Almond Rochers

Tartine Bakery on the corner of Guerrero and 18th in San Francisco used to be my neighborhood bakery when I lived there a few years ago.  Tartine has so many delicious baked goods, lunch choices, goodies and strong espresso, plus an awesome location near Delores Park -- it's no wonder the line is usually out the door and around the corner.

While many tout the joys of the pressed sandwiches and (amazing) bread, bread pudding and chocolate mousse, I LOVE their tiny, underplayed Almond Rochers.  These little meringue cookies may be the least expensive choice on the menu, but they are so so good.  Meringue-y, yet crumbly, chewy and crunchy, a little marshmallow-y, nutty.  They are sweet, unassuming and absolutely delicious.  And they keep their integrity for a long time: up to two weeks!  Enjoy these with tea, with coffee, in the morning, afternoon or evening.  They can be crumbled on top of ice cream.  But, seriously, they are perfect all on their own.  Despite needing to have a few things organized, they are also simple to make.

Langes de boeuf (aka lovely French cookies)

When I'm at the library I like to pick up books on subjects I don't know anything about.  That's how I end up with  Writing Picture Books and Graffiti Planet.  More often the books I pick up are related to cooking or baking -- like this one: Puff, by Martha Holmberg.  It's a cookbook completely dedicated to puff pastry.  I didn't know anything about puff pastry before, and now I have several hours worth of puff knowledge (making and eating), as well as several dozen delicate and delectable cookies (as well as several dozen more unbaked cookies waiting in the freezer).

What is puff pastry?  Wikipedia starts by defining it as a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat.  Fat, in this case, is the butter.  The rolling of butter into the dough creates a flakiness during baking as the water in the butter evaporates. 

Madeleines

Madeleines are alluring to me.  I love their dense yet spongy texture, lovely crisp edges and subtle citrus flavor.  I love that they are shaped like shells.  And their name is sweet, too.  I never made Madeleines before because I didn't  have a Madeleine pan and am resistant to purchasing cookware that has one and only one purpose.  Recently I scored a $3 Madeleine pan at a thrift store and quickly made an exception to the one-purpose rule and started hunting for a recipe to get started.

$3 Madeleine pan

I found recipes that sounded good on trusted foodblog faves: 101 Cookbooks and David Lebovitz.  I also poked around online to try to figure out what makes a Madeleine a Madeleine.  What makes them so special?  My understanding is that traditional Madeleine, which originated in the Lorraine region of northeastern France, uses a génoise cake batter.  I read Madeleine cakes in several places.  It seems that a Madeleine is a cake and not a cookie.  Ok with me.