Russian Cigarettes

Whenever I opened a variety box of Pepperidge Farm cookies, I always reached for the same cookie first.  Among the Milanos, the Chessman, the Bordeaux, and the Brussels, I made my bee-line for the cigarettes.  I loved the crunchy, yet sweet delicateness in each bite.  I loved the color and texture.  But, more than anything else, I think I just loved the fun shape.  For some inexplicable reason, I loved the idea of a tube cookie!

These cigarettes and the Pepperidge Farm variety share a common ancestry, but these lack some of the crunchiness and brittleness that I remember from the doily packs.  These are a soft cookie that has been rolled, though depending on how thinly your dough lies on the baking sheet, your cookies may be on the more crunchy side.

Like most cookies, though, they will begin to harden quickly, so I strongly suggest baking a manageable number at a time.  Otherwise your rolling efforts will be no match for the cool air.  The recipe book suggested rolling the cookies around a tube (like a spoon handle or some such instrument), but I found that this was too slow and rather unnecessary.  Simply hand-rolling and gently pressing the edges together for a moment worked best.  I also found that it was best to lay them seam-side down, and then place a light object on top of the cookies to ensure that they set in a rolled shape.

Of course, rolled or unrolled, these cookies are still a delicious treat!

RUSSIAN CIGARETTES

Adapted from The French Cookie Book.

PREP TIME: Overnight chilling recommended
COOK TIME: 5 to 8 minutes
YIELD: ~27 Cookies

WHAT TO GRAB:
5 tablespoons butter, softened
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ounce or 4 teaspoons almond and sugar powder
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  In a mixing bowl or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.  Once smooth, beat in the almond and sugar powder.  Beat in the egg whites, one egg white at a time.  Stir in the vanilla.  Then, sift in the flour, mixing until just combined.  Cover the batter in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

2.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

3.  Grease and lightly flour a baking sheet.  Spoon the batter onto the baking sheet in small domes, using roughly 1-teaspoon of dough per dome.  Let the batter rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.  You will want to bake about 9 cookies at a time.

4.  Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still pale in the center.  As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, hand roll them immediately, and place the cookies seam-side down, on a baking sheet.  You need to work quickly because the cookies will become brittle the longer they sit out (*hence only bake about 9 at a time).

**You can also keep the baking sheet in the oven as you remove and roll the cookies.

5.  Once cool, serve as an accompaniment to ice cream, or on their own!