Last night, I decided to make one of my favorite cookies. These little pastry swirls are so delish! I usually use my favorite pie crust recipe, which I have previously posted, but I decided to try a pastry recipe by the Barefoot Contessa. This recipe calls for lots of butter! I used my 14-cup Cuisinart Food Processor (love it) to make the pastry dough. It’s so easy in a food processor, so if you haven’t invested in one, do so very soon! Make sure that you use only cold butter, and keep the pastry chilled. That is what makes it good and flaky. I split the pastry in half, and made Strawberry Huckleberry and Cinnamon and Brown Sugar. Both are scrumptious. You could also sprinkle chopped nuts over the pastry as well. Use your imagination with different toppings. My family goes nuts over these!
Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) COLD unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons ice water
Directions:
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly and carefully with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 to 1 hr. If you only need 1 disk of dough, the other can be frozen.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Divide your dough into two equal parts.
Keep one half covered in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator. Roll out half of the pastry quickly, so it stays nice and cold.
About 1/8″ thick
I still have some rolling to do!
You can use any jam or preserves that you like.
I used Strawberry Huckleberry jam.
Don’t use too much, or it will be difficult to roll,
but don’t be stingy either!
Roll up jelly roll style.
Don’t roll too tightly, or all the jelly will roll right on out!
Wrap in Saran Wrap, and chill the jam roll in the fridge,
while you make the Brown Sugar Roll.
Roll out the other chilled half.
Spread butter generously over the top of the dough.
Yes…..more butter.
Sprinkle with Brown Sugar
Sprinkle with Brown Sugar
Now sprinkle with Cinnamon and White Sugar.
Be generous! Start your rolling…..on the long wide end
Wrap in Saran Wrap, and chill along with the jam roll for about 15 minutes.
Clean up your big mess……while the pastry rolls chill out!
Now……take one roll at a time from the fridge.
Lay out on a cutting board.
Carefully, and with a sharp knife cut 1/4″ pieces.
They don’t have to look perfect.
Lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
(Make sure that you use the paper, or they will stick)
This makes your clean up so much easier!
Look at those beautiful Huckleberries!
Place the cookies at least 1/2 ” apart.
I placed mine a little too close together, and I had to cut them apart
with a sharp knife while still hot.
This dough puffs a bit more than my pie crust recipe.
Bake cookies until very golden.
Don’t undercook them….No one likes uncooked pastry crust
When they come out of the oven,
I sprinkle them again with granulated white sugar.
BETCHA CAN’T EAT JUST ONE!