Daring Bakers going light in January: Tulies

After the very time consuming French Yule log for the December challenge, I was very pleased to find out that this months challenge was less time consuming and above all not too bad for my figure! This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. I was really excited when we could choose the shape we wanted to make our tulies and since butterflies are one of my favorite things I couldn't wait to attempt my butterfly tulies! So after making the batter I used some wax paper to make a butterfly stencile. After that I used a spatula to put the batter over the stencile leaving the butterfly shape. Then with the remaining batter I used cocoa powder to make it brown and add designs. I even did one in honor of the Daring Bakers!

Now baking time! Right after they came out of the oven very quickly you were supposed to mold them. I found this decoration in my house I got for my wedding and thought if I tilted it on it's side it would work perfect to give the tulies their buttefly shape, and it did!

I decided to pair my tulies with a white chocolate mouse, but a very
simple white chocolate mouse consisting only of white chocolate
instant pudding and cool whip. I know I opted for the
lazy choice on this one, but it was still good!

If any of you want to take a whack at these darling little almond cookies here is the recipe. They were very simple and anyone could make them. And don't forget to check out how the other Daring Bakers did!

Recipe:
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….