Vanilla Wafers

hisfavoritemavis's Note:

I don't know why these cookies are so delicious. They don't have any exciting ingredients, just a lot of butter. The recipe comes from my Williams and Sonoma "Essentials of Baking" cookbook. I don't typically like "dry" or "sandy" cookies, but in this case, I can't keep my hands off them.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 15

Yield: 65.0 cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
2. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended.
3. Add the flour and mix until incorporated and a smooth dough forms.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a log 7 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
5. Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Using a sharp knife, cut each unwrapped log crosswise into slices 1/4 inch thick. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes until the edges and bottoms are golden. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Reviews

[mamapantalones]

These cookies are fabulous!! My two year old and I are devouring them today!! I LOVE that there are 4 rolls to refrigerate. I baked off 2 today and froze the other 2 for another day :) I also added one packet of Oetker's Vanilla Sugar to the dough.

[Marie Nixon]

Very easy to put together and the taste is terrific.

[twissis]

Like another reviewer, I live where we can't find traditional Vanilla Wafers & I learned to live w/it til I needed 2 1/4 cups of crumbs for another recipe. I added green food coloring cuz I wanted the color & used too much. It was pretty ugly & sat in the fridge for 2 dys B4 I decided to live w/the result & bake it. I only needed crumbs, so I took no spec care. I rolled the dough between 2 sheets of parch paper, removed the top one & baked it 15 min. Fresh from the oven, I folded the parch paper sides toward the center & the hot dough collapsed to a mound of coarse crumbs. I dumped the lot into a bowl & easily crushed them into the finest cookie crumbs I'd ever seen. The dough isn't too sweet (tasty raw & cooked). I didn't take a pic as my version is far from visually classic for the recipe. IMO your recipe is clearly indestructible & in our house we call that twissis-proof. That's my story, it's the truth & I'm sticking to it. Thx for posting this recipe. :-)