Pie Crust Cookies

Pie Crust Cookies remind me of my Grandmother E, she used to take the leftover scraps of pie crust, place them on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar (heavy on the sugar, light on the cinnamon) and bake them off.  No two are ever the same shape, regardless I have yet to meet someone who doesn't absolutely love these.  

From time to time, as here made my pate sucree recipe just to have some pie crust cookies.  Rolled between two silpats immediately after making in order to not add more flour, then placed in the refrigerator or freezer to chill and set.  I then remove them from their cold home, peel off one of the silpats (it comes off effortless as the butter is cold and holds the pate sucree together) - you can either place the crust inside a pie pan or cut out some free form shapes and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.  Bake the cookies in a 350 degree, preheated oven for 10-15 minutes (when the edges are golden).

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and sliced 

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup ice water (if needed)

1.   In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 20 seconds.

2.   In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; add ice water. With machine running, add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3.     Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and roll each disk between two silpats to desired size. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 20 minutes. Remove dough from refrigerator and place in pie pan. If dough is stiff, allow to warm up and gently place in pie pan.  Finish as desired.

To blind bake the crust, place inside a pie dish and cover with foil or parchment.  Fill with dried beans and bake in a 400 degree-preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Lower oven temperature to 350 and continue baking for 15 minutes.  Remove the beans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Let cool completely on rack before filling.