Cookies, Biscuits & Bars
Orange and Almond Melting Moments
Orange and almond melting moments that do exactly what they say – they melt in your mouth.
These biscuits are so light that they only just hold together, then disappear on your palate. They're part of my Diwali biscuit series, and one of the easiest to make your own. They are incredibly tender, with just a very slight crispness.
I've flavoured these with orange zest and almond, which add a lovely extra layer of flavour, but think of this as a base recipe: keep the method and adapt the flavours to your taste. Just don't skip chilling the piped dough. It's a very soft dough, and that hour in the fridge is what helps the biscuits keep their shape in the oven.
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The recipe
Orange and Almond Melting Moments
Makes approximately 12 sandwich biscuits, with a 5cm diameter
adventureswithsugar.com/orange-and-almond-melting-moments/
Method
Method: melting moments
- Cream the butter and sugar: Cream the butter, icing sugar, orange zest and vanilla for about three to five minutes, until the mixture feels light and fluffy, and the butter turns a lighter shade of yellow.
- Add in the dry ingredients: Then sift the flour and cornflour, before gently folding it into the butter by hand. Ensure that the dough is smooth and pipeable.
- Pipe the biscuit dough: Fit a piping bag with a large star nozzle, with a closed star tip (I prefer the look of the closed star tip, but you can use an open star tip if that is easier). Beginning from the centre of the cookie, pipe a swirl from inside out (i.e. start from the inside of the biscuit and shape it going outward – it has a much neater look). Allow a bit of room for spreading between biscuits, as they do spread a bit.
- Chill the piped dough: Set the piped dough in the fridge to chill for an hour, until the biscuits are firm to the touch. This is a very soft dough, so it is critically important that you do not skip this step.
- Bake the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 180˚ Celsius, with the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake each tray of biscuits for 8 – 10 minutes, the base of the biscuits should be a very tan colour – then they are done. Let the biscuits rest on the tray for 5 minutes, after they come out of the oven, then use a spatula to transfer them gently onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Decoration: Once the biscuits have completely cooled, sandwich with the buttercream (recipe below) and enjoy.
- Storage: These biscuits will keep well for up to five days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Method: orange and almond buttercream
- Cream the butter and sugar: Cream the butter and sugar until it is pale and fluffy.
- Add in the flavourings: Add in the orange juice, almond essence and orange blossom water. I cannot stress how important it is to only add a little almond essence and orange blossom water at a time. It could take the buttercream from a gently almondy, floral note to too overpowering. This then throws the gentle balance of flavours off. Rather add too little and adjust to taste, than too much.
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