This is a cookie recipe so simple that even a beginner can succeed on the first attempt. As long as all ingredients are mixed and kneaded evenly, 90% of the work is complete. The key point is that it is extremely delicious.
Ingredients: Butter 50g, Low-gluten flour 45g, Corn starch 45g, Salt 1g, Cooked egg yolk 1 piece, Granulated sugar 20g (use 30g for plain flavor), Instant coffee 13g (omit for plain flavor).
Weigh 50g of butter. Melt the butter, then add granulated sugar and salt. Stir until fully dissolved. Add one cooked egg yolk. Sift the egg yolk, and gently scrape the yolk residue off the sieve. Add corn starch. Stir, then add low-gluten flour. Add one packet of instant coffee (for other flavors, substitute with other powders). One packet of coffee weighs approximately 13g. Knead all ingredients until evenly combined. Divide the dough into 20 portions, each about 9g. Roll into balls. Gently press the top center with your thumb; natural and attractive cracks will appear. I prepared two batches using the same method: one plain and one coffee-flavored. For the plain version, replace the 13g of coffee with 10g of granulated sugar, keeping other ingredients unchanged.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. After preheating, reduce the temperature to 150°C and bake for 25 minutes. (Because opening the oven door causes some heat loss, I habitually use a higher temperature for preheating.) The baking process smells wonderfully aromatic. Serve with a pot of Tieguanyin tea for a delightful afternoon tea.
