Hex-Nut Cinnamon Biscuits

It's up to you.

15 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Prepare whites without trace of yolk

   Prepare a bowl and whisks the beater perfectly clean and dry. Break the eggs one by one over a small bowl, separate the yolks and pour the whites into the bowl after each egg; weighs 60 g of whites in total. Keep the yolks in the refrigerator for another preparation. Any trace of fat or egg yolk can prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.

2. Weigh sugar and almonds separately

   Weighing 160 g of icing sugar for meringue, 250 g of ground almonds, 6 g of cinnamon and 10 ml of lemon juice. Keep the 20 g of icing sugar for display in a small container apart: they do not go into the bowl. Prepare a small box or bowl to reserve the surface meringue.

3. Start whisking the egg whites

   Whisk the 60 g of whites at medium speed until they become frothy and white, about 1 minute. Slightly increases the speed and then adds the 160 g of icing sugar in several spoonfuls, without stopping the mixer. Wait until each addition is incorporated before the next to limit powder splashes.

4. Get a meringue farm and reserve a share

   Continue whipping until you get a thick and shiny meringue. Stop the beater, raise the beaters: the preparation must form a tip that holds without flowing immediately. Take 3 tablespoons of meringue from the small bowl, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator; this portion is reserved for the top of the 24 cookies.

5. Form the cinnamon paste

   Pour 250 g of ground almonds, 6 g of cinnamon and 10 ml of lemon juice into the remaining meringue. Mix with the spatula by passing under the preparation and then folding it towards the center. Scrape the edges until there is no more dry almond pouch; the dough is dense and sticky, not liquid.

6. Firming the dough

   Gather the dough into a thick disc and place it on baking paper. Fold the paper over and put it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to make it easier to spread. Prepare a baking sheet covered with baking paper and the 5 cm hexagonal cookie cutter, or a knife and a clean template of the same size.

7. Spread to a regular thickness

   Turn the oven on at 150 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) and place the oven rack in its lower part. Saupouper two sheets of baking paper with a portion of the 20 g of display icing sugar, then place the dough between them. Roll over 8 mm; check several edges so as not to have very fine cookies in one place and thick in another.

8. Cut out twenty-four hexagons

   Remove the sheet from the top and cut out 5 cm hexagons. Slides a spatula underneath to move them on the plate with 2 cm of space between them. Collect the drops, spread them again to 8 mm and continue up to 24 pieces; use the rest of the display sugar only if the paste adheres to the paper or tool. If dough remains after 24 pieces, cook it separately in small cookies of the same thickness or keep it cold-packed for the next batch.

9. Open the center of the nuts

   In the center of each hexagon, push the round end of a clean 1 cm piping tip and remove the small disc of dough. Unclog the piping tip between two cookies so that it cuts clearly. The removed centers can be collected with the offcuts to complete the 24 pieces; keeps a hole clear and avoids deforming the sides.

10. Teinter the reserved meringue

    Take the 3 tablespoons of meringue set aside. Weigh 2 g on the 10 g of unsweetened cocoa, sift them on top and gently mix with a small spoon until a homogeneous grayish beige color is obtained. Keep the remaining 8 g of cocoa for the flanks after cooking; do not pour any more into the icing.

11. Ice the tops in a thin layer

    Place a small amount of cocoa meringue on each hexagon. Spread with the back of a small spoon, going from the center to the six sides, without filling the central hole. Spread the reserved meringue over the 24 nuts in a thin layer and immediately remove any drip that plugs a hole.

12. Cook gently without browning the top

    Bake in the bottom of the oven for 12-14 minutes. The sides must be taken and the surface must no longer appear liquid; the top remains clear and the center remains tender. If you cook on two baking tray, make two successive batches at the same level rather than squeezing the cookies; monitor each baking tray from 12 minutes.

13. Let firm on the plate

    Take out the plate and let the cookies cool completely on it, about 40 minutes. Do not lift them hot: their paste rich in almonds is still fragile and firms when cooling. Once cold, gently peel the paper under each; if an edge hangs, slip a flat spatula rather than pull on the cookie.

14. Lightly powder the flanks

    Put the reserved 8 g of cocoa in a small strainer. Hold a cooled nut slightly tilted over a plate and pat the strainer to place a veil on the sides, without burying the icing. Turn the cookie to reach the other sides; use this cocoa gradually on the 24 pieces and recover what falls into the plate.

15. Allow to be taken and served

    Check that the 24 holes are still visible, then remove the excess cocoa by tapping very gently each cookie. Store the nuts in a dry box, separated by baking paper. The remaining cocoa does not need to be forced on the biscuits: reserve it for service or another dessert, in order to keep a balanced taste.