Baking For Cowboys: Langues de Chat (Cat's Tongue Biscuits) 猫舌饼

After the 2 batches of express kaya or coconut egg jam I made earlier, I have 8 egg whites sitting in my fridge. Search through my cookbooks and I found a perfect French biscuit recipe that called for egg whites. Going to use up half of my egg whites and will use the other half with another recipe.

Note: According to USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), egg whites can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 4 days and 12 months in the freezer.

Bonjour (Hello in French)! Langues de Chat or Cat's Tongue Biscuits 猫舌饼 is a traditional French recipe for a classic thin biscuit or cookie, shape like a cat's tongue made from a piped egg white batter flavoured with vanilla. These biscuits are usually served to accompany desserts, coffee or sweet wine but they are equally delicious to eat as they are.

Ingredients:

65g Egg white (room temperature)
60g Unsalted butter (soften)
60g Icing sugar (shifted)
60g Low protein flour or cake flour (shifted)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
pinch of salt

You will also need a piping bag and a 1cm plain round nozzle or tip.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl, beat the butter with your hand mixer (or electric mixer) until soft and creamy.

Add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula, making sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

The batter is light and fluffy

Add in the egg whites in 2 to 3 batches. Make sure each batch of egg white is mixed thoroughly with the butter and sugar mixture before you add in the next batch.

Now add in the bread flour. Mix until no flour is feasible.

Then add in vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Spoon the mixture into the piping bag with the plain nozzle. When the bag is full enough, squeeze the mixture towards the nozzle to remove any air pockets. Twist the remaining fabric at the other end of the bag around the mixture.

Pipe a 5cm straight line of the mixture onto the baking sheet, squeezing with only one hand and using your other hand to support the nozzle end of the bag. Remember to leave 5cm between each biscuits as they will spread during cooking.