By A quiet week of bread and family. The subscription deliveries went out on Saturday. The farmers' market sold out by 10 AM. The Anapra bakery reported its best week of the month. The numbers are steady. The steady is the success. The success is the bread.
A week like this one — where the bread moves and the market sells out and the numbers just hold — always makes me want to mark it with something baked. Not bread this time, but something that shares its soul: these Viennese cookies, piped and pressed and filled with jam, the kind of thing that takes patience and rewards it. They remind me that baking is baking whether it’s a loaf or a rosette — it’s the rhythm that matters, and this week, the rhythm was good.
Viennese Cookies
Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 14 min | Total Time: 39 min | Servings: 24 sandwich cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup seedless raspberry or apricot jam, warmed slightly
- 4 oz dark or semisweet chocolate, chopped (optional, for dipping)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip (such as Wilton 1M).
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar together on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until pale, light, and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add vanilla and salt. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt on low speed until combined.
- Incorporate the flour. Sift in the all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. The dough will be soft but pipeable.
- Pipe the cookies. Transfer the dough to the prepared piping bag. Pipe small rosettes or “W” shapes (about 1 1/2 inches wide) onto the lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. You should get about 48 individual pieces to form 24 sandwiches.
- Bake. Bake one sheet at a time for 12–14 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. The centers should look set but not browned. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Fill with jam. Once fully cooled, spread or pipe a small amount of warmed jam onto the flat side of half the cookies. Press a matching cookie on top, flat side down, to form sandwiches.
- Optional chocolate finish. Melt the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water (or in 30-second microwave intervals), stirring until smooth. Dip one half of each sandwich cookie into the chocolate, let the excess drip off, and place on parchment to set, about 20 minutes at room temperature or 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Dust and serve. Dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving if not dipping in chocolate. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 28mg