Torcettis

My family's been stopping at the Cle Elum Bakery while going between Seattle and eastern Washington since before I can remember. Maybe even before I was born. I always look forward to it: everything is made fresh there and they have several items that you can't find anywhere else. Like chocolate maple bars (my favorite). And torcetti (sometimes spelled "torchetti").

For a while I've been wanting to make them myself so a few months ago I finally decided to search for a recipe. What I thought was a popular Italian cookie is really something that's, for the most part, strictly sold in Cle Elum (well, that's what it seemed like. Although, I did find one version of the recipe that's made by a confectioner in Italy, via Chowhound). One common ingredient I noticed is active dry yeast: it's used as a leavener instead of baking soda and/or baking powder. So when I had a free Saturday (as I usually do) I decided to make these to bring into work. Because I only had one packet of yeast, I stuck with a recipe from Unicorn Love.

Torchetti Cookies (source)

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1 cup shortening (I just used cold butter, also cubed)
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• Additional confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Place flour in a large bowl; cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk (honestly, I'm not sure it dissolved correctly. The dough didn't really rise like my bread dough usually does). Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla and 2 cups of the crumb mixture; beat until well blended. Gradually beat in remaining crumb mixture.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead for 3-4 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (I also didn't place the bowl in a warm place so that might've contributed to why it didn't really rise).
3. Punch dough down; divide into six portions (I just grabbed pieces and rolled them into ropes). Shape each portion into twelve 6-in. ropes, about 1/4-in. thick; roll in confectioners' sugar. Shape each rope into a loop. Holding both ends of loop, twist together three times (this last part I didn't understand. If the pictures in the blog are of the blogger's torcettis, she didn't do this step. So I didn't either).
4. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375°F for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Roll warm cookies in additional confectioners' sugar (I took this as optional). Cool on wire racks.

I'm not sure I did it right as this was the comparison:

Still, they were devoured at work. I got several compliments on how not-too-sweet they were - almost like a shortbread. I think next time, though, I'll use the other recipe in the Chowhound thread that was sourced from a local magazine that claims it's directly from the bakery. Especially since it has you roll the dough in granulated sugar - just like the ones I grew up with.