Viennesebiscuitscookies Recipes

VIENNESE BISCUITS (COOKIES)

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar thoroughly.
• Add sifted drinking chocolate and flour.
• Mix well to form a soft dough.
• Pipe onto greased or lined oven trays using a 1cm star nozzle - or roll into small balls.
• Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.
• When cold, dust with icing sugar or extra drinking chocolate.

VIENNESE VANILLA COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and add sugar. Add 1/2 cup of flour mixing after each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Shape into a disk and then chill for 30 minutes. You can also put the dough in the freezer at this point.
• Begin to roll the dough the dough so that it is about 1/4-inch thick or a little more. Cut with cookie cutters. Place dough on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet. I prefer using parchment paper. It's just easier.
• Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the edges are a bit brown. You may need to lower your oven to 325 degrees F.
• You can also freeze or chill the dough in a log shape rather than a disk. If you do this, simply cut small rounds about 1/4 inch thick and place these rounds on the lined cookie sheet. These bake for 15 minutes. (This works well, if you want to transport dough to a friend's house and have kids form the cookies.)
• Once the cookies come out of the oven, either cool them on the cookie sheet or move the parchment paper to a cookie rack. As the cookies cool, but before they're fully cooled, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
• Arrange on a plate and don't blink because they'll disappear before you open your eyes. Eat.
• That's the classic Brown family cookie. Without it Christmas simply isn't Christmas. Sometimes I bring a batch from my Chicago home and that simply doesn't work. My sister and mother are upset that the house doesn't smell like Christmas...no cookie smell in the air. I'm often required to make many batches...and the cookies are eaten at all times
• and for all meals.
• These were the cookies we left for Santa...He regularly gobbled them up, leaving only a few crumbs on the plate and a note that said, "These are excellent cookies, the best I've had." In retrospect, the writing looked an awful lot like my father's... If they're good enough for Santa, I think they're good enough for anyone.

VIENNESE WHIRLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk for about 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again until fully incorporated.
• Sift in the flour, cornflour and baking powder, and fold into the mixture using a spatula until combined (the dough should have a tacky consistency). Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star-shaped nozzle. If all the mixture doesn't fit, do it in 2 batches.
• Pipe swirly circles 5cm diameter onto 2 baking sheets making sure there are 3cm spaces between each swirl.
• Bake for 10-12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through the cooking time so the biscuits are evenly baked, until pale golden and cooked through. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few mins, then transfer to wire racks.
• While the biscuits cool, make the filling. Put the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Stir together initially with a wooden spoon then switch to electric beaters or a whisk to get the buttercream fluffy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and beat once more to combine. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and snip off the end.
• Turn the biscuits over so their flat side is facing up then pipe buttercream over half of the biscuits and spread a little jam on the rest. Sandwich a jam covered biscuit together with a buttercream one and repeat until all the biscuits are used up.

VIENNESE SHORTBREAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add essence.
• Beat well.
• Fold in sifted flours and salt.
• Fill into piping bag fitted with fluted tube.
• Pipe into straight lengths or different shapes on greased oven tray.
• Bake in a moderate oven for 12- 15 minutes or until golden.
• Cool on tray.
• Leave plain or dip one end in about 125 gm (4oz) of melted dark chocolate for a pretty effect.
• Serve and enjoy!