Recipe from Anita Chu
Adapted by Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- 4(500)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Good butter is the key to these easy, delectable cookies. Before the pastry chef Anita Chu began work on her “Field Guide to Cookies” (Quirk Books), she was a Berkeley-trained structural engineer with a baking habit she couldn’t shake. One of her favorite cookies is the croq-télé, or TV snack, a chunky cookie she adapted from the Paris pastry chef Arnaud Larher. “There is no leavening to lift it, no eggs to hold it together,” she said. “It’s all about the butter.” —Julia Moskin
Featured in: Butter Holds the Secret to Cookies That Sing
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Ingredients
Yield:About 2 dozen cookies.
- ¾cup blanched almonds or hazelnuts, lightly toasted and cooled to room temperature
- ½cup sugar
- ½teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt (if using fine or table salt, use ⅜ teaspoon)
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 7tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces.
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
92 calories; 6 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 41 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Position 2 oven racks in top third and bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Step
2
In a food processor, grind nuts, sugar and salt to a fine meal. In a mixer, beat flour and butter together on low speed until texture is sandy. Add nut mixture and mix on low until dough starts to form small lumps; keep mixing until dough just holds together when pinched between fingers. Do not use wet fingers: the cookies will collapse.
Step
See AlsoDouble Apple Pie RecipeVegan Yorkshire Puddings RecipeKatharine Hepburn’s Brownies RecipeEggnog Snickerdoodles Recipe3
Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough and place in palm of your hand. With tips of fingers, pinch and press dough together until cookie has a flat bottom and pointed top, like a rough pyramid. Cookies need not be perfectly smooth or equal size. Place on parchment about 1 inch apart.
Step
4
Bake about 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. Cookies should be turning golden brown on edges. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely before storing in airtight containers up to 1 week.
Ratings
4
out of 5
500
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Cooking Notes
Rebecca
I used a food processor throughout, as suggested by another reader. I added a cap-ful of both vanilla and almond extract. To shape, I found that if I kept chilling the dough it was much easier. I chilled it by putting the bowl into a Colorado snowdrift for a few minutes. I imagine Vermont or even Canadian snowdrifts might work as well. ;-)
Meredith
Lacking a food-processor, I just used nut flour and added an extra tablespoon of butter to compensate for it likely being a touch drier. They still turn out perfectly delicious and are good as pecan in addition to hazelnut and almond.
bambi
these are so pleasing to the taste buds, easy and fun to make. I also did not use a mixer to prepare the ingredients. I use a mortar to grind the nuts. and a spoon to mix by hand. the consistency, was fine. Oh what a treat.
SheraM
2nd note. This last time I used a mini muffin pan. I used a small scoop to fill the tins after I sprayed them with cooking spray. I used a pastry tamper to compress them into the tin. Do not over-compress them or they will be hard. I normally use a convection oven and adjust the temperature. This time I did 325° in the convection oven because I wasn't sure if the cookies would be brown. I increased the time to 18 minutes turning the pans halfway through. They turned out great!
SheraM
Made a double batch of these. I ended up with 55 cookies and used considerably more than a teaspoon for each cookie. My dough was a sandy consistency, perhaps due to my making them at my dad's with unfamiliar equipment, but they stuck together nicely and baked well. I also may have over toasted my almonds, but the cookies were wonderful. Some folks thought they were like a sandie, which I guess they are, but the best sandie I ever ate.
Apple version
I used a food processor throughout, first grinding the nuts, sugar and salt, then pulsing in the flour and butter. Worked fine. I used peanuts. With a light flourish of flaky salt before sliding into the oven, they were delicious. Next time perhaps a pinch of cayenne?
SheraM
Mine didn't look much like the photo either. They are pretty fragilewhen you are trying to mold them with your fingers. Doing them in the mini muffin tins worked out much better.
Liza
Dorie Greenspan has these in her book Paris Sweets, as well. She had only 1/4 cup of nuts and adds some salt. I've made the dough, shaped, and frozen them for later baking. 9-11 minutes at 350. Extra minute if they are frozen. No problem with them holding together.
Karen
I can see replacing part of the butter with finely shredded sharp cheddar and adding cayenne pepper. I think it would make a greatsavory snack.
Amy
First off, mine looked nothing like the photo but it didn't matter because they tasted delicious. It took much more than a teaspoon of dough in the palm of my hand to do any molding at all. I also found the electric mixer made a mess, next time I'll be mixing with a wooden spoon. There will however be a next time as these little treats are tasty!!
Anne
croq-télé, or TV snack, a chunky cookie she adapted from the Paris pastry chef Arnaud Larher. ““It’s all about the butter.” This last time I used a mini muffin pan. I used a small scoop to fill the tins after I sprayed them with cooking spray. I used a pastry tamper to compress them into the tin. Do not over-compress them or they will be hard. 2x=55 Dorie Greenspan 1/4 cup of nuts and adds some salt. I've made the dough, shaped, and frozen them for later baking. 9-11 minutes at 350.
petey tonei
For folks with nut allergy, try roasted chickpea flour instead. It is really yummy. And for those vegan with nut allergies, substitute coconut oil for butter.
Magpie
Did somebody say cayenne? I realise I am changing the subject but does anybody have ideas for a savoury version of this - perhaps involving an alternative to the sweet nuts and sugar?
kim
Can you make this with coconut or almond flour?
Denise
I am inspired by the savory Q&A and will try it with pecorino and espelette pepper (is that a thing outside of Quebec? i hadn't heard of it before i moved here)
Dee
Oh…they tasted fantastic but collapsed and spread out. My hands were dry. Perhaps chilling would have helped? Next time will go the mini muffin tin route.
Nancy P
Building on others comments, I made this recipe easier with great results. First, I substituted store bought almond flour (1/2 cup), instead of prepping myself, and increased butter to 8 tbs/1 stick. Second, like others, i found dough loose, but i don't have mini muffin pan. So, instead of forming cookies by hand, I pressed the dough into a 1 tbs measuring spoon and then put on the cookie sheet. Super easy. Everyone at work loved these and gobbled them up!
GretchenS
What’s the best butter to use? Culture or not?
kernerman
easy to make, grind the nuts/sugar in the food processor, put that in a bowl, then mix the flour/butter in the food processor, then mix the together
FrankW`
I’ve been making these tasty treats since 2008, when Julia’s article was first published and each time I’ve made my touch got better during assembly. Even if you don’t make something that looks like the picture you’ll end up with a delicious cookie. I gave up blanching the nuts years ago but I still toast them for 5-7 minutes in a 350F oven. A big hit with my family and it’s now 2021 and once again I’ve been asked to make them for thanksgiving. First time I’ll try using hazelnuts.
Robin
I forgot to add the topping until halfway through the cake cooking! It was nicely browned...What do you think? Safe to eat?!
karen storey
These were gritty and didn't hold together but everyone liked them.
apl
used a heaping half cup of flour and a 8 T of butter. used a hand blender and cooked for an extra ~5 minutes. would be a good coffee snack, hors d’oeuvre. easy, good. 7.1/10.0.
Hannah
could I use almond flour if I don't have nuts on hand?
Blanch & Lightly Toast Nuts Question
Can anyone walk me through this step please? Also, do the hazelnuts or almonds need to be peeled from their skins?
Wendy
The point of blanching is to make skinning the almonds easy. To blanch almonds you pop them in boiling water for about a minute, then dunk them in ice water for about the same time. Then pop them from their skins. If your almonds are already skinless, you can probably skip this step. Lightly toast the skinned almonds by putting them on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for about 8 minutes at about 350.
jenben
I found these cookies to be not that tasty and waaaaay to crumbly. Not the right cookies for me. And I love buttery nut cookies. I baked a few at first to see how they came out since they were so hard to actually form. I ended up putting the rest into a square brownie pan and baking it. And then cutting into little squares. Hmmmm. Disappointing.
Eve
I used a pastry cutter to mix the flour with the butter....much faster and way less messy than using a mixer
Shannon
The shaping of these cookies should not preclude people from attempting them, they're delicious and extremely versatile, and they don't have to have the cute shape from the pictures they should just be vaguely nugget-like. These are better the next day, I made them with roasted (unblanched) hazelnuts and Kerrygold and cannot stop eating them.
petey tonei
For folks with nut allergy, try roasted chickpea flour instead. It is really yummy. And for those vegan with nut allergies, substitute coconut oil for butter.
Magpie
Did somebody say cayenne? I realise I am changing the subject but does anybody have ideas for a savoury version of this - perhaps involving an alternative to the sweet nuts and sugar?
Karen
I can see replacing part of the butter with finely shredded sharp cheddar and adding cayenne pepper. I think it would make a greatsavory snack.
Denise
I am inspired by the savory Q&A and will try it with pecorino and espelette pepper (is that a thing outside of Quebec? i hadn't heard of it before i moved here)
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