Homemade Petit Beurre - 2 ways

This was my "go to" cracker for the longest time in school.
The name literally means petite = small and beurre = butter which would make these be like small buttery treats.
I have been thinking of giving these a try for a long time and because I have came across 2 recipes, I decided to try both. One has a leavening agent and the other doesn't, which sort of made me wonder if the second recipe will have a funny texture or not and it turns out that they are just fine even without the baking powder !


Ok, here are the 2 recipes with their pictures.

Ingredients for Petit Beurre with Leavening Agent:
440 gr or 3 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 TBSP unsalted butter, softened (1 and 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk or cream
***you can also add vanilla, zest, almond extract, orange liqueur or other flavoring you might like


Directions:
Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda and set aside.
Mix the softened butter with the sugar and then add the yolks one at a time.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix well and then add the milk/ cream and the rest of the flour mixture.
Scrap dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.
Press it into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick.
Wrap and chill for up to 3 days, but not less than 2 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 F.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly flour it.
Roll into a 12 inch square, cut in half and work with one half at a time.
Roll each half onto a 9 by 12 inch rectangle and then start cutting the cracker shapes, piecing them with a fork.
Transfer the cuts-out to baking sheets covered with parchment paper leaving 1 inch in between them.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden.







Ingredients for Petit Beurre without a Leavening Agent:
200 gr flour
6 TBSP (80 gr) butter, diced
40 gr sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 TBSP cream, sour cream
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 TBSP orange liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:
Cut the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs or coarse meal consistency.
Make a well in the center and add the sugar, salt, cream, flavorings and stir gently with a fork.
When it comes together start kneading gently.
Transfer to a floured surface and cut in 2.
Wrap each ball in plastic foil and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
When ready, preheat the oven to 350 F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread each piece of dough to 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm thickness and start cutting shapes for the crackers.
Using a toothpick of which you cut the pointy tip off, make the holes in the crackers so they can vent during baking.
Like I did here.


*** You can do this before transfering the crackers to the baking sheets or after you have done that.
I did it after.


Leave 1 inch between the crackers.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Store in a plastic bag or a tin box at room temperature.


And for those of you who might be clueless as to what I am talking about....here are a few pictures of the buttery cracker.