Chef notes
Sometimes, even the most basic ingredients have an opportunity to contribute to the flavor story or, in this case, drive it. Leftover fryer oil (the oil we cool down, strain and save after frying something) is pretty common in my household (please, no judgment). After a couple of batches of cannoli or funnel cakes, I have a healthy stash of this flavorful, fried food-flavored oil ready to live a second life. When doughnuts were tossed out during a cookie brainstorming session at work, I knew it was that oil's time to shine. You'll be seriously amazed at how much these cookies really taste like a jelly doughnut!
Technique tip: Do not overmix the dough once you add flour — a great wafer is tender and snappy, which means minimal mixing! I like to use a plastic pancake spatula or offset spatula to help transfer the dough rounds to the baking sheet and then again to get the baked wafers to release easily.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup fryer oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 recipe Doughnut Wafer dough (recipe above)
- flour, for rolling out
- 1 cup jelly of your choice
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Preparation
For the doughnut wafers:
1.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
2.Add the oil and vanilla and paddle on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
3.Add the flour and salt and paddle on low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
4.Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide in half and flatten into 2 evenly shaped pancakes. Roll each dough pancake out between two sheets of parchment paper to a 1/2-inch thickness. (Using parchment here is a real sanity saver, so don't skip it!) Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or water glass), cut the dough rounds as close to one another as possible. Refrigerate or freeze the entire sheet of dough for at least 30 minutes.
5.Heat the oven to 325 F. Pan-spray or line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
6.Pop the chilled rounds off the parchment and transfer them to the prepared pan, spacing them 1/4 inch apart. (They don't spread in the oven!) Reshape the dough scraps into a ball and roll out anew, repeating until you run out of dough.
7.Bake each sheet of cookies at 325 F until the edges and center are a golden brown doughnut color, 12 to 15 minutes.
8.Let the wafers cool completely before layering into a snap. If made in advance, these cookies will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For the jelly doughnut cookie sammies:
1.Heat the oven to 325 F. Pan-spray two half-sheet pans.
2.Roll the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to smooth to a 1/4-inch thickness.
3.Use a large (about 4-inch) round cookie cutter to cut as many rounds as possible (you can always re-use the dough scraps, too). Then use a small (about 2-inch) round cookie cutter to cut small circles out of the inside of the large rounds so you are left with O-shaped rounds. Use a flat spatula to transfer all the rounds to the prepared sheets.
4.Bake at 325 F until golden brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on the pans.
5.Load the jelly into a zip-seal bag or piping bag and cut a tiny hole in one end. On half of the cookies, trace a solid line of jelly around the inner and outer edges of the doughnut shape to form a sort of "retaining wall." Then fill in the center of the cookies (between the jelly borders) with a light coating of jelly. Top with the remaining half of the cookies.
6.Dust the cookie sandwiches with a little powdered sugar and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Reprinted from "All About Cookies" Copyright © 2022 by MomoMilk, LLC. Photographs copyright © 2022 by Henry Hargreaves. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.
