Diamants - Diamond Biscuits
Diamants (or diamonds, in english) are wonderful nuggets of buttery, melt in the mouth biscuit joy. They taste rather like Scottish shortbread but are, in fact, a classic French recipe. Perhaps they gained their name from the sparkling crunchy sugar crystals the biscuits are rolled in prior to cooking, but I’m not sure. However, I am sure that it is a diamond of a recipe and the sugar adds a delicious texture and balancing sweetness to a dough which has remarkably little sugar.
Around 30
Ingredients
Biscuits:
- 225g plain/all-purpose flour
- 80g icing/powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 200g unsalted butter, cold & cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To finish:
- 1 egg, beaten
- granulated (or caster) sugar, for rolling
Instructions
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 (fan 160°C) and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
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Weigh the flour, icing sugar and salt into the food processor and pulse to mix. Alternatively weigh it into a mixing bowl and stir to mix.
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Either, using the pulse function on your food processor or using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.
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Add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse until the mixture just comes together. Or add the egg yolk and vanilla and bring the mixture together with a knife or your hands. Take out of the food processor or mixing bowl and gently knead to bring the dough together.
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Quarter the dough and, on a lightly floured surface, roll into 4 logs. Each log should measure 2cms in diameter. Freeze for 15 minutes to firm up.
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When firm, brush each log with egg wash, roll in granulated sugar and slice into biscuits 1.5 cms thick.
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Lay on the baking trays, leaving room between each biscuit for them to expand in the oven. Gently press your thumb into the centre of each diamant to make a slight indentation.
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Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays for 10 – 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
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These biscuits keep well for up to a week in a sealed, airtight container.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- food processor or mixing bowl
- 2 x baking trays lined with baking parchment
Where is this recipe from?
This wonderful recipe is from Jennifer Pogmore. Jennifer qualified in French pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and currently lives in Perpignan. She works as a freelance pastry chef and chocolatier in the south of France and runs her own cookery school on-line and in person. She offers a comprehensive range of cookery classes with a mouthwatering selection of pastries. I have completed a few of her courses and can confirm that they are fabulous. Check out her website here and her instagram here.