For my first foray into tuiles, I expected high stress and possible burns from the scary-sounding step of grabbing a sheet of hot cookies immediately from the oven and hand-rolling them to get that distinctive curved shape. I was sure they required callused fingers and nerves of steel. Not at all, it turns out. Although the first batch I set in the oven was not exactly perfect - too large and congealed into a thick, chewy mass - once I understood that dropping the batter by a teaspoon really does mean only a teaspoon, making the tuiles is actually quite easy. Even the rolling was pretty much a breeze and I didn’t burn myself once.
I was intrigued by the use of heady scents like lavender and jasmine in delicate, paper-thin tuiles from the new Alice Medrich book, Pure Dessert. The tuile recipe itself is really a foundation, and adaptable to all sorts of flavors, from lemon (add 1/2 teaspoon finely grated peel) to herbs and flowers of all kinds. I was very pleased at the way the lavender’s warmth built up slowly and was present but not too assertive. I think even those who are not crazy about lavender might like these, as they did not taste flowery so much as softly herbal. The jasmine flavor, on the other hand, was almost nonexistent, which was a bit disappointing. The tea I used was a fresh package of Choice Organic brand, but maybe next time I will try one that is stronger and more aromatic (there’s one from the Republic of Tea that comes to mind, which has whole jasmine flowers).
Some of the measurements in Pure Dessert are a little odd; Medrich often calls for quantities such as 3/8 of a teaspoon of something (like the lavender flowers). I’m not sure if those are typos, but I ignored this silliness and rounded up, which did not cause the tuiles to be too strong at all. Thus, the quantities you see below are the ones I used (lavender) or would use (jasmine, upped from the virtually unnoticeable 1/4 teaspoon) The flavors are very mild, and if you prefer things to be a little stronger, go ahead and add a pinch or two more than the recommended amounts. Be careful not to go overboard, though, as some degree of subtlety is key here.