I had some extra homemade praline paste from some other recent baking projects when I noticed that Payard Cookies has several recipes for sandwich cookies with praline filling. I tried a recipe for "Coquilles de Papa," which are shell-shaped hazelnut meringue cookies. My cookies were a failure, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault for not beating the egg whites to the proper consistency; my batter didn't hold its shape cleanly when I piped it and my cookies ended up quite flat. Instead of trying that recipe again, I moved on to Payard's recipe for "Duchesses," almond meringue cookies that are supposed to be sandwiched around a mixture of praline paste and crisp rice cereal. I also happened to have some homemade feuilletine leftover from another project, so I figured I would substitute feuilletine for the Rice Krispies.
This method for this recipe seemed a bit strange. The first step is to sift together almond flour and powdered sugar, and then stir in some melted butter. The problem was that it was a relatively large quantity of almond flour (175 grams) and sugar (100 grams), and a very small quantity of butter (25 grams). When I added the butter, I ended up with clumps that I tried to work out with my fingers. I wouldn't have cared about the consistency of the almond flour mixture all that much, except that you have to fold it into egg whites that have been beaten with cream of tartar and granulated sugar to stiff peaks. It was very challenging to evenly incorporate the clumpy almond mixture into the egg whites. As I tried to work out lumps with my spatula (I used the same technique I use for macronnage, pressing the mixture against the side of my mixing bowl with a silicone spatula while folding), the egg whites lost a lot of volume and the batter still retained quite a few lumps.
You're supposed to pipe the cookies into 2-inch strips using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip but I was afraid that the lumps in the batter might clog the tip. I used a large plain tip instead and piped ladyfinger-like shapes. I sprinkled on some more chopped almonds before baking.
The recipe instructs you to bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until "slightly light golden brown." After baking a few trays of cookies for varying times, my preference was for cookies baked to a darker golden brown, to ensure that the bottoms were not under cooked. When I tried a warm cookie, I didn't like it at all. It was soft and textureless and the flavor was quite muted. I thought the cookie really needed salt. I didn't even bother making the praline-feuilletine filling because I was planning on throwing the cookies in the compost pail the following day.
I tried another cookie the following morning. It was much better. After being left out overnight, the cookies were firmer and pleasantly chewy. They were quite tasty, even though the almond flavor was still not as prominent as I would have liked -- perhaps a little almond extract would have been a nice addition, but praline paste filling also would have helped in this regard. I didn't have time to pair up the cookies to make sandwiches before going to work, so I just took them to the office and offered them to my co-workers plain -- and they were a hit even without any filling.
I am tempted to make these cookies again so that I can try them with the filling. Also, I am curious to see if it might help to fold in the melted butter at the end, or alternately with the dry ingredients like you do when making genoise cake, instead of mixing it with the almond flour and powdered sugar up front.
This isn't my favorite recipe of the several I've tried from Payard Cookies so far, but I'm happy that what I thought was going to be a total loss ended up being a sweet treat.
Recipe: "Duchesses" from Payard Cookies by François Payard.
This method for this recipe seemed a bit strange. The first step is to sift together almond flour and powdered sugar, and then stir in some melted butter. The problem was that it was a relatively large quantity of almond flour (175 grams) and sugar (100 grams), and a very small quantity of butter (25 grams). When I added the butter, I ended up with clumps that I tried to work out with my fingers. I wouldn't have cared about the consistency of the almond flour mixture all that much, except that you have to fold it into egg whites that have been beaten with cream of tartar and granulated sugar to stiff peaks. It was very challenging to evenly incorporate the clumpy almond mixture into the egg whites. As I tried to work out lumps with my spatula (I used the same technique I use for macronnage, pressing the mixture against the side of my mixing bowl with a silicone spatula while folding), the egg whites lost a lot of volume and the batter still retained quite a few lumps.
You're supposed to pipe the cookies into 2-inch strips using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip but I was afraid that the lumps in the batter might clog the tip. I used a large plain tip instead and piped ladyfinger-like shapes. I sprinkled on some more chopped almonds before baking.
I tried another cookie the following morning. It was much better. After being left out overnight, the cookies were firmer and pleasantly chewy. They were quite tasty, even though the almond flavor was still not as prominent as I would have liked -- perhaps a little almond extract would have been a nice addition, but praline paste filling also would have helped in this regard. I didn't have time to pair up the cookies to make sandwiches before going to work, so I just took them to the office and offered them to my co-workers plain -- and they were a hit even without any filling.
I am tempted to make these cookies again so that I can try them with the filling. Also, I am curious to see if it might help to fold in the melted butter at the end, or alternately with the dry ingredients like you do when making genoise cake, instead of mixing it with the almond flour and powdered sugar up front.
This isn't my favorite recipe of the several I've tried from Payard Cookies so far, but I'm happy that what I thought was going to be a total loss ended up being a sweet treat.
Recipe: "Duchesses" from Payard Cookies by François Payard.
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