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Pennies From Heaven

Pennies From Heaven
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 155.

Fragile and dainty, these are small (about the size of a quarter) cookie sandwiches. They are extremely buttery and almost melt in your mouth.

The dough is soft and very easy to work with. You can freeze a portion of the dough to make a batch of them at a later date.


The recipe originates from Chris Gargone at Remi, an Italian restaurant in New York City.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (to use when shaping the dough)
1 cup plus 1 TBS sifted unbleached flour
1 cup plus 1 TBS strained cornstarch
1 cup plus 1 TBS confectioners sugar
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract


Place the oatmeal in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. Pulse several times until the oatmeal is powdery. Set aside.
Place flour, cornstarch and sugar in food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. Pulse once or twice to mix. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the flour mixture, along with the salt and vanilla. Process only until the ingredients form a ball and hold together.
Cut the dough in half (you can freeze the other half if you'd like to make more cookies later). Spread the oatmeal over a large board.
Form the dough into an oblong tube. Use both hands and roll the dough gently back and forth until you have it about 11 inches long and 1 1/4 inches in diameter.
The dough should be chilled in the refrigerator for one hour (or longer) before baking.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and adjust the rack to the center position. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.


Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 1/8 inch slices. Place the slices on the lined cookie sheets(s).
Bake one sheet at a time for 12-16 minutes until the cookies are sandy-colored around the edges (they will be pale in the center). Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.


Filling:

3 oz. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp dark rum
2 tsp heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar


Beat the butter until soft. Beat in the vanilla, rum and heavy cream.
Then beat in the confectioners sugar.
Place a small dab of the buttercream on the bottom of one cookie. Do not spread it to the edges, just about 1/4 tsp in the center.
Place another cookie over it and press gently (they are fragile!) together. Place in the refrigerator briefly, only enough the harden the filling. Leftover filling can be stored in the refrigerator for future use. Store in an airtight container.
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