Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits - Petit Beurres

Whenever my family goes to Europe, we somehow end up buying whole wheat butter biscuits. It's just a given. When we go to a grocery store to get some supplementary snacks for our touristing, it's always these- I suspect because the "whole wheat" gives them that health aura that overshadows the "butter biscuit" part for my dad. Well, it's still a biscuit- but I'm not complaining. They're delicious.

I found that they tasted even better than the regular butter biscuits- more nutty and texturally interesting, with the whole wheat flavour complementing the butter well. I decided that I had to try to do it myself, before starting a mad search to buy them at Starsky or the like. They probably have them somewhere, but this way I can ensure they're really all-butter and free of additives.

I used graham flour (from hard red wheat) in my first batch- though I suspect the ones I bought were made with a mixture of whole wheat and white pastry flour, since the texture was way different. Not bad- but different. They're a lot less delicate, but taste fantastic, and everyone who tried them thought them superior to the bought ones. The taste of the butter works very well in the thin, browned biscuit, as well as the taste of toasted whole wheat. The cane sugar was a touch to give a little more complexity to the biscuit, but isn't necessary. The baker's ammonia is likewise an idea I had to make the cookies more biscuit-like and crispy, but baking powder will also work. I didn't roll all mine out to equal thinnesses, regrettably- next time I'll make sure they're all uniformly thin, since many turned out too thick. Getting them very thin will help make them crispy, which is one of my main goals.

The dough is nice in that it holds its shape well, allowing you to make all kinds of cut-outs. I tried out my new cookie cutters, courtesy of the magic of internet shopping, to make both the classic squares and some cute Miffy and panda shapes. Even after baking, the details were there- Nice. There's these stampers you can use to spell messages out on cookie dough that would work great here. It also reminds me of that Polish folk-design stamping rolling pin that I really want. Somebody stop me. 

In my next batch I'll try out soft, white wheat whole grain pasty flour. If that isn't quite right, I'll try a 50/50 blend of white and regular whole wheat and work from there. Until then, these are good enough to hold their own- they'd be awesome in the place of graham crackers for a richer, less sugary taste in crusts or for s'mores. Adding cinnamon or cardamom might also be nice, instead of the vanilla. I'll be making them again to have with tea regularly, freezing any extras for later since they've got enough wheat germ to go stale otherwise.

Even if you don't normally like whole wheat baked goods, try them. Whole wheat can be a very good thing, trust me. It belongs here.

Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits- Petit Beurres
Adapted from Simply So Good

100 g. Butter
1/3 C. Water
100 g. Sugar (I used 60 g. white and 40 g. cane)
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Baking ammonia, or baking powder
250 g. Graham flour, or any fine whole wheat flour

Melt butter in saucepan. Add water (reserve 2 TBSP), sugar and salt.

Let cool to room temperature. Dissolve ammonia in reserved water (this isn't necessary for baking powder) and add along with vanilla and flour. Knead together and refrigerate at least 3 H.

Preheat oven to 180℃.

Roll out very thin (about 2 mm) and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8-10 min on parchment..