Washboards Recipe

Ingredients

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• Washboard cookies are an old-fashioned cookie that deserves to be rediscovered. Crisp, rich with coconut, and only mildly sweet, they are a classic tea cookie that we deemed worthy of reintroducing to the cookie jar. Here’s what we discovered: shopping list
• Test Kitchen Discoveries shopping list
• For the crispest, lightest texture, cream together the butter and the sugar, then add the egg and vanilla before beating in the dry ingredients. shopping list
• Use light brown sugar, instead of the white sugar in the classic recipes, to lend the cookie a rich, toasted flavor that intensifies the coconut flavor. shopping list
• Minimize the amount of butter and eggs to keep the cookie’s texture light and crisp. shopping list
• Add a lot of sweetened shredded coconut to the batter for the richest flavor. shopping list
• For the most evenly shaped “washboards” roll the dough into a log, squash it into a rough rectangle, and chill it until it is firm enough to slice into even slices. shopping list
• As for the “washboard” ridges that stripe the top of each cookie, use a fork with lightly floured tines to imprint the pattern on the dough. shopping list
• How to Make Washboards: shopping list
• 1. Using floured hands, shape the cookie dough into a 15-inch log. shopping list
• 2. Flatten the top and sides of the log so that it measures 1 inch tall and 3 inches wide. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 45 minutes. shopping list
• 3. Cut chilled log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, arranging slices 1 inch apart. shopping list
• 4. Use the floured tines of a fork to gently press crosswise indentations into the dough slices. shopping list