I have a big bag full of cookie cutters. Some are still from Germany – like the traditional star shaped ones for Christmas cookies. Others are from Istanbul where the amazing baking supply shops had such a great variety to choose from. Besides, I bought some newer ones in America because they sometimes make pretty souvenirs like a maple leaf from Canada or a lighthouse from Rockport. I basically should make cookies every week so that my cutters don’t get bored. That would also be really great for my rather big selection of colored icing, which I store in the fridge for lack of space elsewhere. It is next to all the chocolate by the way. My boyfriend recently criticized my huge chocolate supply, but totally missed that all of it is imported from Germany and that I won’t go there anytime soon. In other words, the supply has to last for many more stressful months. Also, so far he has never complained when I shared said chocolate with him.
I also always share my cookies. I tend to enjoy the baking activity much more than eating all the results alone. This is most likely the main reason why I don’t make cookies more regularly. I don’t want hundreds of them lying around in my kitchen. I could obviously give them away, but people might blame me if they put on weight. Who knows … I definitely never skimp on butter. I actually believe that butter is one of the best ingredients cookies have. This applies to both sweet and salty cookies. Yes, even though I am a big sucker for sugar, I actually really love salty cookies. It was a little like growing up with sweet popcorn in Germany – I hadn’t been aware that most countries only sell salty popcorn in cinemas. Until I went to the movies in Ireland (ca. February 2005) and almost spit out the popcorn that was salty when I had expected sweet. Eventually I got used to salty popcorn and today I can eat a whole bucket full alone – preferably with a lot of extra butter on top. So when I moved to Turkey in 2010, it didn’t come as a big surprise that they have loads of salty cookies. Those tuzlu kurabiye can be eaten at all times, preferably while you have a big cup of tea. I love their buttery, short taste. Normally you take two little strands of dough and intertwine them – but since I have so many cookie cutters, I cut them this time. That worked just as well. If you want to try the other “layout”, just leave them in the oven a little longer.
Turkish Salty Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g soft butter
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 50 ml vinegar
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 0.5 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 egg white
- 330 g flour
- 1 egg yolk
- sesame seeds
- black seeds
Instructions
- Mix the butter, oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, baking powder, egg white, and flour in a bowl.
- Knead together (works both with your hands and with a hand mixer).
- Put the dough for at least half an hour into the fridge.
- Take the dough once it is rather solid. Roll it on a floured surface.
- Preheat oven to 400 °F/200 °C.
- Cut out the cookies and put them on a sheet.
- Whisk the egg yolk and spread it on the cookies. Add the sesame and black seeds to taste.
- Put the cookies into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until they turn brown.
Do you have a favorite kind of cookies?
© janavar