French National Dishes

Croquants aux amandes

Whole-almond Provençal croquants scented with orange-flower water, baked as logs, sliced warm and dried in a second bake.

French National Dishes
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Croquants aux amandes — served on a plate
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 35 minutes
Total 100 minutes
Yield 24 biscuits
Ingredients ↓
Introduction and overview

Croquants aux amandes: Provençal double-baked almond biscuits

Croquants aux amandes are dry almond biscuits with a strong Provençal association. This preparation keeps whole almonds intact in a firm flour-and-egg dough scented with honey and orange-flower water. The aim is a clean, brittle crunch after cooling, not a soft cookie and not a generic Italian biscuit relabelled in French.

Two-stage baking gives the texture. The dough is shaped into two logs and baked until the raw flour and egg are set. After a short five-minute pause, the warm logs are cut into twenty-four 1 cm slices. Slicing while warm limits shattering around the whole almonds and also fixes an exact piece count for serving and nutrition.

The second bake is a drying step. It should make the exposed cut faces feel dry and lightly golden without scorching the almonds or darkening the sugar excessively. The biscuits become firmer as steam leaves during cooling, so judge final crispness only once they are completely cool. Pack them airtight only then; trapped warmth and condensation would undo the dry texture.

Success points

Success points

  • Bake until set. Logs are lightly golden, firm at the edges and set through the centre without wet dough.
  • Slice into croquants. Twenty-four slices are produced with whole almond cross-sections visible.
  • Dry in the second bake. Biscuits feel dry at the surface and are pale-golden to golden; no soft raw centre remains.
Ingredients

Ingredients

Dough

  • 250 g plain wheat flour, sifted
  • 180 g granulated sugar
  • 2 l arge eggs whole; about 100 g without shell
  • 150 g whole almonds, raw, unpeeled — Keep whole rather than ground.
  • 30 g honey
  • 15 ml orange-flower water — Orange-flower water is the sole added aromatic.
  • 2 g fine salt
Method

Method

Directions

  1. Mix the dough. Whisk the eggs, sugar, honey, orange-flower water and salt until evenly blended, then work in the whole almonds and flour to form a firm, slightly tacky dough. Allow 8 minutes. No dry flour remains and the dough is firm enough to hold a log shape. Raw egg remains in the dough until fully baked.

  2. Shape two logs. Divide into two equal logs, each about 25 cm long and 5 cm wide, on a lined baking sheet. Allow 7 minutes. Logs are even in thickness so the centres bake at the same rate. Wash hands and tools after handling raw egg dough.

  3. Bake until set. Bake the logs in a preheated oven until set and golden. Allow 25 minutes. Temperature: 175 °C. Logs are lightly golden, firm at the edges and set through the centre without wet dough. Bake the raw flour and egg completely.

  4. Cool briefly for slicing. Let the logs stand briefly before slicing. Allow 5 minutes. Logs are firm enough to cut without collapsing but still warm enough not to shatter. Handle the hot tray carefully.

  5. Slice into croquants. Cut each log into 12 slices about 1 cm thick with a serrated knife. Allow 5 minutes. Twenty-four slices are produced with whole almond cross-sections visible. Keep fingers clear of the knife around hard almonds.

  6. Dry in the second bake. Return the slices cut-side up to the oven for the drying bake. Allow 10 minutes. Temperature: 160 °C. Biscuits feel dry at the surface and are pale-golden to golden; no soft raw centre remains. Do not underbake a moist centre.

  7. Finish the cooling. Cool completely before packing. Allow 40 minutes. Biscuits are fully cool and noticeably firmer and crisper than when hot. Do not seal while warm, which traps moisture.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Practical

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Serve one or two crisp biscuits with coffee or tea; the nutrition figure is given per single biscuit.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Bake ahead only after planning enough cooling time. Airtight storage works only when the biscuits are completely cold.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Keep in a dry airtight tin for up to 2 weeks. If humidity softens them, dry at 140 °C for 5 minutes and cool fully again.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Omitting orange-flower water gives a plainer almond biscuit; replacing it with several unrelated aromatics would blur the specific Provençal profile used here.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size1 biscuit (1 of 24)
  • Calories115 kcal
  • Carbohydrate17.9 g
  • Protein2.9 g
  • Fat3.6 g
  • Fibre1.1 g
  • Sodium40 mg
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: Almond/tree nut, Egg, Wheat/gluten.

Fully bake both the wheat flour and egg-containing dough.

Cool completely before airtight storage to prevent condensation.

Closing

Closing

  • Result: Dry, crisp almond biscuits with whole-nut texture and a restrained orange-flower aroma.
  • Decisive technique: Slice the warm first-baked logs, then use the second bake to dry the biscuits.
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