In his book: “Café Boulud Cookbook”, this is what Daniel Boulud writes about these cookies, unique to Britany: “Trao-Mad are the tenderest, meltingest, butteriest cookies imaginable”, and I could not agree with him more, since Britany being the place where I was born and spent my life until I came to this country, I am very partial to its gastronomic prouesses.
Trao-Mad are certainly very simple and quick to put together, easy to take on a picnic and great to give away. They can be a whole dessert when accompanied by peach compote, or just a snack when needed to satisfy a small pang of hunger in the middle of the afternoon.
The peaches, which are now available, and delicious, at the local supermarket can be replaced in winter with a dry fruit compote or apple sauce. If there is any left-over of the peach compote, use it to top yogurt or a pound cake, or just enjoy it plain and very cold in the summer.
Trao-Mad with Peach Compote
Ingredients
The cookies:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp sifted confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup almond flour
The peach compote:
- 1½ lbs. very ripe peaches
- juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
- small pinch of saffron threads
Instructions
The cookies:
- In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and salt together until creamy.
- Add the egg yolks and mix a few seconds, then add the two flours and mix until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Divide the dough in two halves, set each half on a plastic wrap and roll it into a log which is about 1 inch in diameter. Wrap each log tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Turn on the oven to 400 degree F. Unwrap the logs, slice them into 1/3 inch thick rounds and dispose them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Rounds should be at least one inch apart. Bake them for no more than eight to ten minutes or until slightly golden brown.
The peach compote:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and dip the peaches in it, letting them simmer for no more than 30 seconds.
- Take them out and run cold water on them until they are cool enough to peel. Reserve one peach and cut the other ones into 1 inch cubes.
- Put the cut-up peaches with the honey, the lemon juice and the water in a saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes until they are soft and part of the water is absorbed.
- Add the saffron threads and cook an additional 10 minutes.
- Finally, add the reserved peach, cut into ¼ inch cubes.
- Pour in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing it against the compote to create an airtight seal and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Ready to eat!
My neighbor just dropped off a box of peaches. Perfect timing!