little miss sweetie: Crepe Dentelle

Also known by the brand "Gavottes", these crispy, delicate cookies are delectable. While name may sound foreign and unfamiliar, most people have surely tried it in one form or another. It is the crunchy wafer that appeared alongside ice cream at a restaurant, the added crispy, crumbled texture at base of a multi-layered cake, or the light caramelly cookie that was served with your creme brulee.

Yes, crepe dentelle is quite the chameleon. Serve it with any creamy desserts (think puddings, ice creams, panna cotta, flans...), crumble it up and mix it with cake batter before baking to add crunch, fill the insides with whipped cream or chocolate mousse, or quite simply, enjoy it as a cookie by itself (my fave!).

This recipe only calls for very few ingredients but very quick hands. In order to form the crepes into shape, you must roll the crepes as soon as they emerge from the oven, while they're still piping hot. And yes, you will, like me, probably burn a few fingers along the way...but do not let this deter you from making them, I promise they will be worth the burns!

Crepe Dentelle
makes about 20

110 grams butter, softened, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 400.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar and salt until smooth.

Add flour all at once. Continue whisking until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Add egg whites. With a metal spatula, stir until mixture becomes a smooth batter.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter onto a nonstick baking mat. With an offset spatula, evenly spread a very thin layer of batter in a rectangular shape, about 3" by 8". There should be space for three rectangles per mat, leave 1-inch space between each rectangle.

Bake for 5 minutes, or until the crepe has turned a golden brown around the edges.

Working quickly, pick up one edge of the crepe and roll up with a knife or small metal spatula, forming a slightly flattened tube. Slide the knife/spatula out and quickly repeat with remaining crepes.