Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Butterhorns!

I got this recipe from my friend Laura, who is an expert baker.

We've been making cookies together every year for Christmas since we were in high school.

That's a lot of years!


At our house, Butterhorns are, hands down, the most favorite cookie.

So much so, that when Karen and Mitchell got married last year, Butterhorns were what Mitchell wanted as their table favors.

He said he wanted them so much, he would even be willing to make them.

And that's what he did.

We all helped, of course, but Mitchell made all the dough and rolled out all the cookies himself!

I was impressed.




We packaged them in a cellophane bag with a sticky label that was stamped with the 'Spearrin' stamp Karen bought, a library-type stamp with the wedding date, and tied with strings of burlap.

Karen also wrote each person's name on the tag, they were also the table place cards.



Butterhorns.


Enough said.

Let's start baking!



Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups flour
1/2 lb. butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sour cream

Filling

3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans




For years, I made this dough by hand by cutting the butter into the flour and mixing the egg yolk and sour cream into the butter/flour.



But you can make it so fast with a food processor.

Pulse the butter and flour for 15 to 30 seconds, until the butter is evenly cut into the flour.



Separate one egg yolk.



Put the egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream into the food processor bowl.



Pulse for another 15 to 30 seconds until the dough comes together in large chunks.



It doesn't need to be in one ball, just large chunks.



Separate into 5 balls and wrap in waxed paper.



Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.



Chop the pecans to a small, uniform size.



Mix the pecans with 3/4 cup sugar and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon.



It really helps if you have a marble rolling pin, the weight of it makes the rolling much easier.

A pizza cutter works well for cutting.


But if you don't have them, don't worry. I've seen a friend roll out the dough with a drinking glass, and a sharp knife works well for cutting.

If you're making several hundred cookies for wedding table favors, invest in these tools, it's worth it.



You want the dough really firm, so chill thoroughly.



Roll the dough out on the waxed paper.

It makes it easier to handle.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the top and bottom of the dough ball.



Roll the dough out between two pieces of waxed paper, to about the size of the paper--about an 11 inch circle.



Remove the papers.

If you have helpers, keep the bottom paper--it makes it easy to slide the dough onto another board so someone else can put the sugar & nuts on and cut and roll the cookies.



I use a dinner soup spoon and put two heaping spoonfuls on the rolled out  dough.

Spread almost to the edge.



Cut the dough into 12 pieces.

Starting at the large end, roll the pieces up to the point.

When you put them on the cookie sheet, curve them into a little crescent.



They don't need to be too far apart because they don't expand much.



Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.



You want them to be a little bit browned.



Putting newspaper under the cooling racks makes the clean up faster.



This is a flaky cookie!




Yum!




***





We had three baking days to make all the cookies for the wedding.

While Karen worked on the invitations, the guys baked.



Karen did some baking too.



Mitchell used my old rolling pin, I didn't get my marble one until after the wedding.

Mitchell rolled out the dough.



Gary put the sugar & nuts on, did the cutting and rolled the dough up.

Gary and Mitchell did some male bonding while making cookies.



We put the cookies in the freezer to keep them fresh until the wedding.

Maid of Honor Beeto came a few days before the wedding to help get everything ready.



So did Mitchell's sister Colleen.



That's my bag!

Karen personalized each bag.



We took apart some burlap to make string to tie the bags.

Two pieces of string tied each bag.



A lot of hands makes for fast work.



Mitchell's mom came a few days before the wedding to help, too.

Candy and Colleen flew in from Florida, and even with jet lag, they stayed up late to help finish all the table favors.



I think the guys' cookies look better than mine!



No printable recipe for Butterhorns yet.

8 comments:

  1. These look absolutely wonderful! Yes, I will have to make some SOON!!

    What special and yummy wedding favors! Neat idea!

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  2. I'm going to have to try that one. That looks good!

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  3. What a wonderful documentary of wedding prep

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  4. Those look so tasty!

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  5. So glad I found this recipe. My husband's mom used to make these for him when he was little and I made these for him tonight on xmas eve.. this recipe made him very happy!

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  6. I plan to make these for our ladies Christmas cookie exchange. I may add a touch of white frosting to them. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Me too that’s what I was thinking a bit of icing

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