Portuguese people love to enjoy their sweets with a cup of hot tea. There wasn’t a day that went by that my Vavó didn’t have a cup of tea with either some homemade stove top pudding (Papas) or a cookie, some of her cake (see Vavó’s Cake). The trick is that most Portuguese baked goods are not overly sweet making them really very appropriate for that cup of tea. These Portuguese Baking Soda Cookies are no exception… Made from a very tender dough, these soft and cakey cookies are toned down enough to handle all the sugar you pour on top to decorate them with!
This week in preparation for Independence Day, I have taken this classic Portuguese cookie and made it into a celebration of America. These cookies normally decorated by children with different colored sugars are easy to turn into an accent for any special occasion or holiday.
Here are all the ingredients you will need for the cookie itself. This does not include the decorating ingredients.
Start with some butter and sugar.
Start with creaming butter and sugar with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer.
Properly creamed butter and sugar should look like this.
Your next step is to add in these three ingredients.
Add egg and be sure to scrape down sides!
Just mix in the egg for a few seconds.
Then add in your milk and vanilla… this isn’t the most flattering picture, but it is what it is.
Be sure ingredients are well combined.
Flour
Add the baking soda and kosher salt to the flour.
Add your flour in three segments. Combine using the lowest setting on your mixer for about 10-20 seconds at a time until well combined.
Dough will crumble a bit.
Knead dough by hand for a few minutes until it starts to come together when pressed.
When dough is ready to hold together, it should look something like this.
Flour your work surface.
Form your dough into a disc on your work surface. Remember, this dough is very tender. I work with about a half the dough at a time.
Roll out gently.
Turn half way each time you want roll.
This dough should be rolled out to about 1/4″ thickness.
Cut rows two inches wide to start creating your rectangle.
Turn and cut three inches wide creating a rectangle.
Place each cut cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave about an inch between cookies.
Make a thick egg wash by combining two egg yolks with a splash of water.
Use a kitchen brush.
Brush cookies with egg wash.
To create the patriotic lines, just use a straight piece of paper just so.
Continue with the red stripes by using two pieces of paper to guide the sugar.
Bake for 16-18 minutes at 350°F until they start to become slightly browned around the edges. Let stand on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for drying.
Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Recipe for Portuguese Baking Soda Cookies (Bolachas de Bicarbonato):
(Yields about 2 dz 2×3″ cookies)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
For topping:
2 egg yolks
1 splash water
colored sugars
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugar. Add in egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Be sure to periodically scrape down sides. Add in flour in 1/3 increments. Do not over beat. Dough will appear crumbly and soft.
Knead dough with your clean hands until it comes together when squeezed. Flour a work surface. Form a disc with half the dough. Roll it out to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 2″x3″ rectangles. (I also made smaller rectangles for the blue accent cookies)
Beat together two egg yolks with a splash of water to create the egg wash. Paint each cookie with the egg wash and decorate with sugar however you see fit. Pop into the oven for 16-18 minutes.
Let cookies stand on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for cooling. Let cool completely on rack. Serve, enjoy with a cup of tea!