Cigarettes Cookies

Cigarette Cookies
Some months ago I gave you the directions on how to make a basket cake. In these directions one of the ingredients that you need are the tube pastry cookies that I have always bought from a gourmet shop or sometime lucky enough to find them at the super market. Not often though.

Well I just came across this recipe and I am so pleased. I can't wait to try to make these. I know it is still easier to buy them, but this is certainly a challenge worth trying. Imagine the entire cake homemade. That is always a goal of mine.

This is a variation of the traditional tuile, which is a thin cookie bent into a crescent shape over a rolling pin while still warm. For the basket cake you will have to wrap it around a wooden dowel like the handle of a wooden spoon. Not too tight. It's a wonderfully simple recipe yielding cookies with a delightful sweetness, texture, and mouth-feel - not to mention their artful shape.

Yield: 12 cookies
Ingredients

* 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 medium egg whites
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the butter and sugar. Stir until well incorporated. Add the egg whites one by one, stirring well each time. Add the flour and vanilla extract and mix well. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

3. Line two nonstick baking pans or insulated cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lay 6 thin disks of dough, about 4 inches in diameter, onto each of the sheets. Use a spatula to make flat, evenly shaped rectangles. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes, until light golden.

4. Remove the cookies from the oven. While they are still warm, carefully lift them from the parchment paper and roll them into cylinders either by hand or by briefly draping over the handle of a wooden spoon (remove almost immediately).

Now you can make them from scratch and be very proud of your accomplishments.