The name of the cookie may not tell you much, especially if you are not proficient in French. These are French butter cookies, shaped like a puck or a disk with an indentation created by pressing a wine cork in the center.
These are classics from Brittany where salted butter is widely used for savory cooking as well as for desserts.
In this Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, she uses one and a quarter teaspoon of fleur de sel. You may substitute with regular sea salt to replicate that unique rich salty flavor from Brittany. The buttery flavor is unmistakable. After all, two sticks of butter went into the batter to make one batch of cookies.
To leaven these chunky chubby cookies while maintaining the crunchy texture, baking powder is added. What you get is an interesting cross between a chewy and a crispy cookie.
I baked these cookies in mini muffin tins, attempting to control portion size — and failed. These cookies are so rich and addictive, I doubt that anyone can stop at just eating one. I couldn’t. As the cookies come out of the oven, you create indentations right away when the cookies are still warm and malleable. I used the end of a wooden spoon to do that, since the size of a cork would have been too large relative to the cross section of a small cookie.
I used some apricot jam that I have around to fill in the centers. Be creative with the filling. Use any jam, marmalade or some unexpected flavor to make these cookies more indulgent, if that’s possible.
To see how other bakers present the “corked” Breton galettes, please visit the blogroll on Tuesdays with Dorie.
"Corked" Breton Galettes
Ingredients
- FOR THE COOKIES:
- 2 1/4 cups (306 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fleur de sel or 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- FOR THE FILLING:
- About 3/4 cup (240 grams) thick fruit jam or marmalade
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
TO MAKE THE COOKIES:
Whisk the flour and baking powder together. Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the yolks one at a time, beating until each one is fully incorporated. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once and pulse the machine just until the risk of flying flour passes.
Mix on low speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be thick and it will almost clean the sides of the bowl; press a bit between your fingers, and it should hold together.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface, press and gather it together and divide it in half. Shape each piece into a log, about 6 inches long and a scant 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs and freeze for at least 1 hour or refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
WHEN YOU’RE READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter or spray regular muffin tins or use nonstick pans. Have a wine cork at hand (you can also make the indentations with the handle of a wooden spoon).
Working with a sturdy knife, cut one log into about 18 cookies, each about 1/3 inch thick. Drop them into the muffin tins. (You can cut as much of the remaining log as will completely fill both tins now, or cut and bake it later.)
Bake the galettes for 18 to 20 minutes, turning the tins after 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown; the bottoms should be browned as well. Because of the baking powder, the cookies have a tendency to dip in the center as they bake. Happily, the concavity works to the cookies’ advantage — it makes a nice border around the indentation.
Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately plunge the cork (or the handle of a wooden spoon) into the center of each one. Be gentle but firm, and make certain that the indent goes down almost to the base of the cookie. Cool the cookies in the tins, then pop them out when they reach room temperature.
Repeat with the remaining dough, using cool tins.
TO MAKE THE FILLING AND FINISH THE COOKIES:
Put the jam in a micro- wave-safe bowl or a small saucepan, add the water and bring to a boil.
Spoon enough jam into each indentation for it to come level with the top of the galette. Refrigerate the cookies for about 30 minutes, just to set the jam. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Notes
https://www.king5.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/new-day-northwest/cookies-with-dorie-greenspan/281-353390500
7 Comments
Cakelaw
March 22, 2017 at 7:57 amThese look great Shirley. And weren't they delicious!!
Diane Zwang
March 22, 2017 at 7:49 pmI like your description of these, "chunky chubby cookies". These were decadent weren't they.
steph- whisk/spoon
March 22, 2017 at 8:33 pmthese were so buttery and good…and i loved the saltiness combined with the sweet jam. i definitely would pop several of these little guys into my mouth!
creamandbutterblog
March 23, 2017 at 12:44 pmWhat a great ideas to make minis!
Teresa
March 24, 2017 at 4:59 amI love that these work so well in mini-muffin tins! That would be perfect for a dessert buffet. And you can't beat apricot jam…
Ram Unger
December 19, 2019 at 4:43 pmHow much dough did you put into the mini muffin pan? These looks delish!
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
December 21, 2019 at 2:33 pmFor a mini muffin pan, I’d say the dough is about 1/2-inch thick or three-quarters of the way toward the rim of each mold. Hope it helps!