"It's some sort of delicious biscuit." "Bernard, it's a coaster." "Is it? Are there any more?"

[pepper]

I accidentally made an almond version of langue de chat biscuits today. As is the sort of thing that happens with my baking. Although usually my unexpected disasters are a little less delightful.

The recipe I used just called them 'almond biscuits', and claimed they could be rolled, but this was a liiiiiiiiiie. They were very nearly batter. I'd made them once before, but added a ton of flour, and they were nice, like almond shortbread.

This time, I decided to make them more liquidy, adapt the recipe a little to make them more almondy (I love almonds), and adapt the method completely. They tasted fabulous. Had I realised how much they'd spread in the oven, I'd have put them further apart, and they'd also look fabulous. As it is, I ended up with a puddle of biscuit, which had to be cut apart with a pizza wheel.

Still. Delicious!

Almond Langue de Chat

8 tsp plain (all purpose) flour
4oz / 115g / 1 cup caster sugar
3oz / 85g / 3/4 cup ground almonds
1 pinch salt
4oz / 115g / 1 cup butter
1 egg
2-3 drops almond essence or extract

2 baking sheets, greased and covered with baking parchment.

Oven at 190c / 375f / gas mark 5.

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, and salt.
2. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the egg and almond essence/extract.
4. Put teaspoonfuls of the mixture VERY WELL SPREAD OUT on the baking sheets (or you could pipe them on in the style of proper langue de chat, if you like - it's more washing-up than I can be bothered to do, personally).
5. Bake for about 10 mins, or until they go brown at the edges but are still pale yellow in the middle.
6. Leave to cool for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Consume rapidly.

They'd be nice with ice cream, I think. I might try that later.

Comments

[supplyship.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, sounds delish! *prints recipe*

Yay, baking adventures! I do hate it when stuff spreads in the oven. Ah well, at least they taste nice!

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they were delicious, but not picturesque. But that's what my cooking is usually like, so... *g* Someday I'll learn the fine art of presentation. But not today!

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

Ummm, isn't 'langue de chat', er... cat's tongue?

They sound delicious but the name's... odd. Huh.

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes. The biscuit is supposed to be shaped like a cat's tongue.

...It's a daft name, yes. *g*

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Proper langues de chat:

(http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w245/pepper-f/?action=view&current=langue-de-chat.jpg)

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

Oooh, those do look lovely! And yummy. I'll have to give the recipe a try - I love almond too.

Is castor sugar the granulated or powdered kind? I'd guess powdered, but I want to be sure.

Thanks!

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

Granulated, I think - hang on, let me check UK to US sugar translations... :)

Yeah, by the looks of what Wiki says, it's a fine-grained granulated sugar. It's probably okay to use powdered instead, though.

Divided by a Common Language

[thothmes.livejournal.com]

Castor sugar is what we in the States would call Superfine sugar. Finely ground, but still granulated. I'm sure powdered would work too in this case, but it sometimes has some added cornstarch (I'm not sure exactly what the reason is for adding this, but it is there) which can interfere in some more finnicky recipes. Hope this helps.

Re: Divided by a Common Language

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Yes, I can figure out most things (biscuit=cookie), but caster sugar had me stumped.

Now, I wonder how they'd do at high altitude? Most biscuit/cookie/pastry-type things don't need adjustments, so I can start with the basic recipe and go from there.

Thanks again!