This is a cookie that was handed down by my grandmother who was born in 1904. It has been in the family forever and it was a must every Christmas! These are very thin, rustic-looking sugar cookies that are wonderfully flakey and light. They have a yeasty flavor like a glazed donut, and I’ve never encountered anything else like them.
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup butter or margarine, softened (the original recipe called for margarine)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
Directions
- Put warm water in a small bowl and stir the yeast into the water. Set aside. Mix together butter/margarine, salt and flour. Stir in yeast and water until well blended. Chill for 1 hour.
- Put the sugar in a small bowl. Form 1-inch diameter balls of dough and roll them in the sugar. Place the balls in a shallow pan and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (VERY IMPORTANT! Cookies will stick badly, otherwise. If you don’t have parchment, then use aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray).
- Dust a work surface and rolling pin with a mixture of flour and sugar for rolling out the cookies. One by one, place each ball on the work surface and press it flat with the ball of your hand. Turn it over and press again. This coats the ball with some flour and sugar to keep it from sticking.
- Roll out the dough very thin, about 1/16 inch or less, or until the dough makes a rectangle about 3”x2”, then cut in half crosswise. Pick up the very thin dough with a sharp wide knife such as a chef’s knife and place it on your prepared cookie sheet.
- Let rest for 30 seconds (note: I don’t know the purpose of this but the instruction is in the original recipe) then bake for 6-8 minutes or until crisps are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool one minute. Remove crisps to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Variations: roll the balls of dough in cinnamon sugar or vanilla sugar. You can also use colored sugars for a festive look.
- Very old family recipe of the webmaster.