People! This is the second last cookie! I got a bit anxious when I realised that, and the decision for this cookie was a tough one to make: so many cookies I haven't baked and posted yet!
Two weeks ago I doubted if I would really find 24 really great cookies to talk about here, and now I suddenly have at least 10 more in mind.
So this recipe made the cut because it actually doubles as a last minute Christmas present. Almost any cookie is great as a present, but these are so festive and elegant and very christmasy, I think.
I went to buy all three chocolate colours, and decided I would raid my cupboards for the toppings.
And I decided I would temper the chocolate, because I wanted them to look shiny and beautiful.
The rest is composing the desired flavours and colours.
Some of my favourite combinations are
white chocolate/date/rose petals,
milk chocolate/salted toasted almonds/candied orange peel,
dark chocolate/toasted sesame seeds/salt flakes,
dark chocolate/candied ginger/blanched almonds.
Little seeds look wonderful too, candied peel and salt give lots of flavour, and don't be afraid of using toasted or fried salted nuts, the contrast with the chocolate is amazing...you'll have to find your favourites for yourself. It's fun!
And I can only recommend to candy your own citrus peel. It's not that much work really. And it smells and tastes awesome (instructions here and here).
Recipe (inspired by this and this. I started wanting to make orangettes to use my candied citrus peels. I started to browse for recipes and ended up with this idea instead)
200 grams dark (70%) chocolate
200 grams milk chocolate
200 grams white chocolate
toppings:
nuts: hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts etc., toasted or not
seeds: sesame, pumpkin etc., preferably toasted
dried fruits: raisins, cranberries, chopped dates, goji berries etc.
candied citrus peels and candied ginger, cut in small strips or pieces
dried rose petals
sea salt flakes
...
I'll explain how I proceeded, but there isn't any recipe, really.
If you want to temper your chocolate, look how it's done here, for example. It takes some time but the chocolate looks so perfect afterwards.
Prepare pieces of parchment paper to spoon the mendiants on. If you want you can draw circles the size you want your mendiants on one and place it under the paper you're using. It makes it easier to portion the chocolate.
Have your toppings ready as the chocolate solidifies quickly once spooned on the paper.
Begin tempering one kind of chocolate and when it's ready, spoon about 6 circles (mine are 4,5 cm) on your parchment paper. Decorate them with the desired toppings. I found six is a good measure to prevent the chocolate from solidifying before you top it.
Then move on to the next six. Once you've used all your chocolate, continue tempering the next one, and so one.
Store them carefully in an airtight container and try to resist the temptation to want to taste them all...(not easy!)
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