Recipe: Red Truck Bakery Birdseed Cookies

RED TRUCK BAKERY BIRDSEED COOKIES

"With no actual birdseed in this recipe, these cookies earned the name because we wanted to create a cookie topped with a medley of the more flavorful seeds we had on hand--black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and aniseed-and they looked like they were covered with birdseed. The seed assortment adds a crunchy quality to the cookies, while the anise imparts a pleasant, slightly licorice tone. They're now one of the most popular cookies at the bakery (my friend Paul Tetreault, the director of Ford' s Theatre in DC, always has a stack of them in his freezer). I'm sure you won't be able to stop pecking away at them, either."

jaj

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup aniseeds
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, until incorporated. Add the vanilla . Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing down to adhere to the surface of the dough, and chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

In a large bowl, mix together the white and black sesame seeds, aniseeds, and poppy seeds. Portion out 2 rounded tablespoons of dough and, using your hands, form them into balls. Roll the dough balls through the seeds to coat. Place the cookies on two ungreased baking sheets and push down with your palm to flatten them into discs about 3 inches in diameter.

Bake the cookies for 14 minutes, turning the baking sheets after 7 minutes, until very lightly browned on the edges. Transfer the cookies to a raised wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight jar or plastic bag for up to 3 days, or freeze in a plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Makes 24 cookies
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Gold-Standard Recipes from America's Favorite Rural Bakery Hardcover by Brian Noyes and Nevin Martell