Floral Sugar Squares
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 orange, zested
- Pinch baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- Edible flowers
- Scant 5 cups or 1 kilo sugar
- 1 1/4 cups or 400 grams corn syrup
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons or 250 grams water
- Place the butter and flour in the bowl of an electric mixer, mix with paddle attachment the mixture resembles small peas.
- Add powdered sugar, orange zest, baking powder and salt, mix to combine.
- Add egg yolks and mix jut enough to make a smooth dough.
- Do not over mix the dough or it will become tough.
- Remove the dough from the bowl.
- If your butter was very cold, you will be able to roll the dough immediately.
- If not, place it in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If necessary, remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- The dough will be hard when it comes out of the refrigerator and you will need to give it a few quick raps with a rolling pin to make it easier to roll.
- Lightly flour the dough and roll out into a 5 by 10-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
- Cut 1-inch square cookies and place them on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet about 1/2-inch apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
- Arrange the cookies on a silicone mat covered baking sheet.
- Cut the stems from the edible flowers and place 1 flower on top of each cookie.
- Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a large saucepan and cook to 320 degrees F. Pour a small amount of cooked sugar on the short side of a silicone baking mat placed over marble or granite.
- Use an offset spatula to spread the sugar evenly over the entire mat until it is about 1/16-inch thick.
- The spread sugar will cool very quickly but you want to use it while it is still warm.
- Overturn the sugar layer onto the cookies and remove the silicone mat from the thin sugar sheet.
- Use a mini-torch or heat gun and melt the sugar until it melds into the flower and coats the cookie.
- Use the heat of the torch to "cut" the cookies from the sugar.
- Move the finished cookie to a platter.
flour, cold unsalted butter, powdered sugar, orange, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, flowers, sugar, corn syrup, water
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/floral-sugar-squares-recipe.html (may not work)