Friday, January 30, 2015

French Fridays with Dorie - You´ll Spoil Your Appetite Croquants


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Croquants, a rather delightful "You´ll Spoil Your Appetite" kind of French cookie.




Croquant translates as "crispy" or "crunchy" in French and that goes a long way towards describing these delectable cookies  They are - like their name - crisp and crunchy, made very simply with egg whites, sugar, a bit of flour, and the toasted nut(s) of your choice. Today, I made these croquants with three kinds of nuts and one kind of seed using almonds, Italian hazelnuts (called "round Romans", they are simply the best hazelnuts you can find around here), unsalted cashews and, my favorite, dark green Styrian pumkin seeds. You can also opt for the more typical almond version, if you prefer.




As mentioned above, they only take a handful of ingredients and are rather easy to make. You chop the nuts (and seeds, if using) and the batter is a simple stir and drop affair that you can bake immediately. No need to whip the egg whites, either.




Making the croquants will always begin with the selection of the nuts. Roughly chop them. Once the nuts are taken care of, the rest is a breeze. Add superfine white baking sugar (I also added pure vanilla sugar, cinnamon and some fine sea salt), then the flour (I used white spelt flour) to a medium bowl. Whisk together before stirring in two egg whites. Stir the lot together until the batter is thick and holds together well. And the batter is done!




These cookies are delicious and quite satisfying. One minute you have these tiny piles of just-mixed stuff, the next you have some macaroon-esque delights. And this is also a great way to use up leftover egg whites. The cookies also last for ages in a cookie tin so do not worry about having to gobble them all up the same day. The only thing to pay attention to really is the space between each one, do not be tempted to place too many on one baking sheet. It is wise to use two sheet here, covered with baking parchment, as these cookies will definitely spread and stick. Let them cool completely before removing them from the baking sheets.




If you enjoy crunchy cookies, you will agree with me that these cookies are delicious, addictive, and incredibly easy to make - definitely the "You´ll Spoil Your Appetite" kind of cookie that you would want to share with family and friends!




To see whether the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed this week´s recipe, please go here.

For copyright reasons, we do not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for “Croquants“ on page 410 in Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table".


36 comments:

  1. I love your little box! I'm afraid I might spoil my appetite as your cookies with your combination of nuts and seeds sound great.

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    1. Karen, thank you so much - the little box has been waiting for a while now for its "grand appearance" - love it and these cookies fit right into it. Good. The combination of nuts and seeds was just right - a little bit of different texture and tastes in the cookies.
      Hope all is well - I shall be visiing your blog on the weekend - sorry, I am so behind with comments but it was a busy month with all those last minute exams at school before report cards yesterday and I was hors de combat for quite a while due to an infection - all well now.
      Have a lovely weekend, dear friend,
      Andrea

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  2. Truly love the box, sadly parents in the US never say those words to kids anymore.. snacking, snacking, snacking. Everyone seems to think their kids will starve between meals. I was always the meany who would make my kids take the treat home to eat "after diner" no surprise my kids eat everything.
    Now you used white spelt flour could I ask your reason? I have a regular wheat allergy without a gluten problem is this a good substitute? Your selection of nuts and seeds are fantastic. Will look into the Italian hazenuts for myself. Thanks.

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    1. Dear Diane, I have been using white spelt flour for a while now whenever I bake cookies and rather dense cakes. First of all we enjoy the slightly nutty taste that it brings to baked goods - you can also mix it wth other kinds of flour. Secondly, it is more healthy than regular white flour (that is always a bonus). It contains more protein, more vitamins (A1, B1, B2, D, E) and more minerals like zinc, copper and selenium as well as essential fatty acids than regular wheat flour. And thirdly, because two of our darling daughters have developed certain allergies and I am trying to make them eat even more healthy to avoid certain reactions - so far so good. As far as a regular wheat allergy is concerned, around here, health experts say that if you react to wheat flour you should be o.k. with spelt flour - a lot of peolpe fare rather well substituting one with the other. You should try it at least for a bit.And then I found a local flour mill that produces the most wonderful white spelt flour as well as the dark one (which I tend to mix with the white one).
      Hope that helps - if you need any further information, let me know! For a recipe that works brilliantly with white spelt flour, go here - our kids love this with fresh fruit on the side, of course after lunch:
      http://kitchenlioness.blogspot.de/2014/07/dutch-boterkoek-with-red-currants.html
      Andrea

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    2. Thank you so much Andrea...my husband has been trying different flours and rice flour is truly awful for baking. I will go to the health food store and buy a product with spelt and see if I am OK with it. So sorry your kids have food allergies it is frustrating, but the up side is they get very interested in what they eat and because my daughter can't have nuts she started baking her own treats at a very early age.

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    3. Diane, no worries - two of the girls have had food allergies for years now - we are good with them and they are very careful about what they eat, have always been. And I am a tad bit proud.

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  3. Love your presentation in that adorable little box. These cookies were great, and they do stay for a bit without getting stale.

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    1. Dear Rosemary, so nice to hear from you - hope all is well with you and hubby! Thank you for your kind words - you are absolutely right, I read that these cookies keep really well for up to two weeks in a cookie tin.
      I will over for a visit to yours and Tricia`s lovely blog `for comments this weekend,
      Andrea

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  4. That cookie box is just gorgeous and I love all the variations of this cookie that you made. Tammy used spelt flour for hers, too. Good to know how well it works with these. Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Teresa, a bit of Ceylon cinnamon, some homemade vanilla sugar, white spelt flour and some fine sea salt and a mix of really good nuts and seeds goes a long way!
      Thank you for your kind comment!
      Andrea

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  5. What a spectacular presentation! Maybe if I had added coconut, like in macaroons, I would have liked them better :) But glad you enjoyed these nutty gems.

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    1. Dear Liz, thank you very much - too bad you did not enjoy these croquants much but your idea of adding shreeded coconut to these sounds wonderful to me - maybe some coconut and dark chocolate...
      Have a lovely weekend,
      Andrea

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  6. Your croquants look perfect, and I love the additions you made. Also, the box is fabulous! Ich wünsche Dich eine schöne Samstag! ~ David

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    1. Well, thank you, David! Perfect..I do not know...but we enjoyed them.
      Andrea

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  7. Andrea, I always think I'm not a dessert person, that is, until I come upon some of your delicious baked treats. Beautiful photos too.

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    1. Dear Peggy, one day at our house and I will have you converted, trust me...just joking - I believe it is the laste dessert recipe from "Around my French Table" and we enjoyed these lovely crunchy French cookies.
      Thanks so much for stopping by - now if I could have a slice of your Sunday roast beef, please...
      Andrea

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  8. What a fun box to put your cookies in for photos! Love it! :)

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    1. Dear Karen, thank you very much - so nice of you to stop by for such a kind comment!

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  9. These were wonderful, weren't they. Your little display box speaks the truth.

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    1. Gaye, ah, thanks, that box is one of my favorite props, yet I never really get to use it that much. Cute and true saying, huh?!
      Have a great Sunday,
      Andrea

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  10. I love the idea of doing a mix of nuts and seeds. They are so pretty and must have been delicious. I'm also glad to know these work with spelt flour. I'm always trying to eat more whole grains.

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    1. Jora, These days I try to incorporate as amuch spelt flour in my baking as possible - I believe it works best with dense cakes and cookies, especially shortbread and my faorite Dutch boterkoek but I am now using it also for savory dishes such as tarte flambée and pizza - it works great and the slighty nutty taste is enjoyable.
      Hope you are all spending a nice weekend with Charlotte - off to put the February list of recipes for the CCC together.
      Andrea

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  11. Yum, what amazing cookies. And healthy too? Definitely a win-win!

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    1. Chris, crunchy delicious and easy peasy to put together - do not know about them being all that healthy, they are kind of sweet after all, but I like to think of cookies like this as the cookies with a healthy touch from a different flour, good quality nuts and a nice dose of very healthy cinnamon.
      Hope all is well - thank you fro dropping by,
      Andrea

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  12. Hi Andrea, I love your idea of adding some seeds with the nuts. I will try to remember that for my next batch, some pumpkin seeds and maybe some sunflower or sesame seeds as well. I'm glad you enjoyed these as much as I did. I will definitely add these to my repertoire. Hope you have a wonderful week.

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    1. Betsy, dark green pumpkin seeds from lovely Styria are just the best and happen to be my personal favorites - they add a lot of taste to these cookies but sunflower seeds are a wonderful idea as well - we love their inherent sweetness.
      Thank you for the kind comment,
      Andrea

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  13. I must get boxes like that! Fabulous for sweets, treats, fun!
    Lovely.
    xxxx

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    1. Kim, these kind of boxes come in many different shapes and designs - I always keep my eyes open for them as they make perfect gifts.
      Thank you so much for stopping by,
      Andrea

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  14. Hi Andrea,we are ready to spoil our appetite everyday only if we could have that lovely box of yours filled with delicious,crispy,chunky croquants....that must taste so good...we can imagine them cause we have had a good bite into these extra-ordinarily delicious cookies,thanks for sharing the warmth of these seedy treats...Have A Beautiful Day!! :-)

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    1. Dear Rakesh and Swikruti, how very kind of you, thank you! Yes, these cookies are definitely the "You´ll Spoil Your Appetite" kind of cookies - I found them rather addictive and plan on making them again soon with exactly the same mix of nuts and seeds.
      Thank you for your wonderful comments - I always enjoy them so much!
      Andrea

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  15. You always have the best pictures, such a good photographer. I enjoyed the shout-out to you on Mary's Blog. These cookies are light and airy which leads to wanting more.

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    1. Diane, thank you - doing my best to keep myself and faithful blog readers interested - at times there does not seem to be a better way than with some pictures - I know it takes a long time to read through all the blogs - so for me it is often more pictures,less words (although I am known to indudge in food history at times...) - I am glad we could agree on these lovely French cookie treats.
      Andrea

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  16. That cookie box is just wonderful!
    Pumpkin seeds were a nice idea (as was the nut trio).

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    1. Thank you, dear friend - the box was sitting on my shelf for the longest time - glad I finally found a good use for it!
      Andrea

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  17. Your cookies look delicious and that cookie box is wonderful! I have never heard of Styrian pumpkin seeds but will keep an eye out for them!

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    1. Guyla, the Styrian pumpkin seeds are actually the best. They are dark green and the most healthy pumkin seeds that one can get!
      Thank you so much for your comment,
      Andrea

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