Just in case last Monday’s post had you worried that I’m going to go all healthy and everything-free on you (you know, gluten-free, dairy free…) – which I love to do since I know some of you are vegan or follow the Daniel Fast every year, plus it’s just good for ya – I’m back today with a nothing-free recipe for our take on brandy snaps.  We’re talking butter, flour, sugar, heavy cream, and alcohol.A couple of years ago Jeth and I started watching what’s now one of our favorite shows.  It’s called the Great British bake-off and it is wonderfully nerdy in the British-est of ways.  It is essentially a bunch of home cooks who participate in 11 weeks of baking challenges in hopes of being named the best home baker in the U.K.  The whole show is set against a backdrop of sheep pastures and mansions and has the politest competitors and nicest judges you’ll ever see.  Zero drama – it is absolutely the opposite of any American competition show and I love it.  And now I want to say things like “that’s a good bake” and “I’m just so pleased”.Watching this show also really gets me wanting to bake.  And not just normal things; I want to make florentines and filled loaves and pears wrapped in puff pastry.  I might need to challenge myself to a personal Bake Off.  But, moving on.  This brandy snap recipe is inspired by the technical baking challenge from last season’s “biscuit” episode.  Brandy snaps are lacy, almost candy-like cookies, rolled into a hollow tube while still warm from the oven and then piped with whipped cream once they’ve cooled.  Crunchy on the outside, creamy and sweet on the inside.  They are sometimes flavored with brandy (which explains the name), although I’ve seen lots of recipes leave it out.

I love the flavor of amaretto, so we gave the recipe a little twist.  It’s flavored with maple syrup, ginger, lemon, and amaretto, and filled with a lightly sweetened amaretto whipped cream.  I’m sold.

Amaretto Brandy Snaps – makes about 24

1 stick butter
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 T. light corn syrup (or extra maple syrup)
1/2 c. raw sugar (or a 50/50 mix of white and brown sugar)
3/4 c. flour
1/8 t. salt, if using unsalted butter
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. lemon juice
1 T. amaretto

For the filling:
2 c. whipping cream
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 T. amaretto, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 325° and line two baking trays with parchment paper*.  Melt the butter, syrups, and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a bubble and let it cook for one minute.  Remove the pot from the heat and add the flour, salt, and ginger.  Once the batter is smooth, stir in the amaretto and lemon juice.

Scoop dough by tablespoon-fulls onto the lined baking sheets.  You only want to do six at a time on each sheet, since they will spread out a lot.  Bake for about 11 minutes, until they are golden brown and all bubbly and lacy looking.  Pull them out of the oven and let the cookies cool for 2-3 minutes, until they are still flexible but cool enough to handle.  One by one, wrap the brandy snaps around the buttered handle of a spoon or some other utensil (a wooden spoon is about right for us) to get the classic tube shape.  I’ve had success just shaping them by hand, too.  While you’re wrapping them, make sure they’re wide enough to fill with whipped cream later.

Once the brandy snaps have cooled, combine the cream, sugar, and amaretto in a large bowl.  Whip until it’s stiff and then use a piping bag to fill the brandy snaps.  If you want to take the easier route, a canister of store-bought whipped cream works great too.  I’m a big fan of the easy route.

*Note:  You can also line your baking sheets with a Silpat, but we found that the cookies don’t “grip” as well and aren’t as lacy.  In the picture above the recipe, the top cookie was baked on silicon and the lower was on parchment.  Just FYI.

Happy baking!