Dulce de Yum Yum

I know this might come as a shock to those of you who know me, but I made some cookies this week.

It started when there was some leftover milk at work. It's lovely, delicious, organic milk with a fat, creamy layer on top. It's from Evans Farmhouse Creamery in upstate New York. It's what milk is supposed to taste like. It's really, really yummy.

I took a quart of it home the other night and contemplated it. I don't drink milk. I don't even like it in cereal. I could have made tapioca or rice pudding. I could have even baked a cake. But I'm a cookie gal. Unfortunately most cookie recipes don't require much milk at all, let alone four cups of it.

Enter dulce de leche. Dulce de leche, or milk jam, is simply milk and sugar reduced down to a thick, sweet lava of amber yumminess. You can spread it on toast or waffles, pour it over ice cream, add it to hot chocolate, mix it into a milkshake, and render an otherwise healthful piece of fruit into a diabetic threat by dipping apples into it.

While it was tempting to just eat the dulce de leche with a spoon, I imagined becoming very ill doing this, so I decided I'd share the wealth and make some sandwich cookies filled with the caramelized confection, take them to work, and make everyone else eat them.

Works every time.


Dulce de Leche

• 1 quart organic milk
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (most recipes call for more sugar, but I find I'm happy with just 1/2 cup)
  
• scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, dissolve the sugar in the milk over medium-high heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, stir in the baking soda. Bring the milk to a near-boil, taking much care not to let it boil over. Just as it's coming to a boil, lower the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer uncovered for 1-2 hours, stirring often (I find a silicone spoon or spatula is especially handy for this job). It should look like it's simmering a bit vigorously.

Remove the pan from the heat when the milk becomes a dark golden color an appears quite thick. A good test to know when it's done is to stir the mixture with a spoon and run your finger along the back of the spoon (careful-- it's hot!); the trail your finger leaves should last several seconds before slowly disappearing.


Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling out)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch or non-glutinous rice flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten at room temperature
  
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, cream butter, sugar, and salt. Add egg, milk, and vanilla to the sugar mixture; mix well.Add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated.

Shape dough into a few smaller portions, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until stiff, at least one hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes and move to baking sheets (cookies can be quite close together). Re-roll and re-cut dough scraps giving dough a bit more time in the fridge as necessary.

Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

To assemble the cookies, spread a 1/4 teaspoon of cooled dulce de leche on the flat side of the cookie and use another cookie, flat side in, to complete the sandwich.

Give the cookies to people, then watch them drool and act all crazy over them. Trust me. It'll happen.