Amsterdamse Koggetjes (Amsterdam Nougatine Cookies)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Baking trays
• •Baking parchment or silicone baking mat
• •Thin metal spatula
• •Digital scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the nougatine

   Line a baking tray with parchment. Put the granulated sugar in a small heavy pan over medium heat and let it melt without stirring, swirling the pan only when the edges begin to turn amber. When the caramel is the colour of dark honey, stir in the chopped almonds, then scrape the mixture onto the parchment and spread it thinly. Molten sugar burns with real seriousness, so use a spoon and keep your fingers out of the story.

   Stop at amber. Pale caramel tastes only of sugar; very dark caramel makes the little ship bitter before it leaves the harbour.
2. 2

   Break the brittle

   Let the nougatine cool completely, about fifteen minutes, then break it into pieces and chop it into small shards, no larger than lentils. Keep the dust as well as the pieces. The dust melts into the cookie and the shards make the bronze freckles.

3. 3

   Mix the batter

   Beat the softened butter with the caster sugar and basterdsuiker until creamy and lighter in colour. Beat in the egg white and vanilla, then fold in the flour and salt until you have a soft paste. If it refuses to loosen from the spoon, add the tablespoon of milk. Fold in the chopped nougatine gently, because the whole pleasure of a koggetje is finding those little caramel-almond pieces still distinct.

4. 4

   Portion with space

   Heat the oven to 175C and line two baking trays with parchment. Drop level teaspoons of batter onto the trays, leaving at least 7 centimetres between them, then flatten each mound slightly with the back of a damp spoon. These cookies spread like Amsterdam merchants with a good map. Give them room.

   Bake one test cookie first if your oven runs hot. If it spreads too much, chill the batter for fifteen minutes; if it barely spreads, flatten the next spoonfuls a little more.
5. 5

   Bake to amber

   Bake one tray at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and the centres are pale gold with caramel flecks showing through. The final minute matters. Pull them too early and they bend like pancakes; leave them too long and the caramel turns hard and stern.

6. 6

   Cool and store

   Let the cookies rest on the tray for five minutes, then lift them carefully with a thin spatula onto a rack. They firm as they cool, which is why patience looks like technique here. Store them airtight once completely cool, with parchment between layers if you stack them.

Chef Tips

• •Chop the almonds very small before they meet the caramel. Large pieces make handsome brittle but clumsy cookies, and a koggetje should be thin enough to snap cleanly under your teeth.
• •Do not crowd the tray. A teaspoon of batter looks miserly, then the oven teaches you Amsterdam geography: everything expands when there is money, butter, and heat involved.
• •These are coffee cookies, first and last. Serve them after dinner with strong coffee or black tea, or put a small tin on the table and let people pretend they are taking only one.
• •Humidity softens them. Keep the cooled cookies in a tight tin, and if a wet Dutch day has made them bend, refresh them for three minutes in a 160C oven and cool again.

Advance Preparation

• •The nougatine can be made up to one week ahead and kept airtight in a dry cupboard before chopping.
• •The batter can be refrigerated for up to two days; let it soften for ten minutes before portioning.
• •Baked koggetjes keep five to seven days in an airtight tin at room temperature. Do not refrigerate them, as the moisture dulls the crispness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 18g)