Recipe created & provided by Chef Crusco Catering in Austin, TX
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried sour cherries – roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup dried apricots – roughly chopped
- 3-4 tbsps. flour
- 5.5 oz Unsalted butter – have at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1.5 tbsps. Vanilla Sugar
- 2 large eggs – have at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups Flour
- 1 cup Polenta – regular fine or coarse
- 2 tsps. Baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 cup Coarse Baking Sugar (or Turbinado)
Directions
- Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees. Toss dried fruit w/ 3-4 tbsps. flour in a small bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs (one at a time) then the vanilla extract just until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1.5 cups flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until incorporated and then stir in the dried fruit.
- Form the dough into a cylinder block. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough for a couple of hours or best overnight.
- Divide the dough in two pieces. Make sure that when you cut/portion them out they are about 1-2 inches in size (much easier to do when the dough is very cold). Form them into little 1″ x 1″ squares.
- Place them evenly spaced on the parchment covered sheet pan.
- Sprinkle the cookies with the coarse sugar and bake for 12-14 minutes (rotate the sheet pans midway). Cook until they are golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Serve with wine, cafecitos or Chef Crusco’s Chocolate Cappuccino. Enjoy!
- NOTE: Zaletti Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. The dough can be refrigerated for up to two weeks or two months in the freezer.