Active Time

　　1 hr

　　Total Time

　　1 hr

　　(Teules de Taronja)

　　These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 12 to 14 cookies

　　1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1/4 cup minced candied orange zest

　　1/2 teaspoon vanilla

　　2 large egg whites

　　1/4 cup all-purpose flour

　　

Special Equipment

Silpat or Exopat nonstick pad

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F.

　　

Step 2

Beat together butter, sugar, zest, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and beat in egg whites. (Mixture will look curdled.) Whisk in flour just until incorporated.

　　

Step 3

Drop 4 rounded tablespoons of batter about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with nonstick pad. Spread batter evenly into 4‚- to 5-inch circles with back of a spoon dipped in cold water. Bake cookies in middle of oven, turning sheet 180 degrees halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 10 minutes total.

　　

Step 4

Cool cookies 30 seconds on baking sheet (to facilitate removal), then carefully remove cookies with a thin metal spatula and immediately drape over a rolling pin to create a curved shape. (If cookies become too brittle to drape over rolling pin, return to oven a few seconds to soften.) When cool, transfer cookies to an airtight container. Make more cookies in same manner, cooling and cleaning nonstick pad and baking sheet between batches.

　　Cooks' note:

　　• Handle these cookies carefully, as they are fragile. Cookies keep in an airtight container 5 days.