A quick, sunny bake with almonds and apricot brandy to brighten up the week. # 187: Broyé du Poitou

What could be better than a giant shortbread cookie? Especially one scented with apricot brandy and covered in almonds – yes please.

Even more fun is that fact you get to smash it! Traditionally, the guest of honor at your dinner party (or in quarantine times, you in your kitchen!) gets to hit it with their fist to shatter it into shareable pieces.

It originates from Poitiers, France and calls for cognac – though the apricot brandy I happened to have on hand worked like a charm.

This recipe is entirely new to me – Nate’s aunt sent it to me in an adorable e-card and I just had to try it. I made a point to not research it at all before blindly following the directions. Thanks to the e-card animation, I knew it would be a flat disc of pastry with an egg wash design and some sprinkled almonds, but wasn’t sure what the texture would be like. Gotta love an air of mystery!

I found another recipe online that called for a much higher percentage of flour and an extra egg. The extra flour would probably help make it more crumbly and break more easily. (My finished product was a bit too sturdy for shortbread and I had to rip it into pieces.)

Smells soo good. I bet it would be extra delicious with Frangelico.

Snow in August.

Since you want it as crumbly and short as possible, you don’t want to over-mix it! Just until all the flour is hydrated, and it can form a ball without complaining too much.

Living that reusable beeswax wrap life.

Gearing up for some scalloped edges.

Voila!

Not quite round, and not perfectly even. Rustic, shall we say?

Using just the yolk to glaze instead of the whole egg lends an intensely bright color to pastry in addition to the gloss. (If you include the egg white, it’ll still be shiny, but less vibrant!) It reminds me of those cookies you get in bulk tins at Christmas.

One giant cookie, comin’ right up! Have you ever made pie dough and just baked it flat on a tray with a egg wash and cinnamon sugar? Definitely got those vibes when this came out of the oven. Simple to make and super addicting.

Smash it with a hammer!! * best Yzma voice *

Happy munching!

Here’s the recipe from the e-card:

Dough:

• 1 egg
• 250 g all purpose flour
• 125 g sugar
• 125 g unsalted butter, softened
• A pinch of salt
• 1 TB of cognac (or whatever brandy you’ve got!)

Topping:

• 1 egg yolk
• Sliced almonds

Mix the egg, sugar, salt and brandy. Add in the softened butter in chunks til it’s mostly blended. Sift in the flour and mix just until it forms a ball.
Cover the dough and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F
Roll out the chilled dough until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Pinch the edges all around until it looks a bit like a sun.
Paint the egg yolk on evenly. Make the decorative grid pattern by gently dragging the tines of a fork across the top. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.

Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool before breaking it!