XXL Chain Spritz Cookies

It's up to you.

12 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Soften the 200 g butter

   Take out the 200 g of butter in advance and cut them into small cubes in a bowl. Wait for them to crush easily under a spoon, without being melted or oily; it takes about 1 hour depending on the room. Prepare two baking tray covered with baking paper, a solid piping bag and a 12 mm fluted sleeve. Weigh 80 g of icing sugar and 230 g of flour separately.

2. Prepare the egg white

   Separate the white and the yolk from an egg over a small bowl, avoiding dropping the shell. Weigh 30 g of white for this recipe and keeps the yolk in the refrigerator for another use; only the white enters the dough. Add the vanilla teaspoon and the pinch of salt to the white, then stir for 10 seconds with the fork, without turning it into snow.

3. Working butter in cream

   Whisk the butter very soft for 1 to 2 minutes, by hand or with a beater at low speed. Add the 80 g of icing sugar in two, mixing gently first so as not to disperse the powder. Scrape the walls with a spatula; the mixture should be supple, creamy and uniform, with small visible traces of whipping.

4. Add white and then flour

   Pour the vanilla white into the sweet butter and gently whip for 30 seconds to distribute it. Then add the 230 g of flour in two and mix with the spatula, scraping the bottom after each addition. Stop as soon as there is no more dry flour: too worked dough becomes less tender. It must remain flexible while keeping the groove left by the spatula.

5. Fill the piping bag without overloading it

   Install the star piping tip in the piping bag, fold the edge of it over a large glass and fill it half-paste. Bring the dough back to the piping tip and twist the top to prevent leaks. Try it on the paper: the dough should come out in a regular striated ribbon. If it resists, wait 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature and gently knead the pouch, without adding milk or water.

6. Preheat before Pipe

   Set the oven to 170 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) and place the oven rack at mid-height. Keep the baking tray at room temperature: A hot baking tray will melt the butter before cooking. Hold the sleeve about 1 cm from the paper, almost vertical; pushes with the hand placed at the top of the piping bag and guides with the other hand, without crushing the grooves against the plate.

7. Pocher 24 rings open in the center

   Draw with the pipe an oval of 5 x 3.5 cm, leaving in the middle an opening of at least 1.5 cm so that it remains visible after cooking. Stop the pressure before joining the start, then lightly press the junction with the finger to close the ring. Repeat 24 times by spacing the cookies by 3 cm. If you have any leftover dough, pack a few cookies apart rather than plugging the holes.

8. Cook one baking tray at a time

   Bake at mid-height for 12 to 14 minutes, monitoring from 12 minutes. The rings should be lightly gilded on the edges and keep an open center; do not wait for them to brown completely. If the butter softens before cooking, put the second baking tray back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Remove the plate with oven gloves and place it on a heat-resistant surface.

9. Cooling without lifting through the hole

   Wait 5 minutes on the plate, then slide a spatula under each ring and transfer it to a wire rack. Let cool for 30 minutes, until the bottom is cold and firm. Don't grab cookies by passing a finger through the hole: they are very friable. Prepare a clean sheet of baking paper to lay the rings after their chocolate bath.

10. Sprinkle half of each link

    Chop 100 g of dark chocolate and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing a little hot water, keeping the bowl clear of the water. Melt over a very low heat, stirring. Remove the bowl when the chocolate has almost melted and stir off the heat until smooth. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Hold a cold ring on one side and dip its opposite half into the chocolate, without filling the hole. Let the excess flow over the bowl, then lay the ring flat on the paper. Repeat gently for the 24 cookies; reserve the remaining chocolate in small pallets to be served separately.

11. Take it before moving

    Leave the rings for 30 to 45 minutes in a cool room. Check that the chocolate is cleanly peeled from the paper before moving them, supporting the entire base with the spatula. If a ring breaks, keep the pieces as biscuits to share; do not try to nest them in other biscuits to hide the breakage.

12. Allow to be taken and served

    Arranges the 24 rings in two long lines of 12 on a flat, only slightly overlapping their edges to evoke two chains. All the links remain lying down: they are neither strung nor suspended. Orients the chocolate halves alternately to make the drawing legible and keeps the central openings visible. Store cookies in layers separated by baking paper.