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Featured Cookbook
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Punishments (Butter Cookies)
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Soft Apple Cakes
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Fresh Strawberry and Orange-Flower Water Marshmallows
Book Description
Dorie Greenspan's most vivid memory of her first trip to Paris doesn't have anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, but rather a heavenly strawberry tartlet. Overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor, texture, and appearance, Greenspan was "hooked on Paris and hooked on the city's sweets." Paris Sweets is the result of 30 years of searching for the most delectable, delicious, awe-inspiring pastries she could find, and then convincing their creators to part with the recipes. Scattered throughout
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Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops
Authors: Dorie Greenspan
Date: November 2002
ISBN: 0767906810
Publisher: Broadway
Hardcover
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Anyone who's ever been to world-renowned bread baker Lionel Poilane's boulangerie on rue du Cherche-Midi remembers the experience for many reasons, not the least among them the sweet little butter cookies that are there for the taking when you reach the counter. The cookies, piled in a basket and replenished, who knows how many times a day, are small and round, with rickrack edges, a pale butter color; and a deep butter flavor. To me, they have always been Proustian: I eat one and immediately remember the butter cookies my maternal grandmother baked every Friday. Given the memories these cookies conjured up for me, I should have guessed that they are, in fact, grandmother cookies. As M. Poilane explained to me, these plain butter cookies had a special name among the grandmothers who made them in Normandy, his birthplace. There, they were called "punitions," or punishments, and, as Poilane tells the story, Norman grannies would tuck these sweet cookies behind their backs and, with a smile and a slight tease in their voices, invite the little ones to come take their punishment. Needless to say, the lucky kids never had to be asked twice.
When Lionel Poilane made these cookies for me in the basement of his shop, he mixed the dough by hand in the time-honored way. He poured the flour onto the marble counter and constructed a wall of flour encircling an empty space, "the fountain," as bakers call it. The sugar went into the fountain, then a small circle of space was created in the center of the sugar; and in went the egg. Using the tips of his fingers, and making sure to keep the flour barrier intact, M. Poilane worked the sugar and egg together until they were light and smooth. Then he put the butter on the sugar and egg and began working it, too, into the dough, squeezing it in his hand and massaging it into the sweetened egg. Finally, working with the lightest touch, he began bringing the flour into the dough, taking a little of the flour from the inner edge of the fountain's walls and working his way out until all the flour was incorporated and the dough just this side of blended. Watching the dough come together was a lesson in deftness and an opportunity to see forty years of experience compressed into three minutes of work.
For sheer sensuality, nothing matches making dough by hand, but you can make perfect dough for these cookies in a food processor. In fact, because the machine works so quickly, it is ideal-use the pulse mechanism and keep your eye on the dough's progress, and you'll achieve the quintessential sandy texture that is the hallmark of these plain cookies.
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1 1/4 sticks (5ounce; 140 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
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Slightly rounded 1/2 cup (125 grams) sugar
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1 large egg, at room temperature
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2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
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Put the butter in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the butter is smooth. Add the sugar and process and scrape until thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the egg and continue to process, scraping the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and satiny. Add the flour all at once, and then pulse 10 to 15 times, until the dough forms clumps and curds and looks like streusel.
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Turn the dough out onto a work surface and gather it into a ball. Divide the ball in half, shape each half into a disk, and wrap the disks in plastic. If you have the time, chill the disks until they are firm, about 4 hours. If you're in a hurry, you can roll the dough out immediately; it will be a little stickier, but fine. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
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Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Working with one disk at a time, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is between 1/8- and 1/4-inch (4 and 7 mm) thick. Using a 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on the lined sheets, leaving about 1-inch (2.5 cm) space between them. (You can gather the scraps into a disk and chill them, then roll, cut, and bake them later.)
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Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are set but still pale. (If some of the cookies are thinner than others, the thin ones may brown around the edges. M. Poilane would approve. He'd tell you the spots of color here and there show they are made by hand.) Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.
Keeping: The cookies can be kept in a tin at room temperature for about 5 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 1 month.
An American in Paris: To make these cookies even more like my grandmother's, I sometimes brush each cut out cookie with a little egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water), then sprinkle the tops with sugar, cinnamon sugar, or poppy seeds before baking.
More From This Book:
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Punishments (Butter Cookies)
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Soft Apple Cakes
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Fresh Strawberry and Orange-Flower Water Marshmallows
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