William Woys Weaver

Twelfth Night Wafers

1911

Preparation info
  • Yield: Approximately

    12 Dozen

    Cookies.
    • Difficulty

      Medium

Appears in
The Christmas Cook: Three Centuries of American Yuletide Sweets
The Christmas Cook

By William Woys Weaver

Published 1990

  • About

This is the recipe of Hattie King Taylor of Bristol, Tennessee, a region known more for its poverty than for recipes as rich as this one. I would describe these very decadent cookies as a cross between Italian pasta frolla and a sand tart.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar

Method

The butter must be very cold. Chop it into pea-size bits and put into a large sieve. Set over a bowl. Add the sugar and 5 cups of flour, and rub to form a soft, sticky crumb. Grate the egg yolks and work them into the crumb with the grated lemon. Add the whiskey and work the dough with your fingers unt