We are obsessed with Gemma Stafford’s take on the traditional Viennese whirl. The recipe, Simplest Buttery Viennese Fingers, is featured in her cookbook, Bigger Bolder Baking: A Fearless Approach to Baking Anytime, Anywhere. Here, we reimagine the British teatime favorite as holiday-ready sandwich cookies packed with warm winter spice. We added mulling spices for a touch of warmth and filled these wintry sammies with sweet, sophisticated Cherry-Port Buttercream. Visit our From the Pantry: Mulling Spices article for the lowdown on how mulling spices can elevate your baked goods.
Viennese Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 18 sandwich cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (454 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup (80 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) packed orange zest
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground black pepper
- 3â…“ cups (417 grams) all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons (48 grams) cornstarch
- Cherry-Port Buttercream (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Using a permanent marker, draw 36 (4x1-inch) rectangles, evenly spaced, on 3 sheets of parchment paper (12 per parchment). Turn parchment over, and place on 3 baking sheets.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and pepper at medium speed until well combined and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until combined.
- Place about 1 cup (247 grams) dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium open star tip (Wilton 4B); pipe small dots of batter under parchment to adhere to baking sheets. Using drawn rectangles as guides, pipe batter in a zigzag pattern. (Dough will take some effort to pipe.) Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Bake until lightly golden and firm to the touch, about 14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Spoon Cherry-Port Buttercream into a large piping bag fitted with a medium open star tip (Wilton 4B); pipe about 2 tablespoons (30 grams) buttercream onto flat side of half of cookies. Place remaining cookies, flat side down, on top of buttercream. Serve immediately.
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Cherry-Port Buttercream
Makes about 2â…” cups
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 grams) ruby port
- ¼ cup (80 grams) cherry preserves
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups (480 grams) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring port and preserves to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture reduces to ¼ cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing out as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar until combined. Add 2 tablespoons (about 34 grams) cooled port mixture; beat at medium speed until fluffy and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Use immediately.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
