… have you ever started out making one thing but then finished up making something else entirely…?
… don’t ask because frankly I couldn’t tell you if i tried… it was like that classic scene from Friends where Rachel makes a traditional British Trifle but the pages of the cookbook stick together and she uses layers of minced lamb that should have been for a Shepherd’s Pie… except it was web site pages that were digitally stuck that got me confused as I hurriedly combined recipes… so these are part classic almond macaroons and part almond cookies… but mostly splodges… which I don’t really care about at all because they taste completely and utterly heavenly… crunchy yet fluffy… light yet with a pleasingly natty snap!
… of course I am entering these beauties into this months we should cocoa challenge usually hosted by either Chele from Chocolate Teapot or Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog but this month guest-hosted by Laura from How to Cook Good Food, who picked the theme of almonds…
… now I just have to remember what I did…
chocolate and almond spoldges
200g caster sugar
200g butter
250g plain flour
150g ground almonds
100g flaked almonds
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
some runny honey
– place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream them together until light and fluffy, add the vanilla and mix a little more
– mix the dry ingredients and sieve half onto the butter/sugar mix and beat in with a wooden spoon
– whisk the egg whites to a gently frothiness and then fold this all into the mix
– sieve in the remaining dry ingredients followed by the flaked almonds and combine
– using a teaspoon splodge roughly onto baking trays and bake on 180C for 20 minutes
– cool on a wire rack during which time you should paint each one with a little honey
eat and of course, enjoy!
I love it when you start baking and recipes just evolve into something even more fantastic than you hoped for! What a gorgeously almondy macaroony creation you have made Dom. Bet the egg whites made them light as a feather so I can see why you ate so many in one go!
Thanks for taking part in We Should Cocoa. I am a big fan of your nutty splodges :))
haha! you couldn't possibly go wrong with those ingredients, they look gorgeous! The first recipe in my cookbook is for something very similar but using cornflakes instead of nuts. They go by the curious name of “afghans” – lord knows why. Yummy.
haha I don't care what they were meant to be as long as they turn out yummy in the end. and those splodges look damn fine, dom! winning shot of that half-bitten splodge.
Well, they're the most delectable splodges I have ever seen. I love the erratic non-round shapes. I am eternally wary of perfectly round cookies. These splodges look like the ultimate nutty experience.
Wonderful, now I'm just going to wait for the “Splodges Bakery Book” Dom. Can I have a signed copy?
Almonds seem to be in favour lately. Love the splodges what a great biscuit name to manufacture. Can just see these on the supermarket shelf – “Dom's Splodges”!
I figure as long as it comes out edible, who cares what it started out being!! Plus, if this was an accident, well, it's one of the best I've seen in a long time 🙂
That is great combination with cocoa.Beautiful and crispy 🙂 My favorite!
I agree with Shu Han, that half-bitten splodge is the money shot, I think you're on to something here!
Half cookie, half macaroon sounds perfect Dom. I'm with Jude, where is that book? Great picture of the half eaten splodge, it looks very tempting indeed. Thanks for joining in with WSC 🙂
Spoldges – definitely a culinary first !!
Serendipity at it's best. They look lush Dom x
Hilarious! Love the look of them though.
The best discoveries are often made by chance or by mistake! These look great and I love the name splodges 🙂
We used to call jelly splodge when I was a kid! I love chewy biscuits like these.
I almost did the same thing – I was making a cake and a chicken lasagne last night, and had a bowl that contained the cheese sauce for the lasagne, and nearly put it into the cake! That's the problem with trying to multitask…. your bake looks like it turned out well anyway!
Oooooo I do love a good splodge…these look delicious! 🙂
These look superb! Very nice pics too
GREAT little baked treats and I love the name too…..LOL! Karen
You can't beat a splodge. When my children were younger and cooked with me we had a lot of splodges then. Great cookies and photo's too.