Peter Rose
Serves about 12 dozen, depending on size
Ingredients
- 1 pound light brown sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
- 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
- finely grated zest of 2 oranges
- 8 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, baking soda, salt and egg; stir to dissolve the sugar, making sure no brown lumps remain. Set aside.
- In another bowl, use a dough blender to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Slowly stir the milk into the sugar mixture and pour it through a sieve into the flour and butter.
- Add the caraway seeds and orange zest.
- Let the dough rest for a while before rolling it out.
- Roll the dough out as thinly as possible-less than 1/4 -inch thick. Cut with a 4-inch oval cookie cutter, if available, or cut into small diamonds. (Alternative: Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape each into a square log. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, then cut the logs into paper-thin squares.)
- Place cookies on baking sheets and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies have a very pale color and are crisp and dry.
Leftover dough freezes well.