Danish butter sandwiches

Yield: 24 servings

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons

unsalted butter, divided

• ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar • 1 large egg yolk

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• About 5 to 6 teaspoons heavy cream

Directions:

1. Adjust racks to top and bottom thirds of oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream 2 sticks (8 ounces) of the butter. Add the brown sugar and beat to mix. Add the egg yolk and beat to mix. On low speed, gradually add the flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating just until the mixture holds together in a ball.

3. Place a long sheet of waxed paper in front of you. Use a slightly rounded spoonful of the dough for each cookie and place the mounds of dough on the waxed paper, making 48 mounds.

4. Roll the mounds between your hands into round balls and place them 1 ½ to 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. With the heel of your hand or your fingertips, flatten each ball into a round cookie about ¼ inch thick.

5. Have a little extra flour in a cup or bowl. Dip a fork into the flour and press the back of the tines firmly onto the top of the cookies, forming deep indentations in one direction only. Reflour

the fork each time you use it; repeat with each cookie.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies. Reverse

the cookie sheets top to bottom and front to back once during cooking to ensure even baking. Do not allow the cookies to brown — when done, they should be a pale golden color. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

7. These cookies will not be the same size. Match them into even pairs before filling them, and turn them flat-side up.

8. To make the filling, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the butter browns slightly; shake the pan gently during the last part of heating to keep the sediment from burning.

9. Remove from heat when the butter has a rich golden color and immediately add the powdered sugar, vanilla and 5 teaspoons of cream. Stir until completely smooth. If necessary, add another teaspoon or two of the cream to make a thick filling. Transfer the filling to a small custard cup or bowl for ease in handling.

10. Place a scant spoonful of the filling in the center of a cookie. Repeat with 4 or 5 cookies. Cover each cookie with its matching cookie and, as you do so, press the cookies gently together to spread the filling just to the edges of your sandwich. It will be easiest if you hold the cookie in your hands so you can turn them around to see where the filling is going.

11. Repeat, filling the remaining cookies, 4 or 5 at a time. The filling will thicken as you work with it, so when necessary stir in a few drops of additional cream. Add only a few drops at a time, to keep from making the filling too thin. Let the sandwiches stand for a few hours for the filling to set.

Per serving: 163 calories; 8 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 29 mg cholesterol; 1 g protein; 21 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; no fiber; 4 mg sodium; 11 mg calcium

—Recipe from “Cookies are Magic” by Maida Heatter