I have met some very kind and talented bakers through writing this blog. A few months ago I happened to get into a conversation about the recent poke trend that has finally reached DC with Raylene, a blog reader who lives in Hawaii. Raylene convinced me that I should be making my own poke and generously sent me a care package from Honolulu with everything I needed to make my own poke -- well, except for the fish, of course! But she threw in some other goodies as well, including a three-pound bag of Hawaiian raw washed turbinado sugar, with a handwritten note attached telling me that I should use it to make Flo Braker's pains d'amande cookies.
Tom and I have enjoyed delicious homemade ahi tuna poke many times since I received Raylene's package but I have only recently finally gotten around to trying the almond cookie recipe. I shouldn't have waited so long!
This recipe uses a similar technique as Alice Medrich's coconut sticks and hazelnut sticks; you make a dough, press it into a pan, chill the dough until firm, and then slice the dough into very thin cookies that bake up super crispy. I love a crispy cookie. The dough for Braker's recipe comes together very quickly and easily. You just heat butter, sugar, water, and cinnamon until the butter melts (but make sure you keep some of large grains of sugar intact); and then stir in flour, baking soda, and sliced almonds. The dough was pourable and it was easy to smooth it into an even layer in a parchment-lined loaf pan. I chilled the dough for 24 hours before slicing it into sticks (I got 60 cookies from a brick of dough formed in a 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch pan) and baking the cookies until crisp and golden, flipping them over halfway through.
These cookies are so dang good. First of all, the texture was fantastic -- so light and crispy. The cookies had a sort of commercial bakery-quality airy snap that I don't think I've previously been able to achieve without the use of baker's ammonia. And the flavor was addictive. I love almond and the little bit of cinnamon really enhances the cookie's flavor -- it is reminiscent of a Biscoff because of the spice. I loved absolutely everything about this delightful cookie and am going to put the rest of my Hawaiian washed sugar to good use making more. Thanks Raylene!
Recipe: "Pains d'amande" from Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker, recipe available here at davidlebovitz.com.
Tom and I have enjoyed delicious homemade ahi tuna poke many times since I received Raylene's package but I have only recently finally gotten around to trying the almond cookie recipe. I shouldn't have waited so long!
This recipe uses a similar technique as Alice Medrich's coconut sticks and hazelnut sticks; you make a dough, press it into a pan, chill the dough until firm, and then slice the dough into very thin cookies that bake up super crispy. I love a crispy cookie. The dough for Braker's recipe comes together very quickly and easily. You just heat butter, sugar, water, and cinnamon until the butter melts (but make sure you keep some of large grains of sugar intact); and then stir in flour, baking soda, and sliced almonds. The dough was pourable and it was easy to smooth it into an even layer in a parchment-lined loaf pan. I chilled the dough for 24 hours before slicing it into sticks (I got 60 cookies from a brick of dough formed in a 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch pan) and baking the cookies until crisp and golden, flipping them over halfway through.
Recipe: "Pains d'amande" from Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker, recipe available here at davidlebovitz.com.
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