got extra egg yolks? make icebox cookies!

I can't believe it has come to this, but seriously - how much chocolate mousse, crème brûlée and pots de crème can one eat? At one stage, I found egg whites to be the nuisance and eventually began making Pavlova to even out my yolk to albumen ratio. Now, with macarons on my mind, I'm always on the hunt for recipes that use egg yolks (and don't include the three, rich French desserts I mentioned). I could just throw the yolks away but that makes me feel wasteful.

Anyway, I tried out the All-in-One Cookie Dough recipe by Martha Stewart. Here's what you can do with some of those egg yolks you have after making macarons and Pavlova:

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add yolks, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla. With mixer on low, add flour; mix just until combined. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, about 1 hour. To make ahead: Refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 3 months.

• I made the dough and then followed her instructions for Icebox Cookies:
• On a large piece of parchment or waxed paper, gently form 1/2 recipe all-in-one cookie dough into an 8-inch log.
• Fold one short end of paper over log; wedge a baking sheet against log. Holding other end of paper at an angle, push baking sheet against log while pulling on paper, creating a smooth, compact log.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Gently roll log in desired topping to coat; wrap in parchment. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Unwrap log, and place on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
• Place rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until pale golden, 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

I'm not a huge fan of baking biscuits and I usually hate not dipping them in tea (both of these are inherited traits), but these biscuits tasted awesome on its own also. Don't underestimate the plain ordinary biscuit.. they are soft, crumbly and have this homey buttery flavour that makes you want more.

If cosy were edible, this biscuit is it.