CAT'S TONGUES

Generality

Cat's tongues are dry pastry preparations. Specifically, these are biscuits known and widespread in many European countries.

The consistency of the ready-made (cold) biscuit is crunchy and crumbly; the flavor and aroma are of very intense butter and vanilla.
There are various types of cat tongues and they can have quite different characteristics.
As far as the nutritional aspect is concerned, cat tongues are to be considered real sweets.
Their gastronomic purpose is above all to accompany other desserts (ice creams, fruit salads, etc.), in which they play a decorative role; for this reason, the average portion is quite small (1-2 pieces each). This does not exclude that they can also be consumed alone or as an accompaniment to morning milk, afternoon tea, etc.

Traditional Italian recipe

The traditional Italian recipe is pretty simple:

Ingrediants:

Butter at room temperature 100g.
Wheat Phryne type 00 100g.
Egg whites about 100g (n ° 3).
White granular sugar 100g
Vanillin 1 sachet.

Procedure (simplified):

First with a spoon, and then with the automatic mixer, evenly combine the softened butter, 1 egg white, sugar and vanilla.
Add the sifted flour.
Beat the 2 remaining egg whites with the automatic whisk until stiff (remember to clean thoroughly and dry the whisk before starting).
Incorporate the egg whites into the first dough without removing them (turning from bottom to top).
Line a dripping pan with parchment paper; possibly butter it.
With a spoon, a pastry syringe or a sac à poche (smooth nozzle) pour strips of dough.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 ° C in "static" mode.

Place in the oven and cook until the edges turn hazelnut.

ATTENTION! The characteristic of cat tongues is the final consistency. Freshly baked they are soft, especially in the center. Left to cool on the plate, they tend to dry out becoming crunchy.