Crispy Tuiles a L'Orange

From the Essential Pépin tv series, Episode 124: Sweet Endings

Tuile means "tile," and these cookies are shaped like curved roof tiles. Although tuiles are not usually flavored with orange zest, this is a nice variation. —Jacques Pépin

Makes about 20 cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons grated orange rind

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat and set aside.

Combine the sugar, vanilla, and egg whites in a bowl and beat with a whisk for a few seconds until foaming. Add the flour, butter, almonds, and orange rind, mixing them in well. (The batter will be liquid.)

Drop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie onto the prepared pan, leaving at least 4 inches between the mounds to allow for spreading. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Let the cookies "settle" for a couple of minutes and then, while they are still hot, lift them off the baking sheet and bend each cookie over a rolling pin or place it into a baguette mold so it takes on the shape of a curved roof tile. Allow them to cool long enough so they maintain their shape when removed. Let cool, and store in an airtight tin.

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Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.