Help with Alice Steiner's Famous Cookies Recipe

[Mrs Mracer29]

I have some cookies that a friend has. She is now 80 and all we have is the ingredients. I remember making them with her for the first time about 5 years ago. They turned out fine. But every time we have made them recently they flatten out. I’ve tried playing with it and less butter seems to be a solution but maybe someone knows these cookies and can help.

She calls them
Alice Steiners famous cookies

Dough
150g flour
150g butter
100g sugar

Filling
80g of chopped walnuts
1 egg white beaten

Refrigerate dough till firm. I have to to do this multiple times has the dough warms.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and long rectangle.
Filling is put in center and rolled like a log. Then cut to make cookies 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick

She doesn’t have the baking temp so I’ve been baking them at 425. Thank you!!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I have some cookies that a friend has. She is now 80 and all we have is the ingredients. I remember making them with her for the first time about 5 years ago. They turned out fine. But every time we have made them recently they flatten out. I’ve tried playing with it and less butter seems to be a solution but maybe someone knows these cookies and can help.

She calls them
Alice Steiners famous cookies

Dough
150g flour
150g butter
100g sugar

Filling
80g of chopped walnuts
1 egg white beaten

Refrigerate dough till firm. I have to to do this multiple times has the dough warms.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and long rectangle.
Filling is put in center and rolled like a log. Then cut to make cookies 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick

She doesn’t have the baking temp so I’ve been baking them at 425. Thank you!!

Hello and welcome to the forum. I think the problem is temperature of ingredients and oven.

Most likely the butter is to warm. This is a shortbread, so if mixing by hand, you’ll need the butter just soft enough that it gives when you press on it, but not so soft that it’s the texture of thick yogurt. Between 68°F - 70°F.

If the butter is to warm before mixing the cookies are going to spread.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. For 425° is way too hot for just about all baked goods except pie and some breads.

 

[Becky]

I agree that the problem is probably the butter being too warm. There is quite a high proportion of butter in the recipe, so if you don't want to reduce it then keeping the dough cold is a good idea. Could you tell us a bit more about your method for making the dough?

 

[Mrs Mracer29]

Thank you, I am going to try them again with a colder butter. Mixing the dough I use a dough hook in the mixer.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you, I am going to try them again with a colder butter. Mixing the dough I use a dough hook in the mixer.

The dough hook is the wrong attachment for mixing cookie dough. Use the paddle attachment. Creaming butter and sugar is not about blending two ingredients, it is a form of leavening, referred to as mechanical leavening.
Examples of mechanical leavening our creamy butter and sugar, whipping egg whites, ribboned eggs, and kneading. Mechanical leavening is used as an alternative to or with chemical leavening.

Chemical leavening is use of an agent line baking powder or baking soda.

So how about you cream the butter and sugar is important. Since there is no chemicals leavening and short bread, to properly to control the spread you either take them in a mold, or you use leavening and formulate the dough to reduce spread.

Since you are using a mixer, then you should use butter that is 65°F. The mixer creates friction, friction creates heat. So if you’re butter it’s not cold you’re going to have to spread. The link below explains the proper creaming of butter.

The ratio of flour to butter in the recipe is very high, so you’re going to have issues with spread. You can minimize this by baking the cookies in a muffin tin. The tin will serve as a mold to control the spread

If you are rolling the dough and using a cookie-cutter, just cut the cookies slightly smaller than the bottom of the muffin tin. If you are forming a log, chilling then slicing the cookies, then shape the log slightly smaller that the bottom of then muffin tin.

And speaking of chilling, after mixing you should chill the dough for at least 45 min