TWD - Translucent Maples Tuiles

Tuiles, that's pronounced twill.  It's finally my turn to choose a recipe.  The agony! I know that a chocolate recipe would have had delinquent TWDers heading back to their blogs.  Sorry, but chocoholics - and I'm one - will have to wait until the December 28th rewind to satisfy the craving.

I'm a Canadian and maple syrup is a totem of our lives.  Eighty percent of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada.  At some point, growing up, every Canadian child is driven out to a maple sugar bush to watch sap being siphoned from the trees, boiled in a large kettle and then dripped onto a pancake or snowball.  Heavenly!

I wanted to find ways to make tuiles work as a holiday cookie, so I tried some add-ins.  This recipe does not easily convert to a florentine, but I had fun trying.  I made some with red and green cherries and slivered almonds.  I made others with black sesame seeds and candied orange.  That was a delicious combination, but didn't photograph very well.

 If you attempted this recipe and things didn't go as hoped, if your pan turned into one large cookie, don't despair.  It's all in good fun.  Even the crumbs are maple sweet and buttery.

I can't believe two years have passed since I joined the Tuesdays With Dorie bloggers.  I never thought I'd stick with it;  I never thought I'd work so hard; I never thought it would be so much fun. 

Even on my most uninspired mornings, I turn to all your blogs and am lifted up by the food and family photos and stories.  I hope we all make it to the last recipe together.  Thank you all for spending Tuesdays with Dorie and me!

What unites cooks and writers is that their work flows from the river of human talk around a table. People cook to bring something to the table; people write to keep something that was said there. I enjoy the company of cooks, I realized, because I love the occasions they create for conversation.
Through The Children's Gate - Adam Gopnik

Seasons Greetings from Hindy aka Clivia!

Translucent Maple Tuiles

from Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

pages 173 - 174

1/2 stick ( 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I used Canada #1 medium for its disctinct maple flavour)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, sifted

In a small bowl, using a sturdy rubber spatula or a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup together until light in colour and texture.  Gently stir in the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated.  Cover the bowl, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter, and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or for up to 1 week.

Getting ready to bake:  Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 400F.  Have two unlined baking sheets at hand and, if you want to curve the cookies into their traditional tile shape, a rolling pin or a slender bottle.

Roll small scoops of dough between your palms to form balls the size of small cherries or hazelnuts, and put the balls 2 inches apart on the unbuttered baking sheets.

Bake for about 7 minutes, or until the cookies spread and are golden coloured and honeycombed.  Immediately remove the baking sheets from the oven, let the cookies rest a few seconds and then, using a wide metal spatula, lift them from the sheets: The best way to do this is to carefully work the spatula under a cookie edge, then push the spatula beneath the cookie with a quick jerk.  If the cookie crumples a bit, as it might, don't worry - it will straighten out on the rolling pin or rack.

For curved cookies, moving with alacrity, lay the cookies, a few at a time, over the rolling pin.  Transfer the cookies to a rack after they have set - under a minute - or, if you want flat cookies, just cool them on a rack.  If the cookies cool and stick stubbornly to the baking sheet, slide the sheet into the oven for another minute to warm them.

If you are making another batch of cookies, make certain the baking sheets are clean and cool.