I love looking through vintage cookbooks – especially vintage
baking books. I get so many ideas for my tea parties hidden in
these rare old books! I found today’s recipe in a wonderful
vintage cookbook called Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book.
It’s a reprint of the original that appeared in 1963.
This pretty recipe for Gateau Bonbons caught my eye
because the name was intriguing and I loved the idea of
serving tiny frosted filled cookies from France!
Just sounds so special!
I’ve always loved bite size sweets – even if they take
a bit more time to prepare. What I always say is that
Afternoon Teas are a special event (unfortunately not a
daily ritual here in the States) and it’s always best to go
all out and not worry about the extra trouble (or the
extra calories lol!) The extra effort is always
worth the happiness that it brings! 💗
So, let me show you how I made them!
I combined the first 6 ingredients in my mixer using
the paddle attachment. Sifted together and added my
dry ingredients, and chilled for 30 minutes. Then I
divided my mixture into 4 pieces and rolled one
quarter out at a time, keeping the rest of the dough
in the refrigerator. I rolled the dough to between
1/8″ – 1/4″ and cut out as many 1 inch rounds as
I could. I kept the scraps to each of the 4 pieces
and rolled them out together at the last.
If you don’t have a 1″ round cookie cutter, other
things can be used instead. You can use the open
end of a piping tip or a cap/top of some sort.
Onto a baking pan covered with parchment paper
place as many cookies as you can 1″ apart.
Pipe no more than 1/2 teaspoon filling onto
each. Top with a second cookie and seal edges
with floured fingers.
I found that it was a lot faster to pipe the filling instead
of using a spoon. (I’m sure though, that Betty Crocker would
have used a disposable piping bag had they been available!)
I piped half the cookies with orange marmalade and half
with prepared lemon curd. Be sure to stick with the 1/2
teaspoon of filling to prevent leaking.
My favorite filling was lemon curd, but you can fill
with your favorite jam, or even….nutella?! Hmmm…
Bake at 350 degreesF for at least 10 minutes or
until the edges are slightly browned. When cool,
frost with tinted icing. I just used my small butter
knives to swirl the icing on the top of the cookies.
You could also place an edible pearl or candy
ball on top before the icing dries.
When the frosting has dried, display on a pretty
cake stand or glass dish.
The bonbons look so pretty displayed here with other
sweets – R-L: Lace Roll-Ups, Florentines, and
Chocolate Orange Puffs. Yum!
GATEAU BONBONS
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
lemon curd, orange marmelade or
jam of your choice
EASY CREAMY ICING
2 cups sifted confectioners’ (icing) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring
3 tablespoons half-n-half (cream) or
2 tablespoons water
Food coloring of choice
Place first 6 ingredients into a mixer fitted
with a paddle attachment and mix until
light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients
and add to butter mixture. Remove dough to
a piece of plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 350 degreesF. Divide dough
into quarters and roll out one at a time
onto a lightly floured surface. (Keep extra
dough chilling.) Cut out as many 1 inch
rounds as possible. Keep scraps in
refrigerator and roll out together at the
last.
Working in batches, Place half of the
cookies 1″ apart onto a parchment
lined baking pan. Pipe no more than 1/2
teaspoon filling onto center of each cookie
round. Top with a second cookie round and
seal edges with floured fingers.
Bake for at least 10 minutes or until edges
are slightly browned. Remove from oven
and let cool on baking pan.
To make icing: blend sugar, salt, and
flavoring. Add enough cream until icing is
easy to spread. Tint with your choice of food
coloring. Spread on cooled cookies. Makes 7
dozen 1″ bonbons. 🍥
If you’ve made any of the recipes from this cookbook
and were pleased with the results, I’d love to hear
from you! Thanks so much for visiting!!
Welcome! I’m Jina, the Baker, Photographer and Afternoon Tea Caterer behind Pink Piccadilly Pastries! I’m here to share sweet, simple & Tried & True Recipes & Tips for Afternoon Teas.
Just delightful!What a wonderful blog,so delicious and so beauuuuuutiful!!!Gorgeous porcelain too!I am very glad for stopping by,really a pleasure.Congratulations!Maristella.
Thank you so much for visiting Maristella!!
NICE blog….thanks for sharing.. very useful for me i will bookmark this for my future needs. Thanks.
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