Dutch Letters

banket or Dutch letters

for dough

* 2 cups flour
* 1/4 t salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
* approximately 1/2 cup cold water

Place flour and salt into bowl of food processor and pulse once or twice to mix, add butter and pulse until mixture resembles course crumbs (if you don’t have a food processor, use a pastry cutter). Add water a little at a time just until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten it out into a rough rectangle and fold it onto itself in thirds (like a business letter). Chill at least two hours before using.

filling

* 8 oz. almond paste
* 1 egg
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/4 t almond extract
* 1/4 t vanilla extract

Place ingredients into bowl of food processor and pulse to combine (if you have no food processor, you can mix them together in a bowl using a wooden spoon). Place filling into the center of a piece of plastic wrap and chill at least one hour before using.

assembly and baking

* 1/2 cup cream
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut filling into sixteen pieces and roll it between your hands to make ropes (if it sticks, use some powdered sugar on the filling and on your hands). Cut dough into sixteen pieces and roll to a rectangle about 5-6 inches long and about 1-1/2 inches wide with a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Place filling in the center of the dough, fold the short ends of dough over the filling and roll up jelly roll style. Shape the dough into letters and place on lined baking sheets at least one inch apart. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cookies are golden brown.
Dutch Letters