ReceptnaptárHazelnut kisses
Hazelnut kisses (mogyoró-csók) are a flourless tea biscuit built on stiff meringue: crisp on the outside, slightly chewy inside. A classic of old Hungarian cookbooks that is still easy to make today, as long as you handle the foam and the temperature precisely.
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Ingredients
Method
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- Preheat the oven to 140°C (130°C if fan-assisted) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt in a clean, grease-free bowl with an electric mixer until stiff (about 5-6 minutes): they are ready when the bowl can be turned upside down without the foam sliding out.
- While whisking, add half of the icing sugar a spoonful at a time and keep whisking for another 2-3 minutes, until the foam is dense and glossy.
- Mix the hazelnuts with the remaining icing sugar and the vanilla, then, using a flat spatula, fold them very gently into the foam, turning it from the bottom upwards — do not stir, so the foam does not deflate.
- Using two teaspoons (or a piping bag with a wide nozzle), place walnut-sized mounds on the tray, about 2 cm apart.
- Dry-bake at 140°C for 35-40 minutes, until they are dry on the outside, the bottoms come away easily from the paper, but the tops have not browned. Turn the oven off and leave them inside with the door ajar for another 10 minutes.
- Cool completely on a rack and store in an airtight container.
Based on: Malatinszky Fanny szakácskönyve (a classic Hungarian cookbook), modernised. Calories and protein are estimated.
Tips
- The egg whites should be at room temperature and the bowl and whisk completely grease-free — a single drop of yolk or oil prevents the whites from foaming.
- Do not stir the hazelnuts in; fold them gently into the foam, otherwise it deflates and you end up with flat, hard discs.
- Dry them at a low temperature rather than baking them: if they brown they turn bitter and hard; the goal is pale, dry kisses.
- They keep for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container, but damp air softens them, so do not leave the container open.
- Use the leftover egg yolks for vanilla custard, yellow cake or homemade pasta.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my hazelnut kisses turn out flat and hard?
Most often the foam was mixed too much with the hazelnuts, or it was not stiff enough; always fold the hazelnuts in gently.
Can I use another nut instead of hazelnuts?
Yes, the same amount of ground almonds or walnuts works too, and the baking time stays the same.
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More hungarian ideas
- Hussar buttons
- Filled wafers, Gerbeaud style
- Homestyle 'friar's' cake
- Cinnamon cards
- Almond or hazelnut kisses
- Sultan's bread
- Aniseed bread
- Vanilla pretzels
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