Another delicious National Day – National Cookie Day! I love the open ended attitude of the day – no particular type of cookie, just a cookie. My favorite cookies are sugar cookies. You can roll sugar cookie dough. You can make cut out cookies, drop cookies, thumbprint cookies. Best of all you can Brûlée the cookie.
One of my favorite desserts is Crème Brûlée. When we were in Bora Bora I practically lived on Vanilla Crème Brûlée, made with Tahitian Vanilla Bean. Oh my word, that was good! No surprise that a cookie made with a real Vanilla Bean and caramelized sugar would be my nominee for National Cookie Day.
The best part about this cookie recipe is that it can be done in stages, with plenty of “down time” for other things.
Vanilla Crème Brûlée Cookies
1 cup unsalted Butter, softened
2 large Vanilla Beans
3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Table Salt
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
2 large Whole Eggs
2 large Egg Yolks
1/3 cup additional Sugar for Caramelizing
Set the butter out early to soften. Split the vanilla bean with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. Set seeds aside on a piece of parchment paper.
Sift the flour into a medium size bowl. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Set flour mixture aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of the sugar and the vanilla seeds to the creamed butter. Beat on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. While the sugar blends with the butter, separate two egg, discarding the whites or saving for another use. Add two whole eggs and the yolks one at a time to the butter, mixing until blended after each addition. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended, about 1 minute.
Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic as an aid, gently knead into a smooth dough (the dough will be soft). Shape into a 12-inch round log about 3 inches in diameter and wrap in the plastic. If possible, cut an empty paper towel roll open. Gently rest the dough in the roll and refrigerate until chilled and very firm, about 4 hours.
Note: The dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners. Set aside.
Place the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small bowl.
Remove dough from the refrigerator, remove the paper towel roll. Cut the dough into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Gently press one side of each cookie into the sugar to coat completely. Arrange the cookies sugar side up about 1 inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. Save the rest of the sugar for decorating the cookies. Bake, one sheet at a time, until golden-brown, 11 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Note: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up 3 days before proceeding.
Once baked and cooled, dip the sugared side of the cookies for a second time into the remaining sugar. Arrange the cookies sugar side up on a flameproof work surface. Pass the flame of a small kitchen torch over the cookie tops until evenly caramelized. Let cool completely, about 3 minutes, before serving.
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What a great idea!
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