Classy

A very dear friend and very classy lady recently celebrated her birthday, and I found myself at a loss of what to make that would be ship-able, yummy, fun yet classic. I remembered that I had some whole vanilla beans in my cupboard, and decided that this would be the perfect time to make and use vanilla sugar. Super simple, but you can't do it unless you have a food processor. Don't fret, these cookies taste are pretty delicious made with vanilla extract!

You can pick any chocolate to dip these in, but of course I always prefer dark (60-70%). Make sure you go through the tempering process, which will avoid the matte colored chocolate coating that melts when you touch it. A little extra effort and a few dollars on a candy thermometer will make a huge difference in the finished product :)

Enjoy these striking, classic and classy cookies!

Vanilla Sugar
Chop 1 vanilla bean into small pieces, then process with 1 C granulated sugar until bean is only seen as small black flecks in the sugar.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies
From allrecipes.com
Makes about 15 cookies


1/4 C + 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 C granulated sugar (vanilla sugar if desired)
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (omit if using vanilla sugar)
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

~6 oz chocolate of your choice (chopped)

Directions: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract (if using) and beat until combined. Gradually add in flour, baking powder and salt and beat until just combined. Form into a log about 3-4 inches in diameter and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze or refrigerate until solid.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare baking sheet with parchment. Slice cookie log, forming cookies that are the thickness you desire. I like thick, chewy cookies so I sliced them about 1/2 inch thick. Place on baking sheet, sprinkle with more vanilla sugar, and bake 6-8 minutes until slightly golden around the edges. Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack.

When cookies are cooled, melt about 4 oz of the chocolate in a double boiler until the temperature reaches 110 degrees F. Add the unmelted remaining chocolate and stir to melt it. Once the temperature has reached 90 degrees, dip the ends of the cookies in the chocolate and place back on the rack or waxed paper to cool and harden. Voila!

Also, you should probably grab everything in the house
and dip those in chocolate too...