Duchesse Cookies

This recipe comes from one of my mother's Swiss Betty Bossi cookbooks. The cookbook is solely dedicated to baking cookies and is full of mouthwatering pictures. Even though the recipes in this book are old (this book was published in 1978), they always seems to produce great results. Betty Bossi is kind of like the Martha Stewart meets Betty Crocker of Switzerland. I think every Swiss household has at least one Betty Bossi cookbook in their possession.

This recipe usually creates a cookie that looks pretty different from mine. The cookie is meant to have a chocolate filling that gets sandwiched between cookies. The cookies are also supposed to be piped into the shape of a meringue kiss, so you end up with a three dimensional cookie. I rushed these a bit too much and hastily spooned my batter onto cookie sheets/ sure enough, they turned out flat, but they still tasted amazing. My family prefers these without the chocolate and has these cookies with tea or coffee. If you're trying to make a more elegant cookie, add the chocolate filling. I also apologize that I didn't remember to convert the gram measurements into cups, so hopefully you can get your hands on a scale.

(photo from the cookbook- the intended shape)

Recipe from Betty Bossi's Guetzle mit Betty Bossi
This made lots of cookies (I lost count after 3 dozen, but mine were smaller)

For the Cookie:
6 egg whites
250 grams powder sugar
50 grams butter (slightly less than 1/2 a stick), melted and cooled
180 grams finely ground almonds
180 grams finely ground hazelnuts

For the Filling:
1 1/2 dl (5 fluid ounces) whipping cream
150 grams milk chocolate
2 tablespoons powder sugar

Preheat your oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

To make the cookies, beat the egg whites until still, using the whisk attachment on a Kitchen Aid (or whisk by hand). Slowly whisk in the powder sugar. In a small bowl, combine the butter and nuts. Slowly and carefully fold the nut mixture into the stiffened egg whites.

If you have a piping bag, fit it with a tip large enough to allow the ground nuts to fit through. If you're going to spoon the batter onto cookie sheets, try to form the the cookies into small mounds/heaps. Space the cookies about 1.5" apart.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the top half of your oven. While baking, open the door now and then (just for a second) to allow some of the steam to escape. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet

To make the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Beat the whipping cream until stiff. Fold in the chocolate and sugar until combined. Allow to chill in the fridge until firm.

To form the cookies, spoon some of the filling into one cookie and place another cookie on top of the filling. It will look like a meringue sandwich/macaron. Pin It Now!