Basya Tsybukmakher
We've started talking about baking in a hurry, haven't we? Let's carry on. For some reason, our family called these cookies “rusks.” Well, yes, they're certainly not soft. But where have you ever seen soft cookies?
Never mind. “Rusks,” and that's that.
For the basic recipe, you'll need:
2 eggs 1 cup of sugar (you can use a little less) 200 g of softened butter or margarine 1 tsp (or slightly less) of leavening agent (baking powder) salt on the tip of a knife 1-2 packets of vanilla or vanillin flour
Method
Beat the softened butter or margarine with the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Crack in the eggs and mix well. Add the baking powder. Now add the flour a little at a time until you have kneaded a stiff dough.
Divide the dough into two parts (or you can make it four, in which case the cookies will be shorter). Roll each part into a log and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (lengthwise if there are two, crosswise if there are four). Press each log down evenly with your fingers to form oblong, thick slabs (no thinner than 1 cm) with straight edges and rounded tops. Leave space between the slabs: they will expand as they bake.
Now use a knife to score the outlines of your future cookies on the slabs: crosswise strips, preferably at a slight diagonal, about one and a half to two centimeters wide. Place in an oven preheated to 180°.
Watch your slabs closely so you don't miss the one moment when you can cut them into rusks. When they're raw, they stick to the knife; when they're fully baked, they break and crumble.
The right moment is when the cookies turn white. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and carefully cut the slabs into sticks along the scored lines. Return them to the oven to finish baking. The finished cookies should remain pale, with only a slight rosy tint!
Well, that was the classic recipe.
But like many simple recipes, it leaves endless room for imagination. Why not add, say, raisins to the dough? (Because your children can't stand raisins. I understand and sympathize.) Well, then, a few chopped nuts (almonds or hazelnuts). You can use whole ones too, but that makes slicing harder. Why not replace white sugar with brown sugar? This will give the cookies a caramel note. What's stopping you from experimenting with spices? For example, adding cardamom, cinnamon, or ginger? Why not replace some of the flour with ground almonds or hazelnuts, or shredded coconut? –
And there you have it: another new kind of cookie. I'll go a step further: I even ground sugar together with poppy seeds and added it to the dough. And that was very tasty too.
Good luck, and enjoy!