These cream cookies are one of those recipes that, once tried, you won’t give up! Crispy, fragrant and with that distinctive flavor that brings back childhood memories. Few ingredients, no fuss, and the result will surprise you. Perfect for dunking in milk at breakfast or nibbling in the afternoon with a warm herbal tea. Making them at home is very easy and the result is surprisingly close to the originals, with a more wholesome, homemade touch.
They are perfect for those who love pantry cookies, the kind that last for days (if they last!) and make both adults and kids happy.
If you like cookies, here are other tasty ideas to try
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 40 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Macine-style cream cookies
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- 3.5 fl oz heavy cream
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup vanilla powdered sugar (confectioners')
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 egg
Tools
- 1 Food processor Bimby tm31 – tm5 – tm6 – tm7
- Bowls
- Cookie cutters for cookies
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Preparation of Macine-style cream cookies
WITH BIMBY: Put all the ingredients into the mixing bowl and blend at speed 4 for 30 seconds. The dough should be soft and not sticky. Remove it from the bowl, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
WITHOUT BIMBY: In a bowl, place the flour and add the cornstarch, vanilla powdered sugar and granulated sugar, the heavy cream, the egg, the butter cut into pieces, the baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients with a fork, then knead with your hands until you get a homogeneous, well combined dough. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Flour your work surface and roll the shortcrust dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch (5–7 mm) using a rolling pin.
Use a cookie cutter about 2 or 2.4 inches in diameter (5 or 6 cm) to cut out the cookies and, as you place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet, create the smaller center hole.
BAKING: Bake the Macine in a preheated static oven at 356°F (180°C) for 15–18 minutes. The cream cookies will remain fairly pale and slightly golden on the bottom; this is normal. Let them cool before removing from the baking sheet, because they are soft right out of the oven and could break.
TIPS and NOTES
🌈 Variations
Cocoa Macine: replace 30 g of flour with unsweetened cocoa powder.
Lemon Macine: add the grated zest of one untreated lemon.
Whole-wheat Macine: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour + 6 tbsp cornstarch
Storage
These cream cookies keep perfectly in a tin box or an airtight container. They will retain their crispness for 7–10 days, thanks to the presence of cream and butter which keep them tender inside and crunchy outside.
For optimal storage:
– make sure they are completely cool before storing
– keep them away from moisture sources
– if you want to keep them even fresher, add a piece of absorbent paper to the bottom of the tin
