Polish Butter Cookies Ciasteczka Recipes

Steps:

• Sift together flour and salt.
• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in yolks and vanilla until combined well. Mix in flour mixture at low speed just until blended. Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Keeping remaining dough chilled, roll out one fourth of dough slightly less than 1/4 inch thick on floured pastry cloth with sleeve-covered rolling pin (dough is soft). Cut out desired shapes with a 21/2- to 3-inch floured cookie cutter. Chill scraps. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet.
• Glaze and decorate cookies:
• Stir together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Lightly beat together egg and milk in another bowl. Lightly brush tops of cookies with egg mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake cookies in middle of oven until pale golden, about 12 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Make more cookies in same manner, rerolling scraps no more than twice.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, beat egg yolks until foamy; add milk and vanilla. Stir into crumb mixture until dough is stiff enough to knead. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each portion into a 1/4-in.-thick rectangle; cut into 4x1-1/2-in. strips. Cut a 2-in. lengthwise slit down the middle of each strip; pull one of the ends through the slit like a bow., In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry dough strips, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar.