Spitzbuebe "Bad Boys"

Feeling extremely pleased with the jam thumbprints and doing a little more than rolling balls! although forming the thumbprints still involved rolling; nonetheless I felt accomplished and inspired to make something a little more involved yesterday.


I thought of making Linzers but didn't have enough nuts and E asked what Swiss cookies are you making this year? Given the ingredients I already had and it didn't seem terribly involved other than using a rolling pin and stamping cut-outs, why not some Spitzbuebe.


These are fragile cookies that are simply delectable and my nephew loves them.This recipe comes from Malgieri's book Cookies Unlimited. It is also published online at Saveur or you can find it below. According to Malgieri, Spitzbuebe means "bad boys" he also instructs piercing 3 small holes on the top surface. They actually do resemble "facial" expressions of "oh boy - am I in trouble!".

Note: I compared the recipe between book and Saveur's and the book doesn't incorporate eggs in the dough at all. Measurements are also different. If you don't have the book, I recommend it to you and would be happy to share this recipe with you, just leave me a message and I will email you the recipe.

Swiss Raspberry Preserve – Filled Sandwich Cookies (Spitzbuebe)
courtesy of Saveur
makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients
3/4 lb. (3 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 egg yolks
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Method

1. Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Increase speed to medium; beat until light and fluffy. Add yolks one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition to combine. Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula; give the dough one last stir. Transfer dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and press it into a 9" × 11" rectangle. Cover with more plastic wrap, place on a large plate, and let chill for 1 hour.
2. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 325°. Divide chilled dough into 6 pieces. Rewrap 5 pieces individually in plastic wrap and chill. On a lightly floured surface, work the dough piece gently with a rolling pin to warm it slightly. Keeping surface and dough floured, roll dough into a 9" square. (If dough sticks, gently run a spatula underneath it, to release it.) Using a 3" round cookie cutter, cut out 9 circles of dough and transfer them to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet about 1" apart; reserve scraps. Repeat process with remaining chilled dough pieces. Combine leftover scraps into a ball. Reroll dough and continue cutting circles. Using a 1 1/4" round cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of half of the circles—these are the tops. Bake all cookies in batches, rotating pans halfway through, until just pale golden, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool completely.

3. Put preserves into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring, until thickened and reduced by about one-quarter, about 5 minutes. Transfer preserves to a bowl; let cool. Put remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into a sieve; dust cookie tops. Turn whole cookies upside down—these are the bottoms; spoon about 1/2 tsp. of preserves onto each. Using a small spatula, spread preserves to within 1/8" of the edges. Cover each with a cookie top. Transfer remaining preserves into a plastic bag and snip the end. Using it like a piping bag, pipe a small amount of preserves into each hole. Serve cookies immediately or store between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature.