Tuesday 9 February 2010

Langues de chat

I got a dinner invitation at the weekend (thanks T for a fab dinner!) so I thought I'd make something for my host. I was told cake was not required. As I was short on time, I decided to make a biscuit or cookie. I looked through my recipe books for inspiration. I happened to have some spare egg whites so I decided to make Langues de chat. It means "cats tongue" in French. It's really light, delicate and tasty. Why not give it a try?



125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
3 egg whites
125g plain flour

Optional extras (choose only one of the following)
2 tsp lavender flowers/dried rose petals/fennel seeds or crystallised fruits, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Grated rind of 1 orange or lemon

(I used 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence for these)


  • Preheat the oven to 200C

  • Line a baking sheet with baking parchment

  • Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually fold them into the butter mixture.

  • Sift in the flour and gently fold into the mixture.

  • Fit a piping bag with a medium sized plain nozzle (or a ziplock bag with the end snipped off) and spoon in the mixture.

  • Pipe the mixture into 3inch long fingers, no thicker than 1/2inch wide, leaving a little space between them to allow for spreading.

  • Sprinkle with optional extras of your choice and bake for 5-8 minutes or until crispy and pale golden around the edges.

  • Allow to cool completely.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, this looks beautiful! I've never had these and must try! I love to bake too. Your blog is wonderful. I love it.

    Michelle
    myowndamnkitchen.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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