As you might recall, I’ve recently purchased a copy of Nick Malgieri’s Bake!.
This is first recipe I’ve made, and it’s an absolute winner! I’ve changed the dough shaping method, as I found it too sticky to roll out and cut as Nick suggests, particularly in the middle of a Sydney summer.
The finished wafers are crisp and moreish – the first batch seemed to vanish from the cookie jar in record time, especially when Big Boy discovered he could use them to make icecream sandwiches.
The Muscovado sugar imparts a delicious caramel flavour, but regular light brown sugar would work just as well. Use medium-sized eggs as instructed, or the dough will be too wet to handle.
- 300g (2 cups) plain (AP) flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sifted
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 170g (6oz) unsalted butter
- 340g (12oz) light brown sugar (I used Muscovado)
- 1 medium egg, plus 1 medium egg yolk (my eggs were 55g each)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used homemade)
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarb and salt.
2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until combined. Add the egg and the yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. The batter should be quite light and fluffy at this point. Scrape down the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix at the lowest speed until just combined. Give the mixture a final stir with the scraper to incorporate any remaining flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so to make the dough easier to handle.
4. Turn the dough onto a large sheet of clingfilm (parchment paper doesn’t seem to work in this case) and roughly shape it into a log.
5. Using the clingfilm, shape the dough into a smooth log, then twist the edges to tighten. Refrigerate the log again for several hours until firm enough to slice.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C (360F) or 170C (340F) with fan. Line two large trays with parchment paper. Unwrap the cold dough and slice it into thin 5mm (about ¼”) discs. Lay them out on the trays, allowing room for spreading. Work quickly, as the dough will warm up and soften with handling.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the trays, and then bake for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown. The wafers will crisp up as they cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
The dough logs freeze well, which makes it simple to bake these up at short notice. The wafers are quite sweet, but perfect with a cup of tea. They’re reasonably sturdy too, despite being crunchy, and survive quite well in an airtight cookie jar for several days. I can see them becoming a house staple!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 