Learning Experience - Strawberry Orange Tart

I have a love-hate relationship with cornstarch.  On one hand, it can help thicken a creamy pudding, or substitute for cake flour.  On the other, it's grainy when overcooked and grainy when undercooked, and I can't quite tell the difference between the two types of grainy.  Luckily, I found out in this pastry cream that 1) grainy pastry cream is less noticeable partnered with sweet tart crust and soft strawberries and 2) the graininess actually seems to dissolve after a day in the refrigerator.  Still, cornstarch is something I will play with cautiously.  

The other components of this dessert, however, seemed to work.  I borrowed Smitten Kitchen's Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell recipe, which requires close attention to detail.  And a food processor, which I do not have.  The foil that lines the inside of the crust must be pressed a little bit into the frozen crust in order for the crust side not to collapse, but where I did manage it, the crust was perfectly browned and sturdy.  This is another point about the crust; I actually prefer the folding method from Chez Pim's One Pie Dough to Rule Them All.  Although the Unshrinkable is sweet and sturdy, it leans towards cookie territory when I make it.  Next time, I would use the Unshrinkable recipe and the Lord of Pie (I love LOTR so much...) method, which is similar to puff pastry.  I have essentially tossed both recipes in a bowl and folded until they're evenly blended, and splashed in some metaphorical vanilla, to boot.

The strawberries, although oddly huge, were delightful.  Organic, sweet, flavorful from the farmer's market, the sugar was almost unnecessary.  I liked this, though, because the maceration resulted in a lovely strawberry syrup that worked its way into a lemon-orange cream later along the way. 

The pastry cream recipe was from Dessert First's beautiful strawberry tarts.  Aside from the cornstarch fiasco (my own curse....), it was delicious, and the perfect base for a touch of orange zest, which I strained out before cooling it for the tart.  I made about ¾ the recipe, which was about perfect.  I still have issues with pastry cream, curd and generally custard-like items being runny, but I think I just have issues with sweet items cooked on the stove.  Caramel, I can do.  Ice cream custards, just fine.  Anything else... shall we say, a work in progress...

Fresh strawberries, indulgent pastry cream, crisp pastry!

Strawberry-Orange Tart adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Chez Pim and Dessert First

Makes 1 9" or 10" round tart

Tart Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Chez Pim

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

9 tablespoons (1 stick + 1 tablespoon) cold butter (salted or unsalted, your choice)

1 egg (I use large)

Egg white for glazing (optional)

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 butter knife

OR 1 food processor (I don't have one)

¼ teaspoon measure

¼ cup dry measure

½ cup dry measure

1 cup dry measure (optional if you can count to 3)

A refrigerator and a freezer

Hard, flat surface for the dough + rolling pin (optional)

9" or 10" round tart pan + aluminum foil to wrap the inside of the crust

Butter to grease the pan and foil 

Fork to prick the crust

Pastry brush or small spoon to glaze (optional)

Directions

1. Cut the butter into small pieces and put back in the fridge.  In the large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.  Toss in the butter pieces and quickly rub into the dry ingredients until you have large flakes of butter, about the size of beans.  Crack the egg directly into the bowl and mix quickly, until the dough is vaguely cohesive.  Wrap the stuff in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the pastry cream.

If you have a food processor, lucky you!  Toss the butter and dry ingredients and whiz until you have chunks of butter the size of beans.  Add the egg and whiz a little more, until the dough is vaguely cohesive.  Wrap and refrigerate and proceed as usual.

2. Butter the tart pan.  Take the dough out and fold it in thirds.  Roll it out or press it down with your hand, then fold it in thirds the other way.  Pim has a great set of instructions and photos here.  If the dough becomes too soft at any point in time, pop it back in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.  Once the dough is cohesive, roll it out or gently press it into the tart pan, prick it several times with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes.  The dough can keep for several days (possibly weeks, actually) in the freezer if wrapped well.  

3. Just before you take out the frozen dough, butter the foil.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Press the foil on top of the frozen dough, making sure to touch every bit of the tart crust.  The foil against the crust will work its magic, keeping the crust from falling down as it bakes.  Put it back in the freezer until the oven is at 375°F.  

4. Bake at 375°F for about 15 minutes.  At this point, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes, or golden brown.  If you like, when the crust is done, you can brush the hot crust with egg white to help seal it and prevent it from getting soggy when it is filled.  

The white bits are the cooked egg white, but you actually don't notice the
egg once the tart is filled.  Except that the crust is perfectly crisp :)

Orange Pastry Cream adapted from Dessert First

Makes about 1 cup or so of pastry cream (enough for a thin layer in the tart)

Ingredients

¾ cup whole milk (I used ½ nonfat, ½ evaporated.  We're a strange family :))

3 tablespoons sugar

Small pinch salt

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch 

3 egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla

Zest from 1 orange (more or less) 

Equipment

1 small saucepan

1 rubber spatula

2-cup liquid measure

½ teaspoon measure

1 teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

Strainer

1 small mixing bowl

Plastic wrap to cover the bowl 

Directions

1. In the saucepan on medium-low heat, heat the milk until it steams, stirring most of the time.  Meanwhile, in the 2-cup liquid measure, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch.  Once the milk is steaming, pour a little into the egg yolks and mix.  Pour in a little more and mix, then pour the whole egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Yay, you have tempered eggs!

2. Take the custard off the heat.  Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix thoroughly.  Allow to steep until around room temperature.  This will take a while.  Go finish and bake the pastry crust, then mix the strawberries and do your laundry or clean the kitchen (not at the same time!) while you wait for both the pastry crust to chill and the pastry cream to cool. 

3. Strain the cooled custard into the bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge until cold, around an hour or so.  

Macerated Strawberries

Makes, well, as many strawberries as you put in

Ingredients

15 (about 2 cups) massive strawberries, sliced (more if you have normal strawberries)

1 tablespoon sugar

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 tablespoon measure

1 rubber spatula

Directions

1. Toss the strawberry slices with the sugar.  Allow to sit.  Sneak one, they're tasty :)

Some Assembly Required

Equipment

Flat surface for serving (I used a nice wooden cutting board)

Metal spatula or knife for spreading pastry cream

Spread the pastry cream in the tart shell.  Arrange the strawberry slices on top.  If you like, take an extra strawberry with the stem still on it, carefully slice not quite all the way through it several times, and gently fan it out to be a strawberry flower.  You can also sprinkle some white chocolate flakes on top for garnish.  Enjoy!

 

Pie Crust Conquered - Homemade Pop Tarts

After many, many weeks (time moves 3x faster once midterms are announced, doesn't it for you?), I finally get around to bringing you one of my favorite triumphs: pie crust.  Now, this is not a tart crust.  When I tried to use it for a purpose not meant to be, it slumped and shrank and fell fearfully, sinking to the bottom of the pie pan in defeat.  However, it was still delicious.  Light and flaky, crisp and shattering under your teeth with ample buttery flavor, it nonetheless supports a filling perfectly.  Deb of Smitten Kitchen brought us this recipe years ago, but I think it's another one worth writing about again.  Besides, the scraps of crust brought us these delightful beauties :)

Yes, this recipe as written only makes 5.  They're entirely worth the work.

Although the pie crust is simple (I now understand the meaning behind, easy as pie!), it does require some forethought and space.  And if you follow the recipe as originally written (double this recipe, except the sugar), it requires quite a bit of butter.  Luckily for me, I now live in an apartment on campus and have a clean, empty, reasonably non-wobbly table available, but for those of you who do not, a large cutting board works reasonably well.  Put a damp towel underneath to prevent slippage.  This crust is most well-behaved after about 45 minutes of refrigeration, so try to plan accordingly.  

I immediately fell for these layers.  How could you not...?!

Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 1 9" round crust, or about 5 Pop Tarts

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

½ large egg, beaten well (save the other half for the glaze)

1 tablespoon milk

Equipment

1 medium mixing bowl

1 rubber spatula

1 whisk (optional, but handy)

1 sturdy butter knife (for cutting the butter)

½ teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

1 cup dry measure

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter into about 16 slices and toss them into the bowl, coating with the flour mixture as you go.  With your hands, quickly break the pieces of cold butter apart, until you wind up with some pieces and some crumbs.  Add half of the beaten egg and the milk, then gently fold to make a cohesive dough.  It will come together rather reluctantly, but rest assured that the less you mess with it, the more tender and flaky the crust will come out.  If the butter in the dough softens at any point, toss it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.  Once the dough just barely comes together, refrigerate it for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, put together the filling.

Filling from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 9 tablespoons

Ingredients

3/4 cup jelly of your choice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

Equipment

1 small saucepan

1 rubber spatula 

2-cup liquid measure

1 tablespoon measure

Directions

1. In the saucepan, mix the cornstarch and water to form a slurry.  Add the jelly and mix completely, then bring to a boil.  Set aside.

 

Assembly

Equipment

Sturdy countertop

Small, sharp knife for pastry (the cleaner the cut, the flakier the pastry edges)

Pastry brush or small spoon for egg glaze)

The other half of the egg you were wondering what to do with when you made the dough

Fork for pressing the edges of pastry

Toothpick for pricking the pastry (optional) 

Baking sheet

Parchment paper for lining

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Make sure this sheet fits in your fridge!

2. Divide the dough in half, then roll out each half to be rectangular sheets.  Patience, young Padawan.  Eventually, yours too will be even and flat.  Cut the sheets into pairs of rectangles.  With the half batch of pie crust I made, I had 10 rectangles, plus scraps, equaling 5 pop tarts in the end.  

3. Brush a bottom crust with some egg, then about a tablespoon of filling.  Not too much filling, or it will squish out the sides.  Put a top crust on... the top.  With a fork, gently crimp the edges of the pastry.  Gently lay the whole pastry on the prepared sheet, then brush a little more egg on top.  Carefully poke the top of the pastry several times to prevent the blimp effect.

4. Repeat with the remaining rectangles, then put the whole thing in the fridge for about an hour.  With about 15 minutes to go (or however long your oven takes to preheat), preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Once the pastries are cold, bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until beautifully golden on the top and the whole kitchen (maybe the house) is fragrant with toasted butter.  Allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then let them cool completely on a wire rack.  Enjoy!

Sweet, lightly salty, crispy, perfect bites...!

Living Here and Now - Jelly Cookies

Sometimes, all you need is to breathe.  Whenever I procrastinate, inevitably now, it’s the food blogs.  I read through archives of one blog at a time, learning about others’ daily lives and happiness.  I dream of the day when I, too, can cook such beautiful food that others gush over, take photos before the sun sets and purchase fresh ingredients, bursting with flavor and color.  That’s the magic, isn’t it?  But that’s not my life.  Although I have been fortunate enough to move into an apartment with a kitchen, my scheduled day tends to end at 7pm or later.  Classes, research, robotics, biomedical engineering society, badminton all crowd in and leave me wanting food I can eat now, or at least, soon.  

Patience.

I’m not a good cook.  I don’t instinctively add savory spices (I possess two right now, the cheapest iodized salt and pre-ground black pepper money can buy), rarely have a mise en place ready before the (cheap) vegetable oil is smoking hot, often fail to remember to salt things and haven’t a clue what herb goes best with carrots.  I’m a much better baker, having turned out dozens of cookies, several birthday cakes and more tarts and pies than I can count.  I even recently learned to make calzones, and jumped for joy when I pulled a pizza out of my dinky, wobbly, apartment oven. 

The ingredients I use are the cheapest possible.  My cooking and baking are crammed in between everything else I do, and quality tends to suffer, or something else will have to give.  I’m envious of those people who live through food, like Shauna and her family, of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.  She seems to be such a sweet and lucky person, surrounded by friends and family, liberated from everything that held her down and fully immersed in her passion for food.  As a college student, especially studying something like engineering, I definitely don’t have that luxury.  

Stop and smell the rosy raspberry jelly :)

But today, as the computer’s clock hit 2:58 pm, I realized with a start that I was wasting my own life away.  Badminton practice is held at 3:00 pm on Saturdays, and even if I sprinted out the door immediately, I’d already be 15 minutes late.  And I was still wearing my pajamas.  Where does the day go?  I’d gotten up around 11:00am.  What did I do?  I made a quiche, ate lunch at about 1:00pm.  What then?  I really had no answer, other than just reading through Shauna’s lovely archives.  It was then that I realized I had to wake up from my dreams of what I wished my life could be, and enjoy the life I have now.  I’ll only be an overstressed engineering student once, without utility bills to pay, without taxes to worry about (yet) and without a commute that requires any more than a 15-minute walk (I live on campus).

I had just learned a method of meditation, where you sit and concentrate on breathing.  Only that, nothing more.  Effectively, you try and do nothing, just to be aware.  It’s more difficult than it sounds.  But the packet stated that meditation taught mindfulness, being present, living in the moment where you are.  You don’t need to think about what you managed to finish today, what you’ll need to do tomorrow, in 3 hours, 10 minutes from now.  Living life here and now, the complete opposite of taking life for granted.

These cookies are an example of living life here and now.  Listen to the sound of your bags and cups and spoons, feel the cool, yielding dough, notice the jewel tones of your jelly.  Inhale the sweet, warm breath from the oven when you take them out.  Crisp, buttery cookies, tender within and topped with tart raspberry jelly, they’re also tiny.  Each batch only makes around 20 cookies.  Pay attention, or they’ll be gone, and you, too, will wonder where they all went.

Start with many...

Jelly Cookies recipe borrowed from my boyfriend’s father

Makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

⅓ cup sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract*

About ¼ cup jelly of choice (I loved the raspberry I used here)

Equipment

1 medium or large mixing bowl

1 wooden spoon (for creaming butter and sugar)

1 rubber spatula (for scraping bowl)

⅓ cup dry measure

1 cup dry measure

½ teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

2 cookie sheets (I made do with 1, in two batches)

Parchment paper for lining

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg yolk and vanilla.  Mix in the flour until the dough forms a nice, cohesive ball.

2. Refrigerate for at least a half hour.**

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350°F and roll the dough into balls with indents.  I happen to think they look like little bowls.  Fill each indent with about a half teaspoon of jelly.

4. Place them on the prepared cookie sheet/s about 2 inches apart (they expand a little) and bake for about 10-15 minutes. 

5. Allow to cool briefly, then enjoy!  Cool them completely on a wire rack, if you can prevent yourself from munching them all as they come out of the oven :)

Beautiful little indulgences.

Notes:

* I would love to substitute with almond extract, particularly with raspberry, peach or cherry jelly. 

** The dough can probably be left in the fridge for a few days without harm. 

Christmas and Procrastination - Green Tea Shortbread

It's not that I don't have a loving family, wonderful friends, amazing boyfriend and sweet, crazy, perpetually energetic dog.  It's not that we don't have a full celebration despite not really being Christian (we regard Christmas as an excuse to throw lots of color around and give lots of people presents).  It's not that I don't, you know, finally have some free time.  Free time?  What's that?  Oh, it's not very rare, but I've heard myths about it.  It's when you, heaven forbid, don't have work.  Don't have work?  What?  Impossible!

Indeed, truly impossible.  Of course, that's not the reason that I made these cookies two days before Christmas, making extra so I could decorate them.  It's not the reason that a mere 5 remain in the box, still undecorated, on the last day of 2011.  But, you say, it's winter vacation!  You've been on break a whole two weeks!  Heh.  Heh.  Heh.  What have I done with this delightful burst of "free time?"  Let's see, get four hours of paid work done, a half a homework problem, go running twice, see my high school friends a record of three times, bake up a storm yet forget to photograph half of them (I'm a terrible bloger >_<) and oh, read lots and lots and lots of Pioneer Woman.  She's awesome, and hilarious, and I've spent too much time reading her archives since March 2006.  Oops.

My original intention was to bake these cookies, then pipe lines of white icing on them to decorate the trees, then dot the icing with dried cranberries.  Cute, huh?  Yep, that never happened.  Kirbie's original recipe called for leaf cookie cutters, and she rolled them somewhat thicker.  The first time I made these, I used different cookie cutters, but my dad really liked them.  It was also before I started this blog, last summer.  I figured, enough of a reason for a repeat, since I'm pretty fond of them, too.  The dough is surprisingly malleable; it starts out crumbly, then as you knead it gently, forms into a perfectly rollable dough.  The plastic wrap is also a very big help.  Overall, I loved these cookies, green tea-flavored and delicate.  Even my mum, who dislikes green tea in baked goods, enjoyed the texture of these and ate a few.  I usually make half a batch, and the instructions below are for that amount.  

Mmmm, cookies... Balanced on the lid of a steamer :)

Green Tea Shortbread from Kirbie's Cravings (also, she has step-by-step pictures!)

Makes around 36 cookies, depending on the size of your cutter

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter (I used unsalted, because...that's what my family had)

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon matcha (green tea) powder

Tiny pinch of salt 

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 sturdy butter knife (to cut the butter into chunks)
Either 1 wooden spoon or 1 electric mixer (to cream the butter and sugar)

1 rubber spatula

¼ cup dry measure

1 tablespoon measure
1 rolling pin
1 large cutting board/hard flat surface for rolling
Plastic wrap for rolling (2 sheets, size dependent on size of rolling surface)
Cookie cutter/s
Cookie sheets
Parchment paper for cookie sheets (I reused mine for each batch)

Directions

1. Place the parchment paper on the cookie sheets.  You can use butter to help the paper stick to the sheet.

2. Cube the butter and toss it into the mixing bowl, followed by the sugar.  Using either the wooden spoon or the mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the matcha powder and cream again.  Add the flour and salt and mix thoroughly.  It'll be crumbly at first, but you should be able to form a soft ball with the dough.

3. Between two sheets of plastic wrap, roll out the dough.  Placing them as close as possible, cut out cookies and place on prepared cookie sheets.  Refrigerate the cookies for about an hour, although I found no difference between those refrigerated and those simply left to sit for an hour (I ran out of fridge space, which is saying something).

4. Preheat the oven to 325°F and bake the cookies for anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.  I'd check the sheets at 10 minutes and see from there.  The cookies should be dry to the touch, although some browning is okay.  The cookies just won't be as...green.  Enjoy!

It's a small forest of delicious cookies :)  Even the one on the far left.

 Postscript:  I ran downstairs to get the image from my camera.  I'm nibbling on one of the last cookies as I type.  These keep for quite a while, it seems, as it's still delicious.

Spinning Spinning 'Round and Round

I find a great deal of my inspiration on other blogs.  I started out by reading Kirbie's Cravings, which a friend of mine in college showed me, and was very soon hooked.  Each blogger's personality stands out to me in their writing.  The design of the blog, the recipes they choose and how they present each recipe is like a slice of the person behind the computer.  It's inspiring to see bloggers who are students, who have day jobs, and those who attended pastry school, all gathered on the Internet to share a passion.  While my blog has just begun, it is my hope that I may also contribute an interesting voice, and a few good recipes to boot.  But sometimes, I find a recipe that is too cute or awesome or intriguing to resist.

This recipe came from a Hong Kong blogger's post from a couple of years ago, My Buttery Fingers.  It's been a while since I made cookies, and these looked so adorable.  The first recipe from her post is Banana Coffee Muffins and the second is Pinwheel Shortbread cookies.  The Pinwheels remind me of millefiori, which reminds me of my longtime obsession with clay and miniature food items and a certain interesting class in 7th grade Latin.  That day, our teacher brought in a few packages of clay and declared that we would make millefiori.  Millefiori means "a thousand flowers" in Italian and is a pattern in glass, which can be made in clay or other media (including cookies, but that is an ambitious project which will have to wait).  A quick search led me to Wikipedia. 

This recipe took a while because I had to wait for my lovely frozen egg yolks to defrost.  The whites were used for the angel food cake all the way back in this post, and going on vacation for a week meant the yolks had to be frozen so they didn't go bad.  I hate wasting food...  So I guess the yolks might go into ice cream, or something.  But 2 of the 6 went into these cute little cookies.  

Then I made the dough, and misread the directions.  Instead of refrigerating the dough after it was shaped, I plopped both blobs into the fridge overnight.  Despite this, the dough seemed to have fared no ill effects from its overnight stay, other than being a little stiff, and it is an idea that this dough could be kept in the fridge or freezer to make cookies later.  The refrigerated roll slices beautifully, and you can see where I added a snake of vanilla dough in the center.  The dough cracks somewhat when it is first rolled up, but it smooths out later. 

Pinwheel Cookies: Recipe from My Buttery Fingers
Makes about 28 cookies (+ scraps)

Ingredients (for both batches of dough)
300g (about 3 cups minus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
20g (about 2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
100g (½ cup) sugar
100g (about 2 sticks, or 1 cup) cold salted butter (I used unsalted)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks (had a touch of salt in them because they were frozen)

Equipment
1 large mixing bowl
1 scale with gram increments OR 
     1 cup dry measure 
     ¼ cup dry measure
     1 tablespoon measure
1 sturdy butter knife
1 large, clean flat surface
1 rolling pin
Plastic wrap
1 sharp knife
1 cookie sheet
Parchment paper for lining cookie sheet

Directions

1. Mix together 160g (about 1½ cup) flour and 50g (about ¼ cup) sugar in the large bowl.  Cut 50g (about 1 stick), of the cold butter into cubes, approximately 1 cm or ½ inch a side, and toss into the bowl.  With your hands, quickly rub the butter and flour mixture together until it vaguely resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  

2. Mix in the vanilla and egg yolk and shape the dough into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge while you make the chocolate dough.

3. In the same (now relatively clean) bowl, mix together the rest of the flour (140g or about 1½ cup minus 2 tablespoons), the 20g (about 2 tablespoons) cocoa powder and the rest of the sugar (50g or ¼ cup).  Once again, cut the 50g (about 1 stick) cold butter into cubes and toss into the flour mixture.  Rub until it vaguely resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then mix in the egg yolk.  Gather into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge. 

4. Unwrap the vanilla dough.  Using that sheet of plastic wrap as the bottom sheet and one more sheet as the top, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick.  Set the dough aside on top of one sheet of plastic wrap.  Using the other sheet of plastic wrap as the bottom, unwrap and roll out the chocolate dough to the same thickness. 

5. Layer one dough on top of the other and cut to a rectangle.  Remove the scraps and set aside.  Starting with the long end, roll it up, trying not to deform it too much.  I used my hands to roll a snake of vanilla dough to ease the start of the rolling process, but it is completely optional.  The original recipe didn't call for this, but I found it kind of cool.  It shows up as a little vanilla dot in the middle of the cookie.  Wrap up the log and refrigerate for at least an hour, until firm enough to slice through.  Wrap up the scraps and save them, too.  I have a bit of an idea regarding a pie with a bicolor crust... Or you could just make extra cookies.

They're so lovely and sharp before they're baked.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C (about 350°F).  Meanwhile, unwrap the log and slice it (sharp knife helps prevent swishing) into cookies about 5mm (about ¼ inch) thick and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies firm up and the vanilla cookie turns a light golden brown.  Cool on wire racks or on the parchment.  Wire racks result in slightly crunchier cookies, and parchment results in slightly softer, chewier cookies.

Now they're lovely, sharp, and delicious!

Enjoy!  If you stare at them long enough.... They spin....

Even more mesmerizing in real life...