I can't believe that it's taken me almost three years to try the recipe for "Almond, Pistachio and Sour Cherry Wafers" from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. I love almonds. And pistachios. And dried sour cherries. And crunchy cookies. Better late than never!
These cookies are wafers that are shaped by pressing the dough into a loaf pan, chilling it, and cutting it into very thin slices before baking. While the dough is completely straightforward, you need to plan ahead to allow for the dough to firm up in the fridge or freezer, and I do think there's some finesse required to slice the cookies evenly and as thin as possible.
To make the dough, you sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; pour in butter, dark brown sugar, and water that has been cooked until the sugar has dissolved; and mix in whole almonds, pistachios, and dried sour cherries. I decided to also add some almond extract, because almost every single time I make a recipe that includes almonds but no almond extract, I wonder afterwards if it would have been better with some extract added.
I have the British version of Sweet and the recipe instructs you to press the dough into a 900-gram loaf tin. I had no idea what size that was because nine hundred grams is about two pounds, and generally in the United States you see pans that are 8.5-inches by 4.5-inches described as "1-pound" loaf pans; 9-inch by 5-inch pans described as "1.25-pound" pans, and 10-inch by 5-inch pans described as "1.5-pound pans. It didn't occur to me at the time I was making this recipe to check the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to check what the American version of the cookbook says about pan size -- in fact, the American version states that a 900 gram loaf pan is a 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch pan. I was actually multiplying the recipe by 2.5 and I divided the batter between two 10-inch by 5-inch loaf pans. I put the pans in the fridge overnight to chill.
The next day I used a very sharp chef's knife to cut the wafers. I got 60 wafers from each loaf, but it was quite challenging to make the wafers thin and even. The large loaf pans I used worked against me here, because the cookies were enormous. However, the extra-large cookies were also beautiful after baking. The slices were so thin that I could actually see through some of the cherries if I held a wafer up to the light.
These cookies were very firm and loudly crunchy and I loved them. I am glad that I added the almond extract, because the cinnamon flavor was pretty prominent and I think that there's a danger of the cinnamon competing with the other flavors. (My mom asked me for a copy of this recipe after I mailed my parents a batch of these wafers, and when I mentioned that I had added almond extract, she commented that she would do the same and just omit the cinnamon altogether. I'm sure I would love a cinnamon-less version too.) Of all of the wafer-type cookies I've made similar to these (that are sliced from a loaf), these are the most hearty and substantial. They were immensely satisfying.
Recipe: "Almond, Pistachio and Sour Cherry Wafers" from Sweet by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi.
Previous Posts:
These cookies are wafers that are shaped by pressing the dough into a loaf pan, chilling it, and cutting it into very thin slices before baking. While the dough is completely straightforward, you need to plan ahead to allow for the dough to firm up in the fridge or freezer, and I do think there's some finesse required to slice the cookies evenly and as thin as possible.
To make the dough, you sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; pour in butter, dark brown sugar, and water that has been cooked until the sugar has dissolved; and mix in whole almonds, pistachios, and dried sour cherries. I decided to also add some almond extract, because almost every single time I make a recipe that includes almonds but no almond extract, I wonder afterwards if it would have been better with some extract added.
I have the British version of Sweet and the recipe instructs you to press the dough into a 900-gram loaf tin. I had no idea what size that was because nine hundred grams is about two pounds, and generally in the United States you see pans that are 8.5-inches by 4.5-inches described as "1-pound" loaf pans; 9-inch by 5-inch pans described as "1.25-pound" pans, and 10-inch by 5-inch pans described as "1.5-pound pans. It didn't occur to me at the time I was making this recipe to check the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to check what the American version of the cookbook says about pan size -- in fact, the American version states that a 900 gram loaf pan is a 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch pan. I was actually multiplying the recipe by 2.5 and I divided the batter between two 10-inch by 5-inch loaf pans. I put the pans in the fridge overnight to chill.
These cookies were very firm and loudly crunchy and I loved them. I am glad that I added the almond extract, because the cinnamon flavor was pretty prominent and I think that there's a danger of the cinnamon competing with the other flavors. (My mom asked me for a copy of this recipe after I mailed my parents a batch of these wafers, and when I mentioned that I had added almond extract, she commented that she would do the same and just omit the cinnamon altogether. I'm sure I would love a cinnamon-less version too.) Of all of the wafer-type cookies I've made similar to these (that are sliced from a loaf), these are the most hearty and substantial. They were immensely satisfying.
Recipe: "Almond, Pistachio and Sour Cherry Wafers" from Sweet by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi.
Previous Posts:
- "A Traditional Belgian Cookie by Way of Hawaii: Pains D'Amande," September 15, 2017.
- "Wafer Thin Loveliness: Hazelnut Sticks," June 25, 2016.
- "Two for Tea: Pistachio Thins and Coconut Sticks," April 3, 2016.
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