Nougatine Cones

Makes 4 dozen 1-1/2-inch-long cones

Nougatine Cones These thin lacy wafers, rolled into tiny cones while hot from the oven, make perfect receptacles for chocolate ganache or coffee buttercream. When I want a simpler, less rich cookie, I dip just the edges of the cone's wide end in melted chocolate.

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
4 ounces (3/4 cup) hazelnuts, chopped medium fine
to yield 3/4 cup (see Baking Notes)
1/4 cup (35 grams) unsifted all-purpose flour

1. Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap an end of a chilled stick of unsalted butter and rub it over two large cool Teflon-coated baking sheets to apply a very thin film of fat.

2. Put the butter, corn syrup, and sugar in a 1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter is melted. Remove from heat, and stir in the nuts and flour.

3. Drop five or six 1/2 teaspoonsful of batter 1-1/2 inches apart on each baking sheet. A quick and easy method is to pipe the soft dough from a 14-inch pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain decorating tip (such as Ateco #6). Bake, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown. While baking, the cookies bubble; a clue that they are finished baking is when the bubbling subsides.

4. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for just 15 seconds. with a metal spatula, lift one wafer at a time and roll it around a wooden cornet to shape the cookie while it is still flexible. Remove cone from the form, and place it on a wire rack to cool; continue rolling the remaining cookies.

5. Repeat the baking and shaping process with the remaining batter.

6. When the cookies are cool and firm, stack them in an airtight metal container and store at room temperature up to 1 week.

Baking Notes

Hazelnuts or almonds, blanched or unblanched, are fine for this cookie. If you prefer the flavor of toasted nuts, put them on a baking sheet in a 325-degree F preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until pale gold. See How to Measure Nuts.

Serving Note:
For entertaining, I bake tiny 1-inch wafers without rolling them. Before serving, pipe a dramatic rosette of whipped cream in the center of each dessert plate; then, stick several wafers in the cream, rose petal-fashion.

How to Measure Nuts

When you're measuring whole, chopped, or finely ground nuts for a miniature recipe, pour or scoop them from the package, your hand, a serving spoon, or a metal spatula into a dry measuring cup. Do not pack them. Strange as it may seem, because you do not pack the nuts, a given volume of whole or large pieces of nuts will yield what appears to be the same volume of chopped nuts. Nougatine Cones is a good example. The recipe calls for 4 ounces, or 3/4 cup, of hazelnuts, chopped medium-fine. You will find that the nuts still measure 3/4 cup after you chop them.

When a recipe lists a nut as an ingredient, I give the weight first, then the cup measurement before chopping or finely grinding as a matter of convenience, since you usually buy nuts in packages marked in ounces.

Buy the Book!

Sweet Miniatures
The Art of Making Bite-Size Desserts
By Flo Braker
Chronicle Books, 2000
Paperback, $22.95
384 pages with over 60 color photos
ISBN: 0-8118-2446-2
Recipe reprinted by permission.