Cooks Joy

We are in the fourth month for “We Knead to Bake” and this month is all about yeasted sugar cookies. This was the first time I am even hearing this name and decided I will just call them ‘twisted sugar cookies” since that seemed easier. I have only used yeast for bread and this was completely new and exciting to me. The process seemed very simple when compared to croissants and my little one also helped twist the cookies.

Torcettini are smaller versions of Torcetti (meaning small twists), and these pear shaped cookies are rolled in sugar before being baked. Since there is no sugar in the dough, these cookies only have a mild sweetness to them and are perfect to have with tea. Recipe adapted from A Baker’s Tour by Nick Malgieri.

Torcettini di Saint Vincent (Twisted Sugar Cookies)

By Vardhini, April 24, 2013

Cookies that are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Total Time: 03h 25min
Prep Time: 03h 00min
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

all purpose flour - 1.5 cups
salt - 1/4 tsp
yeast - 1 tsp - instant yeast (refer to notes)
butter - 3 tbsp - cut into cubes
lemon zest - 1 tsp
sugar - as needed for rolling the cookies

Instructions:

Mix flour and salt. Then add yeast, butter and zest. Form a dough using water. Do not knead. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl and keep in a warm place for about an hour to rise.

After that flatten the dough, cover and keep refrigerated for about an hour or up to 24 hours. When ready to make cookies, remove from fridge and roll the dough into a 6 inch square.

Next using a pizza cutter, slice the square into 4 equal strips. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces making 24 pieces total.

Roll each piece into a pencil thick rope that is about 5 inches long. Roll the rope in sugar and form the rope into a loop crossing it over before the ends.

Place the loops about 1.5 inches apart in a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to rise for about 20 minutes. Then bake in a preheated 325F oven for about 25 minutes until they are golden brown.

Allow to cool and store in air tight containers.

My Notes
1. For the chocolate version remove 2 tbsp of flour and add 2 tbsp cocoa instead. Also use orange zest instead of lemon zest.
2. After the cookies were done, I placed them under the broiler (low) for about 2 min to get the nice brown color.

1 year ago: Asparagus Rice
2 years ago: Phulka

Pictorial
1. Mix all purpose flour and salt.

2. Add yeast and mix.

3. Add butter.

4. Mix to form a crumbly dough.

5. Add lemon zest and mix.

6. Using water form a dough.

7. Dough ready. No need to knead.

8. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl and keep in a warm place to rise.

9. Dough has risen after about an hour or so. When you pull a small piece of dough, you can see a honey comb texture in the interior.

10. Press the dough down and flatten it. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

11. When ready to make cookies, take the dough and roll into a 6 inch square.

12. Cut the dough into 4 strips of equal width. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces making a total of 24 pieces. I used a pizza cutter for cutting.