Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

Traou Mad (Breton Macaroons)

Traou Mad (Breton Macaroons) is a traditional French recipe (from Brittany) for classic biscuit (cookie) made from a flour, almond, butter and sugar dough flavoured with honey and leavened with baking powder. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French version of: Breton Macaroons (Traou Mad).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

15 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Baking RecipesFrench RecipesBreton Recipes



Traou mad, literally ‘good things’ in Breton are a traditional Breton biscuit (cookie) prepared in the same style as macaroons. They originate in Pont-Aven and are typically served for breakfast.

Ingredients:

300g of flour (+ 50 g for dusting)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
150g caster sugar (+ 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons of liquid honey
150g very soft lightly-salted butter
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks (reserve 1 white)
3 tablespoons of thick crème fraîche
125g to 150 g of ground almonds
Optional:
3 tablespoons of cider brandy
4 drops of bitter almond extract

Method:

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Form a well in the centre and add the butter, honey, crème fraîche and egg yolks (along with the bitter almond extract and cider brandy, if using).

Knead the ingredients with your fingers until they come together as a smooth dough. Now add in the ground almonds, working with your fingers until evenly distributed. Work into a ball then cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (gas mark 6/7).

Dust your work surface with flour then turn out the dough and roll out to 5mm thick before cutting out rounds with a plain biscuit cutter. Transfer these to a baking tray lined with parchment paper (you can re-roll the scraps to make more rounds).

Lightly whisk together the reserved egg white and 1 tbsp sugar and use this mixture to brush over the tops of the biscuits. Place the baking tray in the centre of your pre-heated oven and cook for 15 minutes, until starting to brown on the edges.
Allow to cool completely then store in an air-tight tin.