une morsure d'amour (a bite of love)

Passport & Plate - Frangipane Cookie Squares

Canada | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 3 photos

Ingredients
Ingredients:

For the Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate from a bar ( I love and use Valrohna), melted– you can use chips if you like too but just make sure its a good quality (at least 70% cacao solids)

For filling

1 1/2 cups blanched slivered almonds

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar (if you want a sweeter filling you can use as much as 3/4 cup)

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tbsp Amaretto

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp pure almond extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

 

How to prepare this recipe
Directions:

Heat the oven to 375°F. Arrange a rack in the middle. Grease and line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.

Make the crust first:

Combine flour and salt in a small mixing bowl and whisk to break up any lumps. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars. Beat with rubber spatula until fluffy and light (it took me about 5 minutes to get the desired appearance and texture). Add the egg, and mix until just incorporated; mix in vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture slowly (so none of it goes flying in your face). Divide the dough in half and add the melted chocolate to one of the halves. Then combined the two and using your hands, twist the dough to get a marbled effect.

Evenly distribute the dough in the pan. Bake until the top feels dry and crisp, about 20-22 minutes. Take it out of the oven, and let it cool completely on a wire rack. While they are baking up then cooling down, make the filling.

Reduce temperature to 350°F.

Combine almonds, sugar, eggs, amaretto, extracts, and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add butter; blend 10 seconds. Spread evenly onto cooled crust (a metal offset palette knife helps).

Place pan on a baking sheet and bake until the top feels firm and is golden brown about 30-40 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack and cut into squares.

Yield: 9 large squares or 12 medium sized ones.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. They will keep for 3 days at room temperature in a cool, dry spot. They can also be frozen in freezer bags for up to 2 months.

Recipe by me, Tiffany Leigh

 

The story behind this recipe
As a child, I fondly recall my mom going to the local French bakery to pick up some croissants and pastries for special occasions. In particular, the buttery wonders were the subject of much fascination. In between bites, I'd ask her how she knew about these edible works of art. How was the flavour so delicately sweet and delicious? My mind and my taste-buds were thrown into tizzy. I yearned to know more about this new world and culture. While devouring sweets, mom would share stories about her youth and travels abroad. About how she saved up money from waitressing to travel to the City of Love, go shopping and eat pastries in fancy cafes. My imagination would go wild; I'd imagine her in fashion-forward frocks, throwing caution to the wind and exploring a city with so much history and wonder on her own.

It is no wonder then that this recipe was born out of my wanting to honour my mom's youthful, carefree times... and admittedly, my gluttonous desire to savour more of the sweet almond filling found in those flaky croissants. I wanted to create a baked item to share with my family that would showcase those rich, nutty flavours in all their glory. No doubt, I'd have another reason to bring our family to the table and chat ;)
Rather than utilize costly (store-bought) almond paste or tooth-achingly sweet marzipan, I opted make my own frangipane and share the recipe with my readers in my blog. I believe that it is fresher and healthier (no preservatives/ additives).
The crust/base was inspired by the ones found in a cheesecake. Its sturdy platform would be the perfect vehicle house the creamy frangipane filling. Naturally, I had to fit chocolate in the recipe somewhere. It would be an insult to all Parisians if I didn't ;)

I hope this dessert bring you as much pleasure as it did me and my family.

Enjoy!