Homemade Vanilla Wafers

| Dessert

Homemade Vanilla Wafers

Homemade Vanilla Wafers

My loving, sweet, adorable husband does not like chocolate.  Under the circumstances, I believe it is even appropriate to say that he hates chocolate.  He dislikes chocolate so much that he does not eat anything with chocolate in it… except for Mexican Mole!

As a baker, this has been a difficult character flaw, I mean trait, to accept.  As our dating days progressed into engagement and marriage, the issue of the chocolate lingered… no one to appreciate gooey chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, a lifetime of vanilla ice cream, cuddling on the couch with a steaming cup of hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows alone… the tragedy of missed opportunities, as you can imagine, abound…

After almost four years of marriage, however, I determined there are a few surprising benefits (okay, two) to a non-chocolate-eating husband!

1.  There are many circumstances in which I am *forced* to eat 2 desserts; it is only polite.  If dessert at a certain dinner or event, for example,  happens to be chocolate, I politely devour mine and then do a quick switch of the plate when no one is looking to politely finish Allen’s dessert as well.

2.  I explore and test a lot of amazing non-chocolate desserts, which I might normally overlook!

These homemade vanilla wafer cookies are a fantastic example of a cookie I might never have tried if it were not for my chocolate-fearing husband and my heightened awareness of non-chocolate eaters.

These delicate, crispy, vanilla bite sized cookies will definitely make you think… what chocolate chip cookie?!?

Confession of a *wannabe* foodie… Although I do love to harass Allen for his disdain of chocolate, I do love all the non-chocolate desserts we discover!

Vanilla Wafers
adapted from the Retro Desserts Cookbook by Wayne Harley Brachman

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
½ vanilla bean
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon lemon extract

PREP:
Preheat oven to 375 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
Scrape the inside of half of vanilla bean, with a dull knife.  Gently rub the vanilla beans, by hand, into 1 cup of sugar until the vanilla beans are fully incorporated and the sugar is fragrant.

MIX:
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Re-sift these dry ingredients together 3 times!

In a large bowl, beat together the room temperature butter and the vanilla sugar for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Once the butter/sugar mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract and the lemon extract.  Once the batter is thorouhgly mixed, reduce the speed of mixer to low.

Gradually, on low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until just combined.  Do not over-mix.

Drop rounded teaspoons of the dough on the lined cookie sheet.  In order to prevent the dough from sticking to the teaspoon, dip the teaspoon in water prior to scooping the dough.  Gently flatten each cookie slightly prior to baking.

BAKE:
Bake cookies for 8 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned along the edges.

Enjoy!

 

1 Comment

1 Comment on Homemade Vanilla Wafers

  1. Sarah
    September 30, 2011 at 9:06 am (13 years ago)

    How did I not notice Allen doesn’t like chocolate? Hmm… I was planning a chocolate dessert for French Supper Club. I think I’ll keep Allen’s for myself – you’ll miss your double dessert that night.

    Reply

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