These are shortbread-style biscuits originating from Nantes in France. They differ from typical shortbreads in that they have ground almonds, salt and a wash of egg yolks. Simple but lovely nonetheless.
I baked these as a simple gift to give when visiting a friend, to accompany the tried and trusted bottle of something. I do like to give (and receive) something home made. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a bottle of wine too!
To make them look a little more like an actual gift, rather than sticking them in a box, I wrapped six or seven at a time in a strip of baking parchment and tied with butcher’s string. I added a lavender stalk (very French!) as a decoration.
Equipment
- Bowl
- Cutter
- Spatula
- Baking sheets, lined
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- Plain flour – 135g
- Ground almonds – 35g
- Unsalted butter – 80g
- Salt – large pinch
- Caster sugar – 70g plus extra for dusting
- Egg yolk
Method
- Turn your oven on to 160C fan / 170C conventional
- Mix everything together apart from the egg yolk and bring together into a ball
- On a surface dusted with flour, roll out to about 3mm thickness
- Press out using your chosen cutter and place each biscuit on the lined baking tray, being careful to leave a gap between each biscuit, as they do spread a little
- Lightly beat the egg yolk, then brush the top of each biscuit with a little
- Sprinkle over a little caster sugar onto each biscuit over the top of the egg wash
- Bake for about 15 minutes
Ink Sugar Spice - Lynn Clark 