CRUNCHY SEED COOKIES

Noisily crunchy. Light. Addictive.

Makes about sixty 2-inch cookies

I N G R E D I E N TS
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds or poppy seeds
2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons flax seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1/4 cup coarse raw sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw or Demerara
sugar
2 1/4 cups (10.125 ounces) unbleached all-purpose fl our
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons bourbon

EQUIPMENT
Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or greased. Preheat the
oven to 375°F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Mix the seeds and coarse sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside.
Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium
bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
With a large spoon in a medium mixing bowl or with a mixer, mix the
butter with the granulated sugar until smooth and well blended but not
fl uffy. Add the egg and bourbon and mix until smooth. Add the flour
mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
To Make Round Cookies Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into 1-inch
balls. Press each ball into the seed mixture on both sides, fl attening
the ball to about K inch thick.
To Make Square Cookies On a lightly fl oured surface, shape all of the
dough into an 8-inch-square patty a generous K inch thick. Sprinkle the
dough with half of the seeds and sugar. Roll lightly over the seeds with
a rolling pin to press them in. Turn the dough over. Sprinkle and roll
over the remaining seeds. Cut the dough into 8 equal strips in each
direction to make a total of 64 equal pieces.
Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the lined or greased pans. Bake
for 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges
are lightly browned, rotating the pans from top to bottom and from front
to back halfway through the
baking time to ensure even baking. For lined pans, set the pans or just
the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to
transfer the cookies to racks. Cool the cookies completely before
stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for at least 2
weeks.