Best Vanilla Thins Recipes

Vanilla Bean Thins image

Yield Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 fresh (moist) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
Special Equipment
a 2-inch cookie cutter (we used a fluted diamond-shaped one)

Steps:

Make vanilla sugar:
Scrape vanilla seeds from pod with tip of a knife into confectioners sugar. Halve pods crosswise and bury in sugar. Cover tightly and let stand at least 24 hours and up to 1 month.
Make cookies:
Discard pods and transfer vanilla sugar to a food processor. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse just until mixture is in pea-size lumps. Add yolk and pulse just until a dough forms. Gather dough into 2 balls, then flatten into 2 (5-inch) disks and chill, each disk wrapped well in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Roll out 1 disk (keep the other chilled) to less than 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out shapes with floured cookie cutter and chill scraps. Arrange cookies 1/2 inch apart on a buttered large baking sheet. Make more cookies with remaining dough, rerolling scraps (but only once).
Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until edges are pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Vanilla Thins image

Yield Makes about 30 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 6

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix at low speed until just combined. Add flour and mix until just combined.
Drop level teaspoons of batter about 3 inches apart on buttered baking sheets. Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until just golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 1 minute, then transfer with a metal spatula to rack to cool completely.