1 1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
2 1/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 milk or whipping cream, if necessar, y
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, 1/2 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 1 1/2 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 1/2
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 1/2 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
Servings: 30 servings
1995 2nd Place: Brown Butter Maple Spritz Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beverage; Candy
The History of Recipes
It is possible to track the history of `recipes` back into the distant past, in truth as far back into recorded history as the early Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, sadly, these early cook books were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to food historians is a series of clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful. As we move on, we find two books which date from the 14th Century : a cookery book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these two books have no connection with the spicy food that is served today, but instead descriptions of the types of food on the tables of the upper classes. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods, spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices like coriander, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes led to an explosion in books on cooking, the majority of which are kept safe in private collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the rich families of Europe tried to serve up the best banquets, and as a consequence, cooks and their collection of recipes were highly sought after. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 1800s that formal cookery and cookery books reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, spent years to collating, verifying, and writing down recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the arrival of the 1900s, cooking publications are increasing in popularity due to more people being able to read, more spare time and being a little richer. The arrival of TV gave us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing us all to search through massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this 1995 2nd Place_ Brown Butter Maple Spritz recipe.
