Milk Cookies

Place the sugar, vanilla sugar, and milk in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and let it simmer over low heat for a couple of minutes. Then let it cool completely — once cooled, you'll have a slightly syrupy sugar mixture.

Beat the softened butter and egg together briefly with a mixer.

With the mixer running, slowly pour in the syrup in a thin, steady stream.

Mix the flour with the baking powder. Gradually add the flour, stirring it in with a spoon or spatula — don't overwork the dough. You may need more or less flour depending on its absorption capacity (I used 450 g). You're looking for a soft, pleasant-to-handle dough that doesn't stick to your hands, yet is not stiff at all and very pliable.

Roll out the dough to about 7 mm thick and cut out rounds with a cookie cutter. My cutter is 10 cm in diameter — if you don't have cutters, you can use a large cup, a small bowl, or something similar.

Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Mix the egg yolk with the water and brush the cookies with the mixture. If you like, use a fork to draw a pattern on the cookies. I simply ran a fork in two parallel lines twice, then twice more across them. The day before, I took a close look at a store-bought cookie my husband picked up, and I think that's exactly how the pattern is made :-) — at least on the ones sold at our nearest store. I also sprinkled some of the cookies with chopped almonds (press the nuts gently into the dough with your hand).

Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for about 10–15 minutes. I baked mine for 15 minutes, but keep an eye on your own oven — the cookies should turn lightly golden in the center and a little more so around the edges. For softer cookies, bake them a bit less; for crispier ones, bake a bit longer. Let the finished cookies cool completely. Here are the ones with nuts.

And here are the plain ones with the fork pattern.

And here's a look at the inside.

These milk cookies taste even better the next day, and they keep well for quite a while without losing quality. If you prefer them soft, store them in a bag; if you leave them uncovered, they'll turn fully crispy. These milk cookies are soft yet crispy, have a wonderful milk-and-vanilla aroma, and a slightly crumbly texture. They're great with a glass of milk, but pair beautifully with tea or coffee too!