Fattigmann

Place the 2 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in the medium stainless steel mixing bowl. Use the small stainless steel whisk to beat the mixture for 2 minutes until it is pale lemon yellow, slightly thickened, and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Stir in the 2 tbsp cooled melted butter, 2 tbsp heavy cream, and 1 tbsp brandy, mixing until fully smooth with no streaks of butter remaining.

In a small prep bowl, whisk together the 1.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cardamom, and 1/4 tsp fine sea salt to evenly distribute the spice. Gradually stir the dry mixture into the wet ingredients with the whisk, switching to the white plastic dough scraper once the mixture thickens, until a stiff, smooth, non-sticky dough forms. Do not overwork the dough — overmixing will develop too much gluten and make the cookies tough.

Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Chilling relaxes the gluten in the dough and firms the butter, making the dough easy to roll extremely thin without shrinking — a critical step for light, crisp cookies. The dough should feel firm and cool to the touch when removed, not soft or sticky.

Lightly flour the counter surface (use no more than 1 tsp extra flour to avoid tough, dry cookies). Remove the chilled dough, divide it into 4 equal pieces, and keep 3 pieces covered with plastic wrap while you work with one. Use the beech wood rolling pin to roll the working piece of dough to an even 1/8-inch thickness — it should be thin enough to almost see through. Use the fluted pastry wheel to cut the dough into 2x3 inch diamond shapes, then cut a 1-inch vertical slit in the center of each diamond. Pull one pointed corner of the diamond through the center slit to form the traditional twisted Fattigmann shape.

Pour 4 cups of neutral vegetable oil into the 3L stainless steel Dutch oven, clip the deep fry thermometer to the pot side so the probe is fully submerged in oil but not touching the pot bottom. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches a steady 375°F (190°C). Maintain this temperature throughout frying by adjusting the stovetop heat between batches — oil that is too cool will produce greasy cookies, while overheated oil will burn the spice and cookie edges.

Carefully lower 3-4 cookies at a time into the hot oil using the slotted silicone-tipped tongs — do not crowd the pot, as this will drop the oil temperature too quickly. Fry for 45 seconds on the first side, then flip gently with the tongs, and fry for another 30-45 seconds on the second side until the cookies are an even, pale golden brown all over. Lift the cookies from the oil with the tongs, hold them above the pot for 2 seconds to let excess oil drain, then transfer them to the paper-towel-lined wire cooling rack.

Let the fried cookies cool completely on the rack for 10 minutes — they will get even crispier as they cool to room temperature. Place the 1/2 cup powdered sugar in the fine-mesh stainless steel sieve, hold the sieve 6 inches above the cookies, and tap the side gently to dust a light, even coating of sugar over all the cookies. Turn the cookies once to dust the reverse side, adding more sugar as needed for a soft, snowy coating.