. Take some of the dough and shape it into 1-inch balls. (Keep remaining dough in the refrigerator, as it must be kept chilled.) Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet and press with the tines of a fork to flatten. Bake until golden, but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheet on a rack. then using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in 2 egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and salt. Divide dough into 2 portions; shape each into a disk. Cover; refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Working with 1 portion of dough at a time, roll to 1/4-in. thickness between parchment. Cut with floured 2-in. round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Whisk remaining egg yolk and water; brush over cookies. Create a cross-hatch design by dragging the tines of a fork across the cookie., Bake until edges are light golden, 12-15 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar with electric mixer equipped with paddle attachment, if you have one.
• Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
• Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
• Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated.
• Roll dough into three 1 1/2" logs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll logs in turbinado or granulated sugar, making sure to coat them evenly.
• Slice logs into 1/4" thick cookies and place on cookie sheet 1" apart.
• Use a skewer or toothpick to make four decorative holes in each cookie, making the cookie appear to be a button.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
• Cool on wire rack.

FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES FROM JOY OF BAKING

Steps:

• In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until blended.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Do not over mix the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough a few times to bring it together, and then divide the dough in half.
• Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least an hour).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a lightly floured 2 inch (5 cm) round fluted cookie cutter, cut out the cookies, placing them on the prepared sheet.
• Place the baking sheet of cut out cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 -20 minutes to chill the dough.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg with the water for the egg wash. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the egg wash.
• Then, with the tines of a fork (or I like to use the end of a toothpick), make a crisscross pattern on the top of each cookie.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes (depending on size of cookie) or until golden brown around the edges.
• Cool cookies on wire rack.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

FRENCH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and light-brown sugar; beat on high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and mix to combine. Add flour and salt, and mix on low speed until flour is incorporated.
• Roll dough into three 1 1/2-inch-diameter logs. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Roll cookie log in sugar, coating it evenly, and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. Place cookies on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Using a cake tester or toothpick, make 4 decorative holes in each cookie. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely on wire racks.

MAMA'S ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH BOURBON CREME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven.
• Sift flour together with 3/4 cup sugar. Repeat process three times; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt on medium speed until foamy. Add vanilla-bean seeds and almond extract. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Continue mixing until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
• Sift enough of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture to lightly dust the top. Gently fold flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Repeat process until all the flour is incorporated into the egg white mixture.
• Gently spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan. With a spatula or knife, using a circular motion, cut through the batter twice to eliminate any large pockets of air. Smooth top to remove any large peaks.
• Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan over a bottle (such as a 2-liter soda bottle or wine bottle) until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
• To serve, set upright, and using a butter knife or a long spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. Slice using a serrated knife or an angel food cake cutter; serve drizzled with bourbon creme anglaise, if desired.