All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Friday, August 7, 2009

a fruit platter and sugar sticks


I love serving these sugar sticks along with a big platter of cut up fresh fruit - the more colorful the better. The recipe comes from Lee Bailey's terrific cookbook, Cooking for Friends.
I didn't use coarse sugar, which is called for in the recipe, even though I know it looks much prettier. The problem with that coarse sugar is that it's often difficult to chew, so I skipped that and went with granulated.
So enjoy these splendid, sunny August days so perfect for brunch or picnics, and make a tin full of these simple, crunchy sugar sticks to accompany a quick dessert of melons and berries.
Make the pastry several hours in advance, since it needs to sit in the fridge before baking.
To Make:
1 cup King Arthur flour
2 T. sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits, frozen
3-4 T. ice water
pinch salt
Place the flour, sugar, salt, and frozen butter in a food processor.
Process until the butter is about the size of peas.
Turn the processor back on and add the ice water, a little at a time, until it gathers together.
Place the dough on a sheet of waxed paper and flatten slightly, then place in a plastic bag and put in fridge for several hours.
After dough has chilled, sprinkle a cutting board with granulated sugar.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll dough out slowly to about 1/2 inch.
Sprinkle dough with sugar, and cut dough into "sticks" of about 5 inches.
Carefully ( the dough is sticky), use a spatula to lay sticks on a foil covered baking sheet.
Bake about 25 minutes . The bottoms of the cookies should not burn, so if your oven runs hot, check them after 20 minutes.
After cookies have cooled a few minutes but are still hot, remove them carefully to a cooling rack and sprinkle with a little more sugar.
Store leftover cookies in a tight container.
This recipe makes about 18-24 cookies.


5 comments:

Maria said...

cookies and fruit, the best dessert~!

La Table De Nana said...

That's my idea of dessert:) A little cookie and melon:)

katrina said...

I absolutely agree, Nana and Maria!
It's colorful, healthy - and delicious, not to mention pretty quick to get to the table:) Glad you stopped by......

Chef Fresco said...

Ohh perfect looking sugar sticks!

katrina said...

Thank you, Chefs! They were delicious - crunchy, just a little sweet - just perfect with plums and watermelon yesterday.