Sweet potato cookies (panellets)

Sweet potato cookies have a sweet marzipan-like flavour and a slightly chewy texture. They are my version of panellets, "little bread", a sweet Catalan biscuit typically enjoyed on 1 November, Todas los Santos, but I think they are too delicious not to enjoy at other times of the year too. This sweet potato cookie recipe will make around 34 cookies.

Ingredients

• 120g sweet potato
• 220g ground almonds
• 180g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 12g honey (roughly 1 teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• About 10 pistachios

Equipment needed

In addition to common kitchen equipment a food processor or hand blender will be useful to purée the sweet potato.

Before starting this recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 200^oC, 400^oF, gas mark 6.
2. Separate the egg yolk from the white. The yolk will be used for the cookie mixture and the white will be used to glaze the biscuits before baking.
3. Chop the pistachios ready to decorate your cookies.
4. Zest the lemon.

How to prepare

Peel and dice the sweet potato and then simmer for around 15 minutes or until cooked. Set aside to cool.

Purée the sweet potato either using a food processor or hand blender and then place in a large bowl.

Add the ground almonds, sugar, egg yolk, lemon zest and honey and mix well either by hand or using an electric mixer.

Take one teaspoon of the mixture, form a biscuit shape by hand and place on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Brush the egg white over the tops of the cookies and sprinkle a few chopped pistachios on each one.

Bake the panellets for around 10 minutes or until starting to turn golden at the edges. Turn the tray around after about 5 minutes so that they cook evenly. and check regularly to avoid burning. Depending on the size of your oven and size of your baking sheet you may need to bake in two or three batches.

Transfer to a wire cooling rack. The cookies will still be fairly soft but will set as they cool down.

Tips

1. When measuring the cinnamon, one level teaspoon is sufficient. Be careful not to use too much otherwise the cinnamon will overpower the other flavours.
2. A runny honey should be used rather than set honey to make it easier to mix the dough.
3. As these biscuits cook quickly and oven temperatures vary it is a good idea to check the cookies after about 8 minutes to reduce the risk of burning.
4. The panellets can be decorated with pine nuts or whole almonds instead of pistachios.
5. The cooked sweet potato cookies can be stored in an airtight tin for a couple of days or can be frozen you wish to keep them any longer.

Other biscuit and cookie recipes