Lengua de Gato Cookies (Cat’s Tongue Cookies)

When my mom used to make this recipe, she would add margarine to help the cookies hold their shape properly. In the 1980s, it was difficult and expensive to find quality butter in the province. Nowadays, her recipe has reverted back to the pure butter formula as supply and availability of quality butter became easy.

When I make this recipe, the cookies don’t last past a few days. They’re that good. If your oven is small, be prepared to bake for a few hours. The shape you pipe out stretches out the batter, so you can bake at least 10 trays of cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (400 grams) white sugar

• 2 ½ cups (490 grams) all purpose flour

• 1 tablespoons whole milk, evaporated milk, or powdered milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup (100 grams) cashew nuts

• 2 cups (500 grams) butter

• 6 egg whites

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF or 180ºC.  Prepare 12”x14” cookie sheets.

2. Separate egg whites from egg yolks. Set aside. Reserve egg yolks for another recipe.

3. Measure out white sugar and place in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Measure out flour and place in a bowl. Set aside.

5. Measure out milk into a small bowl. Add vanilla extract. Mix well. Set aside.

6. Place cashew nuts in a food processor. Take 1 cup flour from your measured flour. Pulse the food processor until the cashews are finely ground. Make sure to smoothen out any lumps that have formed by mixing well by hand using a spatula or spoon. Set aside.

7. Cut butter into cubes. Place butter in a mixing bowl. Attach the paddle attachment to your mixer. If you do not have one, use the standard mixing attachment. Beat butter on low to low-medium speed until butter has doubled in volume and becomes a pale ivory color. You may need to periodically stop your electric mixer and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure all the butter has creamed properly. Stop the mixer.

8. Divide egg whites into 4 portions.

9. Add ¼ cup sugar. Set the mixer to medium speed until sugar is incorporated into the butter. Stop the mixer.

10. Add 1 portion of egg white. Set the mixer to medium speed until the egg white is incorporated into the butter. Stop the mixer.

11. Repeat Steps 9-10 until all the sugar and egg whites are added.

12. Add vanilla-milk mixture to the butter mixture. Set the mixer to medium speed until milk mixture is fully incorporated. Stop the mixer.

13. Add ½ cup flour. Set the mixer to lowest speed setting until the flour is incorporated into the butter mixture. Stop the mixer.

14. Repeat Step 13 until all the flour is incorporated.

15. Add ½ cup cashew-flour mixture. Add ½ cup flour. Set mixer to lowest speed setting until the cashew-flour mixture is incorporated into the butter mixture. Stop the mixer.

16. Repeat Step 15 until all cashew-flour mixture is incorporated.

17. Fit a pastry bag tip onto a pastry bag. Depending on what you have, you can use a ½” round tip or a 1” flat tip. Roll out the mouth of the pastry bag so that it forms a collar around the bag to make it easier to fill.

18. Place the pastry bag inside a large mouthed glass so that the collar is outside the glass. Place mixture into pastry bag until it is about ¼-⅓ full.

19. Roll up the formed collar of the pastry bag and twist it closed.

20. Press on the pastry bag to push out a 3” long strip of dough onto the cookie sheet.

21. Repeat Step 20, keeping each strip of dough about 1” apart until the cookie sheet is filled.

22. Bake in the oven for 5-11 minutes. The cookies are done when their edges are slightly browned. Some people prefer the lengua de gato cookies crispy, so add 1 minute from the time when the edges have browned.

23. With a metal spatula, remove the lengua pieces from the cookie sheet. Cool in an open pan.

24. When cooled, store in an airtight container.

Photos by Rica Palomo-Espiritu