Source: The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg
Makes 72 servings.
Preparation time: 1 hour
Tips: Cookies have a mysterious hollow center.
Ingredients
Preparation
26 ounces granulated sugar (3 1/4 cups approx.)
16 ounces unsalted butter, softened (4 sticks)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 ounces bread flour (3 1/4 cups unsifted)
1 teaspoon ammonium carbonate, see note (1 & 2)
1. Combine the sugar, butter, and vanilla, mixing until well blended.
2. Sift the flour with the ammonium carbonate and incorporate into the butter mixture.
3. Divide the dough into three 18 ounce pieces. Roll each piece into a 20-inch rope. Roll of cookies may be refrigerated at this point for later baking, up to 4 days or so. Cut each rope into 24 (for 3" diameter cookies) or 48 (for 2" diameter cookies) equal slices and roll the slices into round balls.
4. Place the balls of dough on sheet pans. Air tray works well. Cookies will expand and puff during baking, leave spaces. Flatten each piece slightly using the palm of your hand.
5. Bake at 300 F degrees in middle rack of oven until the cookies are light, golden brown, about 30 minutes for 3" cookies, about 18 minutes for 2" cookies. When cooled store in air tight container.
Cookies are very crisp and buttery. Very sweet too.
NOTES : 1) These cookies can alternatively be made using baking powder instead of ammonium (use 1 teaspoon baking powder), but the cookies will be a lot less "dreamy" with only a tiny hollow center.
2) Ammonium carbonate can be obtain from baking specialty stores. Ammonium carbonate causes the cookies to puff up. which creates a hollow space in the center, but they will fall easily if they are removed from the oven before they are done, or if the oven door is opened early while they are baking.
Great cookies to dunk in milk. While the center fills up with milk, because of it's high sugar content the cookie will remain crisp.
Makes 72 (3" cookies) or 144 (2" cookies)
Vanilla Dreams
Crispy and Hollow
