When I was a kid and it was Tết or the holidays I could normally count on a relative or family friend to bring a tin of Delacre Belgian Cookies to the house. They were such a treat and my favorite cookie from the assortment was the long butter cookie dipped in chocolate. I'm elated to report that I think I've been able to make a Butter Cookie that is a very legitimate replica at home.
I refrained from making these types of cookies for a long time because I knew it required tempered chocolate. Believe me when I say chocolate work is my Archilles heel in the realm of baking. Tempering just seemed to involve too much science, not to mention all the mess that goes along with chocolate.
But it was while watching an episode of The Great British Bake Off that I
finally gathered up the courage to give it a go. The contestants were working on a
chocolate challenge and I noticed that several bakers were using
infrared thermometers to temper. Yep, the kind of infrared
thermometer found in a hardware or home improvement store. How cool!
From a google search I found several techniques to temper chocolate on Valrhona's website, found
here. I ended up using the "seeding" method and got fantastic results. It is true what they say - the tempered chocolate hardened in mere minutes at room temperature and was shiny and not tacky to the touch. Why did I avoid it for so long when it was so easy? Even better, there was no mess to clean up, just one glass bowl.
The butter cookie recipe is from
Gretchen's Bakery and is a basic spritz cookie, a holiday favorite of mine. To shape the cookies you need either a cookie press or sturdy piping bag and decorating tip. Just a forewarning though that if you use the piping bag, like I did, make sure your hands and arms are strong because the dough is stiff. Good exercise I say!
With my newfound confidence in tempering it's like a whole new world is opening up to me. I'll say one thing though, these cookies will definitely be making it on this year's Christmas cookie list.
