Baby Buttons

As you might guess, there’s a new baby in our family. My nephew and his wife have a beautiful little girl who is now 3 months old. Her name is Eliana and she has our entire family very excited to be fussing over her at every opportunity. It’s funny how a new baby will transform everyone in their midst.

I discovered these little cookie gems browsing through Food & Wine and instantly knew I had to make them. I revised the recipe to add a tiny pinch of salt and freshly grated nutmeg since it seems like the season for nutmeg. I also changed the preparation method and baked them at 325 degrees instead of the stated 350 for the same amount of time.

Sometimes the simplest things are the best and these cookies prove this point beyond any measure. They are incredibly simple and delicious. Pure, tiny, delicate, impossibly tender, perfectly sweet and absolutely irresistible, just like our new little girl. I can’t wait to make these cookies with her some day!



Bench notes:
- I used a truffle scoop to form the cookies. I chilled the dough for a couple of hours before scooping to firm it up. I also chilled the cookies before baking.
- These cookies will keep for about a week in an airtight container. Stack them between pieces of parchment or wax paper. I must warn that this will be highly unnecessary. These cookies will disappear as soon as they’re plated.



Baby Buttons
Makes about 48 cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 C confectioners’ sugar
1/2 C cornstarch
pinch salt
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
8 oz cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 t pure vanilla extract

1 C confectioners’ sugar for coating

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, confectioner’s sugar, salt and nutmeg and pour it into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and vanilla and process until a very soft dough begins to form.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours.

Use a piece of parchment to roll each piece of dough into a 12” rope. Cut each rope into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the cookies on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. You can fit 24 on each sheet as they do not spread.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The bottoms should be golden but the tops should not take on any color. Cool.

Sift 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Toss a few cookies at a time to coat and place on a baking sheet. Sift a bit more confectioner’s sugar over all the cookies for a final coating. Use a sharp toothpick or a skewer to poke 4 shallow holes in each cookie.