The snackable, snap-able sugar cookie

Two eggless cookie recipes arriving in your inbox as I arrive home from Paris

Bonjour! Au’revoir! Hello!

I’m in the ‘twixt and ‘tween state again. Flying from one country, landing in another and not sure whether I’m there or here.

I left Paris last Friday with a bunch of odds and ends in my suitcases. There were Pierre Hermé macarons, a special request from VV and Gemma — this is what happens when you start them on the good stuff young. I had some 24-month-old Comté in a sous-vide bubble wrap bag from Fromagerie Sanders, as usual A handful of fèves and crowns from this season’s galettes des rois (gosh it seems like a long time ago). A chocolate bar that I couldn’t resist from Les Trois Chocolats. Commemorative coins from the reopening day of Notre Dame Cathedral. Pierre Hermé scratch ‘n’ sniff stamps. A notebook from my friend Jane Bertch that just might be the same color as my kitchen in Connecticut. Lots of markers and some watercolor pencils for the girls. Storybooks for the kids. A pair of cute, very French/made-in-France bistro-type napkins, also for the kids. A book of fold-and-fly paper airplanes in patterns inspired by famous artists — ostensively for the girls, but of course they’ll need Pa’s help. And a 3-D model of Notre Dame that ended up as carry-on because the box was too big for our luggage. Lots of little things that added up to a big thing. But because Michael takes almost nothing with him when he travels — he’s such a good flyer — we still had some room in our bags, making me think that what I should have packed were eggs! Not that I could have or would have — they’re not just fragile, they’re illegal cargo — but with so many stories of shortages, it was certainly tempting.

Eggless, but not cookieless

I’m not sure what it’s been like for you in your part of the world or in your state in America, but friends have been sending me images of empty shelves and of cartons of eggs with high, high price tags. And last week there was this article in The New York Times (gift link) about eggs being sold on the street. For so many of us, eggs are a basic in our homes. They’re a terrific source of protein — less expensive than meat or fish — and a versatile one, too. They’re also a baker’s basic. When we think of the most elemental ingredients that we need in order to bake, we think: butter, sugar, flour and eggs, nature’s most perfect food.

But there are things we can bake, delicious things, without eggs. There are pies and pie crusts, of course. Crisps and fruity things. And cookies. There are many cookies that we make without eggs, including WORLD PEACE COOKIES! Yes, that amazingly delicious cookie doesn’t have an egg in its dough. Neither does the terrific Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookie that David Lebovitz included in his recent Substack newsletter (if you’re not reading David, you’re missing out on many pleasures). He adapted the recipe from one made at the Bourke Street Bakery in Australia and, with the current scarcity of eggs in mind, he gives two versions: one that uses prune puree instead of eggs; and one that uses eggs. And there are so many shortbread cookies that are happy to strut into the world without an egg.

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Shortbread to the rescue

While you can certainly make shortbread with eggs, some of favorite shortbread recipes don’t call for them. I have a bunch of shortbreads in DORIE’S COOKIES, including a few that get cut into large triangles — I think of them as “fans.” I’ve got both sweet and savory renditions of the cookies, but I especially love the Every-Way Shortbread Fans: The Lemon-Poppy Seed Version. It’s got that flavor combo that so many of us love and the cookies are fun to make because the dough, which comes together quickly, gets smushed into a cake pan to bake. Make the cookies once and you’ll want to play around with them. Scroll down for the recipe.

Photo: Mary Dodd

And a new cookie joins the family

With egglessness on my mind, I made a sweet little cookie that I’ve been nibbling on at all hours. I sent the recipe to Mary to test and she wrote back with the following question: What makes them so snackable? Hmmm. Of course, I love the question. And I don’t feel the least bit bad that I don’t know the answer. I think they’re snackable because … well, because they’re delicious.

They’re a very simple cut-out cookie made from a dough that’s a little like one you’d use for a sweet crust, but not. It starts off soft — it has confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch, both tenderizers — and bakes crisp. You could fuss with them, you could ice them, you could dip them in melted chocolate, you could add some flavorings (I added lemon zest), but really, really you don’t need to: They’re munchable with nothing more than a swish of water and a scatter of sugar. This sweet little recipe is a bonus for my dear paid subscribers. Thank you, thank you.

I’ll be in America for a little while, spending as much time as I can with my family and getting as organized as I can before I take off again. I love having a foot in two cultures, I just wish I were more organized — after 25 years of back-and-forthing, I still take too much stuff in each direction. One day, I’ll be like Michael and get on the plane with just a backpack #goals. Until then, the ridiculous unpack-repack-promise-not-to-do-it-again scenario plays on repeat. And yes, I’d be happy to hear from all you efficient people out there.

In the meantime, bake a batch of cookies and share them.

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EVERY-WAY SHORTBREAD FANS: THE LEMON-POPPY SEED VERSION

• Adapted from Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan

• Get the book at Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

• Click here for printable recipe

Photo: Davide Luciano

GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

The pan: I like to make the cookie in an 8-inch cake pan, but you can use a pie plate or even a springform.

The poppy seeds: Don’t forget to do a little sniff-and-taste test before using the seeds. Like all nuts and seeds with oil, poppy seeds can spoil. Also, they’re best stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

The mixing: Don’t be too thorough – mix until you have a bowl full of curds and crumbs, not a smooth ball. You’ll pull the dough together by hand.

The icing: Shortbread cookies, especially these, don’t really need icing, but gosh, they’re nice with a drizzle.

The possibilities: I added lemon zest and suggest a bit of lemon oil to boost the flavor, but you could go for orange, of course. In fact, with or without the poppy seeds, the cookies would be nice with a little finely chopped candied citrus peel. Without the seeds and with or without the zest, the dough could take spice — cinnamon, cardamom or ginger — or instant coffee or espresso powder. And it would be happy with sesame seeds, chopped toasted nuts, or even chocolate chips.

Makes 12 cookies

INGREDIENTS

For the shortbread

• 1/3 cup (67 grams) sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (see above)

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons; 4 ounces; 113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon oil or extract (optional)

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (151 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (see above)

For the icing (optional)

• 1/2 cup (118 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted if lumpy

• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Poppy seeds or sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

DIRECTIONS

To make the shortbread: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess. Or lightly butter a 9-inch glass pan or pie plate, line it with a parchment paper circle and dust with flour (see above).

Toss the sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer, or into a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Add the lemon zest and rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant.* If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment. Add the butter to the bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon oil or extract, if you’re using it. Turn off the mixer, add the flour all at once and mix on low speed. When the flour is incorporated, add the poppy seeds and continue to mix on low until you’ve got a bowl of soft, moist curds and crumbs, about 2 minutes. Squeeze a few curds, and if they hold together, you’re there. (You don’t want to mix the dough until it comes together uniformly).

Turn the crumbs out into the pan and pat them down evenly. To smooth the top, “roll” the crumbs using a spice bottle as a rolling pin. (You can also tamp down the crumbs with the bottom of a small measuring cup.) There’s no need to be overly forceful; the point is to knit the crumbs together and compress them. Using the tines of a dinner fork and pressing straight down so that you hear the metal tap against the pan, prick lines of holes in the dough to create a dozen wedges. Finish by pressing the bottom of the tines horizontally around the edges of the dough, as though you were crimping a piecrust, to create a decorative edge. Alternatively, you can make shortbread fingers by pricking a cross in the dough to divide it into quarters and then, working from the top down, pricking vertical lines — the edge pieces will be odd-shaped, but that’s just fine. Or, you can make squares or diamonds; again you’ll have a few odd pieces.

Bake the shortbread for about 25 minutes, rotating the pan after 12 minutes, or until the top feels firm to the touch and the edges have some color; the center might remain fairly pale. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow it to rest for 3 minutes. If the holes that defined the wedges or other shape have closed, re-prick them. Carefully run a table knife between the sides of the pan and the shortbread and even more carefully turn the shortbread over onto the rack; peel away the paper, if you used it. Then invert onto a cutting board and, using a long sturdy knife or a bench scraper, cut the shortbread along the pricked lines; lift the pieces back onto the rack and allow them to cool before icing or serving.

Photo: Mary Dodd

To make the optional icing and finish the cookies: Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon milk or lemon juice and stir to blend. If the icing is too thick to brush, spread or drizzle smoothly and easily, add more milk or juice drop by drop. You can just drizzle the icing over each wedge or, using a pastry brush or a small icing spatula, you can ice each wedge, covering it entirely or leaving the borders bare. Sprinkle a few poppy seeds or grains of sugar on each fan, if you’d like, and let the icing set.

STORING: Packed in a tightly covered container, the shortbread will keep for at least 1 week. If you didn’t ice the cookies, they can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.

*You can read more about the “smush” trick here.

SNAPPY EGGLESS SUGAR COOKIES