Blidas (french Batter Cookies)

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups almond and powdered sugar (see almond and sugar powder)
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup blanched almond, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon blanched almond, finely chopped
• confectioners' sugar
• 5 tablespoons strained apricot jam

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 325 degrees f.
• 2 sift the flour and toss it with the almond and sugar powder.
• 3 whip the egg whites in an electric mixer at low speed until they start to froth. if you are not whipping the whites in a copper bowl, then add the cream of tartar at this point.
• 4 gradually increase the whipping speed to medium-high, and continue whipping until the whites form very stiff peaks and just begin to slip and streak around the side of the bowl.
• 5 add the superfine sugar and continue whipping at high speed for a few seconds longer to incorporate the sugar and tighten the meringue.
• 6 gently fold in the almond and sugar powder and flour.
• 7 scoop the batter into the pastry bag, and pipe the batter in domes 1-inch wide, arranging them on the baking sheets in staggered rows and separating them by about 1-inch. unless you have 2 ovens, pipe only 1 sheet of cookies at a time, and keep the remaining batter in the pastry bag until the first sheet is baked.
• 8 dust chopped almonds over the piped batter. turn the baking sheet upside down and tap it with a wooden spatula to dislodge the excess almonds, then quickly turn the baking sheet right side up again.
• 9 dust with confectioners' sugar.
• 10 let rest for about 1 minute to allow some of the confectioners' sugar to dissolve. bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and dry and crusty on top, but still soft inside, about 15 to 18 minutes.
• 11 place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the cookies cool. while they are still warm and before the batter sets, carefully transfer them to a wire rack with a metal spatula. then let them finish cooling on the wire rack.
• 12 press the center of each dome on the flat side with your fingertip to make a slight depression.
• 13 turn half the domes upside down and spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of apricot jam on the center of each. then place a second dome right side up on top of each to make a sandwich.
• 14 lightly dust the balls with confectioners' sugar, then turn them upside down and dust the other side as well.
• 15 storage: covered airtight in a tin cookie box or a cookie jar for up to 4 to 6 days. they look best if they are dusted with confectioners' sugar shortly before serving.