Yeast Cookies. An Exception

The Barefoot Baker is dedicated to discovering new flavors. Don’t want to repeat—that’s a part of the policy for avoiding embarrassing memory lapses: never say the same thing twice, never tell the same story, in case you already related it. To anybody. Ever.

But we’ve discovered something new in an old southern recipe book. New to us, and it is yummy.

Yeast Cookie Butterfingers

1 pound butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cake (or one tablespoon dry) yeast
2 eggs, separated
4 cups sifted flour
Choice of topping: 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, or chocolate shots, or toasted coconut

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add with egg yolks to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Gradually beat in the flour. Chill the dough.
Roll about one tablespoonful of dough into a finger shape. Dip in well-beaten egg whites, and roll in the topping of your choice. (Roll the cookie.)
Bake on a greased (or silpat lined) baking sheet at 3750 about 10 minutes.

Our flour of choice for this old southern cookie is White Lily, but any all-purpose will work; and topping of choice is toasted coconut. (Always toast more coconut than you will need, because it will find its way to a taste test.) If your “finger shapes” look more like little turdlets, don’t worry, they will spread a bit in the oven and emerge oval.