Tegole Valdostane

‘Tegole’ is the Italian word for tiles and when you look at the flat biscuits, this name is very appropriate. ‘Valdostane’ is a shortened form of Valle d'Aostal. These wafer-thin crispy nutty biscuits are tiles from the Valle d'Aosta, according to the name. They are made with a batter rather than a dough, and be sure to keep them in an airtight container to retain their delightfully light crunch. A perfect accompaniment to an espresso!

50 g Ground blanched almonds
50 g Ground hazelnuts (use blanched if desired)
100 g Xylitol or caster sugar
40 g Butter, softened
20 g Cake flour
2 Large egg whites
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 180C/350F. Place the nuts into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Add the xylitol or sugar, butter and flour and blitz until fully incorporated.
Add the egg whites and vanilla extract and blitz once more – you should be left with a loose batter.
Dollop 3/4 teaspoon of batter onto a large baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Use the back of the spoon to spread it out into a very thin, neat circle. Repeat with the rest of the batter, ensuring there is space between each one. The recipe yields about 60 cookies, so you may need to work in batches and use multiple trays.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden around the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool. If you want the biscuits to be slightly curved, carefully peel them off the tray whilst still hot and drape over a rolling pin or glass bottle.

6 comments:

Margaret D 25/11/24 12:10: I haven't heard of those but they look ok, Angie.
ellie 25/11/24 12:39: Oh, they look so good and they don't use regular flour. I like that about these!
Caitlin'nMegan 25/11/24 12:41: I think I need these. Wow, such a wonderful recipe.
DEZMOND 25/11/24 12:50: Bet they are super tasty when you crunch them in your mouth.
eileeninmd 25/11/24 13:46: They look tasty! Thanks for sharing!
Take care, have a great day and a happy new week.
Tom 25/11/24 13:58: ...another new one for me.