A Romanian-American Aunt’s Cherished Cinnamon Sugar Butter Horns

Recipe Roots: Iasi, Romania > New York City
Shared by Carol Becker

Aunt Betty’s kitchen in Washington Heights, at the top of Manhattan, was impossibly small, Carol Becker, the owner of William Greenberg Desserts explains. Still, Betty served an endless parade of platters of Ashkenazi classics like homemade gefilte fish, stuffed cabbage, roast chicken and brisket. There were bowls of soup, both matzo ball and split pea, and for dessert, Carol’s favorite: cinnamon sugar butter horn cookies. The dishes of food coming out of the tiny kitchen were “Like clowns coming out of the clown car. I don’t know how she did it,” Carol explains. 

The family arrived in New York from Iasi, Romania, around 1910. On the boat, Carol’s grandfather met the brother of the woman he would ultimately marry, named Sadie. She was one of 13 children, including Betty who was the youngest of the siblings. When Carol’s mother Adele was little, her mother Sadie passed away and she moved in with her grandmother Esther and later with Betty. 

When Carol was little, living in the Bronx, visits to aunt Betty’s were treated as if they were visits to a grandmother. Betty would send Carol care packages when she was a college student at Syracuse. It was when she was at college that Carol started to ask her mom for Betty’s recipes. Her mom Adele cooked mostly American dishes but would call Betty and take down the recipes over the phone and then pass them on to Carol. “Aunt Betty told my mother: ‘So, I take a handful of this and a scoop of that.’ And my mother kind of figured it out and I played with the recipes.”

This was when Carol first tried to make the butter horns on her own and “they were a disaster,” she says. It took time and testing to recreate butter horns like Betty’s. Even today, they are hard to encapsulate, even for an expert baker like Carol, who purchased the bakery — known for its black and white cookies — nearly 12 years ago. Carol explains: “They’re not like rugelach, not like hamantaschen,” they are their own special treat.  

But, not everyone agrees on what Betty’s were like. When Carol was working on her cookbook, The William Greenberg Desserts Cookbook: Classic Desserts from an Iconic New York City Bakery, she called a friend of Betty’s. “I asked him ‘How would you describe them?’ and we have totally different memories of them,” she says. They debated the shape and filling. “I don't know who was right,” she adds. So it can be with recipes that pass down from generation to generation. Still, they are a reminder of aunt Betty and the power of her tiny kitchen.

Cinnamon Sugar Butter Horns

Makes: 24 cookies
Total Time: 1 hour active + 9 hours inactive

Ingredients
¼ cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 ½ cups plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
2 envelopes (41/2 teaspoons/14 grams) active dry yeast
4 ½ cups flour, divided
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted and cooled, plus 2 ½ sticks, very soft
½ cup warm milk (between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 cups (8 ounces) finely chopped walnuts

Preparation
1. In a small bowl, combine the water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir in the yeast and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until mixture is foamy. (If your mixture doesn’t foam, your yeast may be dead - get new yeast and try again.)

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 3 ¾ cups of flour, ½ cup sugar, eggs, the ¼ pound melted butter, milk, sour cream, salt, and the yeast mixture, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon or sturdy plastic spatula to thoroughly mix 2 sticks (½ pound) very soft butter and remaining ½ cup flour until no dry spots remain. On a generously floured surface, roll out refrigerated dough into a 12 x 18 inch rectangle. Use a spatula to spread butter mixture over refrigerated dough. Roll into a log until you can no longer see the butter, then pat into a flat rectangle about 1 inch thick, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. 

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. In a medium bowl, mix cinnamon and remaining 1 cup sugar. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in two. Keep one half refrigerated while you roll the other half into a circle about 13 inches in diameter and a scant 1/4 -inch thick, Gently spread 2 tablespoons of the remaining very soft butter over the dough, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar. Top with half of the walnuts in an even layer, pressing gently so that it all adheres. Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the circle into 12 even triangular slices. Starting at the wide end, tightly roll each slice toward the center of the circle. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets with the point underneath and curve the ends slightly toward the center to form a crescent. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. 

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until firm and golden. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Make Ahead: Cookies can be made 3 to 4 days ahead. Store in an airtight container.

Black & White Cookies

Photos by Penny De Los Santos

Makes: 10 to 12 cookies
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
For the cookies:
1 ¼ cups cake flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing:
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation
1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. 

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or working with electric beaters and a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Add egg and beat until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the buttermilk and vanilla, beating until smooth. 

5. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture just until no dry streaks remain.

6. Use a 2-ounce ice cream scoop to place scoops onto prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.

7. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. Make the icing: In a double boiler or a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of water, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. Bring the water in the pot to a soft boil over medium heat, then lower heat to a simmer and whisk the sugar mixture constantly until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Divide between two bowls and add chocolate chips to one bowl while fondant is still hot. Mix in the chips to combine, adding more hot water as needed to achieve a spreadable consistency.

9. Spread vanilla icing on half of the flat side of each cookie, then frost the other halves with chocolate icing. Add hot water to the bowls of the icing by the ½ teaspoon to maintain a spreadable consistency. Let set for 30 minutes before serving.

Make ahead: Cookies can be made 4 days ahead. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Excerpted with permission fromThe William Greenberg Desserts Cookbook, from Skyhorse Publishing.