Butter Delights

Butter Delights - made August 14, 2022, modified from Golde's Homemade Cookies by Golde Hoffman Soloway

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until no lumps remain. Add granulated sugar and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla extract.
3. Add flour and cornstarch and mix until just combined.
4. Break off walnut-sized pieces and roll into balls. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar.  Alternatively, press into mooncake molds. 
5. Evenly space on prepared baking sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.

This recipe is from a little book I bought ages ago at a small, independently-owned bookstore for $6. I haven't used it often and suspect I bought it because I wanted to support an independent bookstore and for $6, even if I found one good recipe from it, it'd be worth the price. Plus I was far more acquisitive back in the day and there wasn't a baking book I found that I didn't like. All that to say that I haven't used this book very much at all. It's small and doesn't take up much space so it's survived several moves and multiple book purges simply because it didn't take up a lot of room. In searching my blog, I've only found one entry from it and that was for Crema Gianduja Brownies. Eleven years ago. Eep. Time to try another recipe from it again.

I went with this one as the directions said you could also stamp them although I’m not counting this as a stamped cookie recipe. Still, it led me to hope they might keep a stamp impression. I used my mooncake molds for most of them. The dough was a little soft so I did have to chill it for 15-20 minutes first before molding them. You don't want to chill this for too long or else it'll get hard. But definitely chill it slightly if it's too warm after you mix it, especially if you live in a warm climate. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves on how well the impressions held. Not that well but not too badly. I'd recommend using a design that doesn't have a lot of detail as the finer impressions do bake out. In terms of flavor, this was really buttery. If butter's your thing, this will definitely delight you. The edges were crisp and the middle was chewy. If you prefer a more crisp texture throughout, bake it a little longer, like a shortbread.