Then a few months ago, I made a custard and fruit tart. (Decided not to blog it coz it looked a bit... dodgy) So the recipe I used for the base of the tart, was an almond based one, but I changed the ratios and added more almond meal than flour and balanced it with hazelnut meal. With the left-over "pastry" I decided to portion them and made little cookies out of them. They turned out REALLY well. I couldn't quite remember the almond meal to hazelnut meal to flour ratio so I sort of winged it. However it tasted like these cafe cookies.
This weekend, I had cousins over from France and had to bring some dessert for the big family dinner. Instead of they typical cakes, I decided to make a batch of these cookies. I figured, after a big heavy meal, you probably just want a cuppa tea and a little bikkie. Yum! Yum!
You can experiment a bit with the nut meal to flour ratios. But the kneading and refrigeration bit is key to this recipe's success.
Ingredients
300g butter, cubed, at room temperature
150g icing sugar mixture200g ground almonds
200g ground hazelnuts
1 1/2 tspn vanilla essence
2 eggs, room temperature
160g all-purpose flour
Method
1. Put the butter in a mixer bowl and cream until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the sugar, ground almonds and hazelnuts, and vanilla essence. Mix until combined.
3. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating the previous one before adding the next one (the dough might look curdled at this point but don't worry, it'll come together once you add the flour).
4. Add flour to the dough in about three addition. Mix until just it comes together. Do not overwork.
5. Form dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight (you can also freeze the dough at this point and thaw it in the fridge overnight).
6. Prepare baking tray, either line with bake paper or grease tray with melted butter. Preheat the oven to 175 C.
7. Remove dough from the fridge and unwrap. Using a tablespoon, portion into little balls, place them on prepared baking tray and flatten slightly. I find using my fingers to flatten a bit easier.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or it's golden brown. Remove from tray. Allow to cool before packing away or serving.
1 comments
Just the right size for a coffee but I think I'd want a few to make sure they are just right...!
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