When I was young, we had one bakery in the village. It was owned by a Belgian couple, and everything they made was really good. One of the pastries they made was an almond cookie with a sugar glaze called “miroir,” so named because it resembles a mirror.
Unfortunately, things went sour between the couple — they divorced, closed the shop, and sold it. Ever since, every time I visit a bakery, I look out for one, but I’ve only found something close once, and that bakery has since gone bankrupt too. So while it’s not a perfect replica, it’s pretty close and satisfies my craving.
(Experiment 52) Almond biscuit
Ingredients
Main
- 100 g butter
- 60 g sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g cake All-purpose works too flour
- 120 g almond flour
- 1 g baking powder
- 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp milk whichever type you have or just water
Icing
- 1 egg white
- 160 g icing sugar
- Optional 1/2 lemon juice this give a tint of lemon to it
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, whip the butter then add the sugar and salt. Once you have a paste, add the vanilla extract and the egg then mix again.
- Remove bowl from the stand mixer.
- Add the almond flour + flour + baking powder. Using the side of a spatula you want to “knife” the mix. Scoop the side and keep cutting through the mix until all the flour is incorporated.
- Make a ball, cover, and put in the fridge for 30 mins.
- Take it out of the fridge and cut it into 15-20 pieces, shape them as you wish. I find it easier to shape them in my hand, about ½” thick but the result is not as pretty.
- Beat the egg yolk with the milk and lightly brush it on the biscuit.
- Bake at 350F for about 14 mins
- Let cool before you put the icing
- When they are cooled, make the icing. In a bowl dump the icing sugar (and lemon juice if you opted for this) + egg white and mix. If it’s very liquid, add more sugar. It should be about toothpaste consistency
- If you have an icing bag go for it, it makes a much better result. Let them dry about 60 mins and eat.
- To preserve them, put them in a container and cover loosely else they will become “wet”
