Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 250 g or 2 cups flour
• 150 g or 1 cup, at room temperature butter
• 75 g or 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon butter
• as desired: jam, Nutella, or coconut may be used filling
• about 1/4 teaspoon a pinch of salt
• as desired apricot jam
• as desired strawberry jam
• as desired white chocolate

Instructions

1. Place the room-temperature butter and powdered sugar in the mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer, first on low speed and then on a higher speed, until the mixture becomes creamy.
2. Add the vanilla and egg yolks to the mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer, first on low speed and then on a higher speed, for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture lightens in color and becomes creamy in texture.
3. Place the pinch of salt over the flour in the mixing bowl, then mix them together.
4. Gradually add the flour to the mixing bowl over the butter-and-sugar mixture, then mix until the dough forms.
5. Stop the mixer and knead the dough lightly by hand until it comes together.
6. Divide the dough in the preparation bowl into two halves, leaving one half plain.
7. Add the cocoa to the second half of the dough in the preparation bowl little by little, according to the desired color.
8. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the cocoa dough in the preparation bowl because the cocoa makes the dough drier, then knead it until its consistency matches that of the plain dough.
9. Place the dough in a petit four mold to shape it.
10. Place parchment paper in the baking tray if available, and leave spaces between the pieces on the baking tray.
11. Shape the dough on the baking tray with the mold as desired.
12. If a mold is not available, take pieces of the plain dough and cocoa dough, then shape small balls of both colors by hand.
13. Place one white ball and one brown ball together on the work surface, then press them lightly and twist them by hand to form a round shape. Place the pieces on the baking tray.
14. Roll strips of both colors on the work surface and make a twisted shape, then stick them together and cut them with a knife. Arrange the pieces on the baking tray.
15. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.
16. Place the baking tray on the middle rack of the oven at 180 degrees.
17. Bake the pieces in the oven, watching them until cooked.
18. Remove the baking tray from the oven when the pieces are ready.
19. Spread the finished petit four cookies with Nutella, white chocolate, or jam as desired.
20. Sandwich every two pieces together with the filling on a serving plate.
21. Place the petit four cookies in the refrigerator until they hold together.