Pastry Chef Dana Bellefeuille started the Village Bakery to give those with disabilities job skills. It was the dream of a young girl with Down’s Syndrome to have a job in a coffee shop or a bakery. Dana created the bakery for her and our own kids who are differently abled.
Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups (4 sticks) salted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until just incorporated.
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix at low speed until fully blended.
3. Add flour, 2 cups at a time, starting on low speed and then increasing if necessary. You will know your dough has been mixed enough after all the flour has been added, when it pulls away from the sides of your bowl and clumps around the mixing paddle.
4. Roll out to 1/4″ thickness. You do not need to chill this recipe, unless you prefer to use chilled dough, so that it is easier to handle when you are cutting it and moving it to your cookie sheet.
5. Use parchment or silpat mats on your baking sheets to keep your cookies from burning and spreading.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until cookies are no longer shiny on top. For best results bake similar-sized cookies on the same cookie sheet.
Yield will greatly depend on the size of the cookies you are making — but you will get about 3 dozen 3.5 inch cookies. You can halve this recipe for a smaller batch.
Chef Dana Bellefeuille
The Village Bakery