How about a cookie?

In 2011 I took part in "French Fridays with Dorie," blogging my way through the wonderful Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table.  There were about a hundred other bloggers also cooking, and it was a fun way to explore fully a terrific cookbook that might have otherwise sat largely unused on my bookshelf.

That same year I also received Dorie's smaller Paris Sweets cookbook, which is exactly what it sounds like:  a ton of Parisian desserts, adapted for the American cook.  But with very little motivation it languished on the bookshelf.  I spotted the book a couple of weeks ago, and I've decided to cook my way through this little book, in order, no skipping.

The first recipe is Punitions ("Punishments"), which are just a nice little butter cookie.  The name comes from a little joke, like "Come and take your punishment" from Grandma, who then whips out these sweet little cookies instead.

No fancy ingredients here:  just flour, eggs, sugar, butter, salt.  Some leavening.  Mix it together, put it in a ball and refrigerate.  After at least an hour, roll out and cut out--we just used my plain square biscuit cutter, and Dorie said the bakeries usually make these in simple circles.  However, the dough holds it shape really well and would be a good choice for cut-outs if you don't need a big batch.

Always good to have help in the kitchen!

Of course, the verdict is always the taste.  I made these the day of the NFL wildcard games, and they disappeared before the game was over.  I'd say they are pretty tasty!  One thing:  the instructions say to roll out 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  We all thought the thinner ones tasted better, and we liked the crunch. 

So there you have it:  a basic butter cut-out, tasty and not fussy.  A good addition to your cookie repertoire if you like small batches.  In this house, though, I like a bigger batch than this so if I make the recipe again I'll need to double it.  I can't say they tasted particularly French, but they were good.