My grandmother used to make these butter cookies. She always had a tin of them around so she could have one or two with her afternoon glass of sherry, hers were about the size of a silver dollar. I don't remember her measuring anything when she made them, and in my memory they were almost instant - a few minutes of mixing things together and there they were - all delicate, crisp and buttery. (Then again, I recall my vantage point being about 8" above the counter top and time is so different when you are a kid.) My grandmother died long before I ever thought to ask her for her recipe, and before internets I figured it was lost. So I had an "Ask Auntie Google" moment and there they were, in this lovely photo.
The recipe is apparently from the box of Swan Potato Starch Flour. I can't find Swan in my local supermarket to verify this, but Bob's Red Mill makes Potato Starch Flour (and Potato Starch) which I found at my local health food store. Just in case you are about to make the same mistake I did .... Potato Flour and Potato Starch Flour are not the same thing. Trust me on this one, Potato Flour makes a yucky tasting cookie. I don't remember grandma using two flours but then again I don't remember much of what went into them, but the texture and flavor of this cookie is what I do remember.
I'm pretty sure my grandmother could make these much faster than I did, but they come together very quickly, even without getting out the mixer. For variety, you can stir in a teaspoon of lemon zest or orange zest along with the egg to give them a citrusy hit. You can form the dough into a log, an inch or less in diameter, and freeze it. Slice into 1/4" (.6 mm) thick slices, let them defrost while the oven heats up and bake whenever the need for these cookies strikes.
1 cup (227 g) butter, softened
1 cup (220 g) sugar (I used organic with good results.)
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml) vanilla extract (use the best vanilla you can find)
1 cup ( 150 g) potato starch flour
1 cup ( 120 g) all purpose flour
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Sift together flour and potato starch flour, or use a whisk to combine them thoroughly. Add to butter mixture and stir until combined.
- Chill dough for about an hour. (I'm impatient, I skipped this and used a 1 tablespoon (15 ml) size scoop to portion out the dough. There was no difference in the baked cookies, but it is easier to work with when it is cold.)
- Roll into small balls and place on un-greased or parchment lined cookie sheets. (A 1 tablespoon size scoop/1 inch ball yielded a cookie about 3 inches in diameter when baked on parchment paper and 4 inches in diameter and flatter when baked directly on the baking sheet. This was almost too big - the edges of the cookie begin to get lacy and very fragile so I'd go with less than 1 tablespoon as a better size.)
- Press gently with palm of hand to flatten the dough down to about a 1/4 inch thick disk.
- Bake at 375º F ( 190º C) for 10 minutes if cookies are directly on baking sheet and about 14 minutes if on parchment, or until edges are just golden brown. Let cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will crisp up as they cool