Salted Butter Break-Ups

It's a lazy, gloomy Sunday afternoon here.  My neighbor has his fireplace going and the air smells like Fall.  I don't see myself leaving the house today...not that I mind one bit, I love dreary days like this.  I have time to bum around the kitchen and discover new snacks.  With a hot cup of jo, this new leisurely, homey cookie was a perfect foil to the day, wrapped up in crispy, salty/sweet bite.

This recipe for Salted Butter Break-Ups is from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook,  Around My French Table:More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.  After flipping through this new book excitedly, I didn't know where to start.  Today I saw this one at Lottie and Doof and it looked so perfect for a laid back afternoon like this.

Salted Butter Break-Ups
Origin: Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan

Notes:  This recipe came together really quickly in the food processor.  I needed all 5 tablespoons of water to get my dough to a good consistency.  The dough should be well chilled and you need to use the wax paper when rolling it out as it is really sticky.  The wax paper helps you transfer the dough to the parchment lined baking tray easily.  Do not skip the egg yolk glaze.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
9 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces
3-5 tablespoons cold water
1 egg yolk (glaze)

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse them to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-sized pieces and small flakes. With the machine running, add the cold water gradually, just until the dough almost forms a balls. It should be malleable.

Scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Form it into s flat square by folding up the sides of the plastic wrap and patting down the dough. Wrap completely and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

When ready to bake, unwrap the chilled dough and roll it out between large pieces of wax paper (I used 2 pieces overlapped on both the top and bottom) Roll to a thickness of 1/4 inch into any shape that will fit in the baking pan. Using the bottom piece of wax paper transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Brush the dough with the egg wash. Using the tines of a fork, mark a crosshatch pattern into the dough.

Bake the cookie for 30-40 (I did 35 minutes) minutes or until golden brown and it springs back slightly when pressed in the center. Cool the large cookie completely on a cooling rack. Break up the cookie as you wish.