1995 2nd place: brown butter maple spritz
30 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|---|
| 1¼ | cup | Unsalted butter |
| 1 | cup | Confectioners' sugar |
| 2 | teaspoons | Pure vanilla extract |
| 1¼ | teaspoon | Salt |
| 1 | Egg | |
| 2 | Egg yolks | |
| 2¼ | cup | Unsifted all-purpose flour |
| ½ | cup | Pure maple syrup |
| Milk or whipping cream, if necessary |
Directions
1. To brown the butter, melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. When fully melted, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the butter turns a medium brown and smells nutty. Measure out 1 cup to use for cookies and reserve the rest for the filling. Refrigerate until firm but not solid, about 30 minutes.2. For cookies, heat oven to 325 degrees. Have ready a cookie press and ungreased baking sheet(s).
3. Beat the 1 cup brown butter, ½ cup of the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and egg yolks and mix to combine. Stop mixer and add flour; mix on low speed just until flour disappears.
4. Transfer dough to a cookie press and press onto baking sheet in desired shapes, spacing them 1½ inches apart. Bake until set, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. For filling, cook maple syrup in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over high heat for 5 minutes. Cool to lukewarm then stir in remaining ½ cup confectioners' sugar. Beat the reserved brown butter in a food processor or a small bowl of electric mixer until light. Add the syrup mixture and beat until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a small amount of milk or cream until it is spreadable.
6. Assemble cookies by spreading about ½ teaspoon filling on the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with another cookie.
Second-place winner in the 1995 Chicago Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest: by Sarah Frudden of Chicago