1 T plus ½ pound unsalted butter, 2 c unsifted flour
softened 2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ c granulated sugar 1 c finely chopped walnuts or filberts
¼ tsp salt 1 c confectioners' sugar
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Preheat the oven to 350°. With a pastry brush, spread the tablespoon of
softened butter evenly over a large baking sheet and set it aside.In a deep bowl, cream the remaining ½ pound of the softened butter with the granulated sugar by beating and mashing them against the sides of the bowl with the back of a large spoon until light and fluffy. Sprinkle the salt over the flour and add the flour mixture to the butter, ½ c at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and chopped nuts.
To shape each bāton, cut off a heaping tablespoon of the dough and roll it with your hands into a cylinder about 2½ inches long and ½ inch in diameter. Arrange the bātons 1 inch apart on the buttered baking sheet and bake them in the middle of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are a delicate golden color.
With a wide metal spatula, transfer the bātons to wire racks. When they are completely cool, roll each cookie in the confectioners' sugar to coat it evenly on all sides. In a tightly covered jar or tin, bātons de noisettes can safely be kept for several weeks. Recipe should make about thirty 2½-inch-long sticks.
6 T butter, softened 2 c sugar
4 T plus ½ c unsifted flour 2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp double-acting baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt 2 c coarsely chopped pecans
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Preheat the oven to 400°. With a pastry brush, spread 2 T of the softened
butter over two large baking sheets. Sprinkle each baking sheet with 1 T of
the flour and tip the pan from side to side to distribute the flour evenly.
Invert the baking sheet and rap it sharply to remove the excess flour.
Combine ½ c of the flour, the baking powder and the salt, and sift them
together into a bowl. Set aside.In a deep bowl, cream 2 T of softened butter by beating and mashing it against the sides of the bowl with the back of a spoon until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract, and stir the flour mixture into the batter. Then add the pecans.
Drop the batter by the heaping teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cookies have spread into lacelike 4-inch rounds and have turned golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a minute or so, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Let the baking sheets cool completely, then coat them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of softened butter and 2 T of flour, and bake the remaining cookies in the preheated oven. In a tightly covered jar or box, the cookies can safely be kept for a week or so. Makes about 30 four-inch round cookies.
