French Almond Crisps with Hazelnuts
It was a rainy day of November when we landed in Lyon, my sister and I. And it was the rain that lead us to this tiny french cafe in the old town to escape the pouring rain and relax with a cup of cappuccino. Maybe cake.
The smell of french pastry hit is as soon as we stepped in. The little cafe was filled with flavours of almonds, chocolate and croissants…it smelled like toasted butter and nuts…it smelled like creamy cappucinno and steamy milk. We were in awe.
A french lady came up to us to welcome us. She was in the back making the traditional Croquants aux Pralines Roses. She must have been making them all day long because everybody was eating them.
We were there long enough to watch her as she was making them. I got curious and ordered some myself. It was such a captivating experience watching make these.
I asked her about the red pralines and she told me they are a special french candy – they’re almonds coated in a red caramel glaze. As I discovered later, the Croquants made with the red pralines were a lyonnaise specialty, as most of the cafes in Vieux Lyon were serving them.
I loved the crisps so much that I spent days researching how to make them when I returned home. Such is the beauty of traveling and these learning experiences are the best souvenirs one could possibly get!
This is the recipe I used to make the French Croquants. I didn’t have any of the red pralines so I used toasted hazelnuts. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. They take me back to that rainy day in France, to that warm, tiny cafe every time I make them.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine all purpose flour and almond flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and almond extract. Beat in the egg (if you add more, beat in one egg at a time). I adapted this recipe to make sure it's just enough for two people, but if you have a large family or if you're planning on making these for a party you can double or triple it.
Crush the hazelnuts. I used a rolling pin to crush the hazelnuts, but you can do that with a food processor as well. Gently fold the flour mixture into the egg/butter mixture. Once everything's incorporated, add the hazelnuts.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and shape into 1 inch logs with plenty of space in between (although I believe mine were thinner than that). The dough is quite sticky and hard to manipulate so make sure to flour your hands well and be patient.
Drop the oven temperature to 320F and place your croquants into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes until your kitchen gets filled with flavours of nuts and butter. Such an amazing feeling when you get these out for the first time! Even if they turn out a bit brown on the bottom, believe me, they are not burnt. Just like the perfect cookie, the secret is in the color. You need to let it turn slightly brown to get that gorgeous caramelized flavour.
Carefully take the tray out and place it on your work surface. Don't turn off the oven just yet. Cut the logs into 1 inch thick pieces and leave enough space between each piece. Place back into the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough, to dry them out. I actually didn't want to dry them out too much, so I baked them for just an extra 15 minutes then I turned the oven off and left them inside for another 15 minutes to dry naturally, without heat.
Once they're nice and dry, take them out of the oven and let them cool for another 30-60 minutes. If you're impatient like me, go ahead and eat one, or two, or three!!
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine all purpose flour and almond flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and almond extract. Beat in the egg (if you add more, beat in one egg at a time). I adapted this recipe to make sure it's just enough for two people, but if you have a large family or if you're planning on making these for a party you can double or triple it.
Crush the hazelnuts. I used a rolling pin to crush the hazelnuts, but you can do that with a food processor as well. Gently fold the flour mixture into the egg/butter mixture. Once everything's incorporated, add the hazelnuts.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and shape into 1 inch logs with plenty of space in between (although I believe mine were thinner than that). The dough is quite sticky and hard to manipulate so make sure to flour your hands well and be patient.
Drop the oven temperature to 320F and place your croquants into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes until your kitchen gets filled with flavours of nuts and butter. Such an amazing feeling when you get these out for the first time! Even if they turn out a bit brown on the bottom, believe me, they are not burnt. Just like the perfect cookie, the secret is in the color. You need to let it turn slightly brown to get that gorgeous caramelized flavour.
Carefully take the tray out and place it on your work surface. Don't turn off the oven just yet. Cut the logs into 1 inch thick pieces and leave enough space between each piece. Place back into the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough, to dry them out. I actually didn't want to dry them out too much, so I baked them for just an extra 15 minutes then I turned the oven off and left them inside for another 15 minutes to dry naturally, without heat.
Once they're nice and dry, take them out of the oven and let them cool for another 30-60 minutes. If you're impatient like me, go ahead and eat one, or two, or three!!
Enjoy!