I'm sharing how to make amazing tuiles and enjoy in many ways, such as basic cigarette cookies, lace cigarette cookies, almond tuiles, ice cream cones, and tuile cookie sand.
The Best Tuiles
I remember eating cigarette cookies for the first time as a kid and being surprised by how delicious it is: the incredibly thin layers broke delicately in my mouth. It was the texture I'd never had before... The lightest crispiness, toasty smell, the sound... I loved everything about it!
Fast forward, I learned how to recreate the same tuiles, but even better, so my family can always enjoy it at home.
❤️ I love these tuiles because:
- The texture is so magical: flaky, buttery, and has the lightest crispiness.
- The batter is so simple and easy to make. It'll be done within 5 minutes!
- You can enjoy it in any shape and size.
- It is quite fun to roll it. You might love it if you like crafty activities!
What You'll Learn In This Post:
- The roles of almond flour for the cookies and what you can alternate it with
- How long should we bake?
- Should we use parchment paper or a silicone mat?
- Tips for rolling cigarette cookies beautifully
📖 Even though the recipe is pretty simple, the texture can change drastically depending on how you make it. In this post, you’ll learn important tips to spread it, roll it, store it, and everything you need to know to make the best homemade tuiles.
Jump to:
📌 What's In Tuiles?
7 ingredients:
- Whole egg
- Often, tuiles are made with only egg whites. That is not a problem, but adding a yolk makes it slightly flakier, lighter, and richer.
- Vanilla extract
- You can omit it or try a different flavor.
- Powdered sugar
- The texture gets slightly lighter and flakier by using powdered sugar. It also dissolves much more easily than granulated sugar.
- Salt
- The cookie tastes much better with a little bit of saltiness!
- Unsalted butter (melted)
- Butter creates a flaky, fragile texture.
- Almond flour
- Almond flour helps roll cookies a bit easier (due to less gluten, a little moisture, etc.) and adds a nice flavor.
- Alternate it with all-purpose flour if you want to avoid using it.
- All-purpose flour
- Use regular all-purpose flour.
📌 4 Simple Steps To Make Tuiles Batter
- Mix whole egg, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add warm melted butter and mix well.
- Add almond flour and all-purpose flour and mix until it looks smooth.
- Clean the bowl and spatula at the end to ensure it's evenly incorporated. Done!
💬 Mix the melted butter before it cools down.
💡 By adding melted butter before you add flour, you can avoid liquids and flour from connecting too much to create too much gluten.
📌 Basic Cigarette Tuiles
How to spread it
👩🏻🍳 Chill the batter in the fridge to spread it evenly easier. (Do not chill it for lace cigarette cookies since it gets too firm to pipe.)
One batch is enough to make about 5 - 6 basic cigarette cookies. (Spread the batter into a 5 by 10-inch rectangle shape.)
You can change the size and shape as you like!
Spread very thinly.
The most important thing when you make tuiles is to spread it VERY thinly, about one millimeter or less.
Depending on how thick it is, the texture of tuiles changes drastically. I can not stress that enough! You can enjoy the delicate, light crispiness by making it as thin as possible.
You can also roll it much easier when it's thin. It cracks much easier when it's thicker.
Clean up the edges with an offset spatula or something similar:
Try to spread it as evenly as possible. You can check the movement in the video tutorial.
Bake tuiles
Bake at 330 F | 165 C for 4 - 7 mins until you see the light golden caramelization around the edges.
Tips for rolling it
Start rolling right after it's out from the oven.
The cookie is soft while very hot, but it'll get crispy quickly as it cools down. That is why it's extremely important to start rolling it when it's just out of the oven.
I'm touching the cookie directly because my skin is not so sensitive. BUT! This could be very hot for many people. I advise you to wear gloves to protect your hands so you don't have to burn yourself!
Roll on top of the hot tray.
This helps hugely to keep your cookies hot while you are rolling them.
I do not recommend rolling it on top of a table as it cools down quickly and gets harder before you finish rolling it.
Using the right tools
I used a wooden dowel rod this time. It doesn't have to be it; You can use something similar!
With parchment paper, you can peel off the cookie much easier than with a silicon mat. The cookie sticks to it, depending on the mat you use. You can reuse the parchment paper many times. (Wipe off the excess oil before use.)
Take off the pole once the cookie cools down completely.
Moisture is their enemy!
After they are baked, consume it as soon as possible to enjoy the amazing crispiness. As it sits for hours, it'll slowly lose its crispiness.
Silica gel
To solve the issue, you can store the cookies in an air-tight container with silica gel. It'll soak up moisture and keep the cookies crispy! I highly recommend adding it to share it with someone as a gift.
Cover It With Chocolate
As an option, dip your cookies in melted chocolate. I love it soo much! The thin layer of chocolate goes perfectly with the crispy tuiles.
You can try one the two ways:
- Melt chocolate chips and add some oil (about 5% of the whole chocolate) to make it looser.
- Temper chocolate: Check out my chocolate truffle tutorial for one of the easiest ways to temper chocolate.
Dip the cookie in the chocolate and toss gently to remove the excess:
Set it aside until it sets completely.
📌 Lace Cigarette Tuiles
Also, try lace cigarette cookies if you want to have more fun with the batter!
How to pipe it
Randomly pipe it:
Ensure there are no huge gaps between them:
And bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies!
Tips for rolling it
It's more fragile.
Be careful not to add too much pressure from the top because they are more fragile than basic cigarette cookies.
The rest of the tips apply the same!
📌 Almond Tuiles
You can also make classic almond tuiles using the same batter.
💬 It is important to use toasted almonds to create a crispy texture.
Don't be afraid to spread it thinly since it creates a better crispiness.
Clean the edges:
Attach the almonds all around:
And bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies.
I highly recommend trying it if you love almonds. It is so delicious!
Make it curled.
If you want to make it curled, do so while it's hot. Use a rolling pin or something similar if you don't have a curved cake mold.
📌 Tuile Cookie Sand
And lastly, I made a tuile cookie sand.
I attached cacao nibs this time:
Again, bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies.
I used my chocolate buttercream recipe with cocoa powder this time. Check out this video tutorial to see how you can make it.
📌 Uses For Tuiles
Enjoy the treat in so many ways, such as:
- A snack for your tea or coffee break
- Decorations for plated desserts
- With ice cream
- Ice cream cones
- A cookie gift box
... and so on!
📌 Frequently Asked Questions
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature.
I highly recommend storing them with a silica gel or adding one in a box when gifting them to someone. Silica gel soaks up all the moisture, keeping the cookies nice and crispy.
The cookie will last at least one week (especially with a silica gel), but consume it sooner for the best taste. I recommend eating it right after it's made when you don't use silica gel to enjoy the most crispy texture.
Yes! Just be careful not to add it too much so the cookies do not lose the amazing crispiness.
There are 2 most common causes for this issue:
1. It was not baked long enough: Bake the cookies until you see the light golden caramelization around the edge. It does not get crispy when it's not baked enough.
2. The batter was too thick: Related to cause 1, it'll be harder to bake evenly when the batter is too thick.
To conclude, spread very thinly and bake until you see the caramelization. It should fix the issue!
Yes. Almond flour helps to roll cookies more easily, and it also adds a nice flavor. But alternate it with all-purpose flour if you want to avoid using it.
Yes! Cover the surface with plastic wrap directly so it does not get dried, and store it in the fridge. I recommend using it within 5 days since it contains eggs.
📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
Watch this video to learn how to make tuiles visually and have a deeper understanding of all.
Don't forget to subscribe if you liked it😉
📌 Printable Recipe
💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.
Best Tuiles
Equipment
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Small offset spatula
- Parchment paper
- Wooden dowel rods or something to roll cookies on
- Silica gel optional - to store it
Ingredients
Tuile batter
- 1.75 oz Egg about 1 egg
- ⅛ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1.75 oz Powdered sugar ⅓ US cup + 1 Tbsp
- A few pinches Salt
- 1.75 oz Unsalted butter (melted) 3.5 Tbsp
- 0.17 oz Almond flour 1 Tbsp
- 1.6 oz All-purpose flour ⅓ US cup * Calculated as 1 cup = 130 g *Level the surface.
Decoration (optional)
- Some Toasted sliced almond
- Some Dark chocolate
- Some Cacao nibs
Instructions
Tuiles Batter
- Mix whole egg, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until it looks smooth.1.75 oz Egg, ⅛ teaspoon Vanilla extract, 1.75 oz Powdered sugar, A few pinches Salt
- Add warm melted butter and mix well.1.75 oz Unsalted butter (melted)
- Add almond flour and all-purpose flour and mix until it looks smooth.0.17 oz Almond flour, 1.6 oz All-purpose flour
- Clean the bowl and spatula at the end to ensure it's evenly mixed.
Basic Cigarette Cookies
- [Spread] Chill the batter in the fridge to spread it more easily. (Do not chill it for lace cigarette cookies since it gets too hard to pipe.)I spread it into a 5 by 10-inch rectangle shape. Try any size you like!Spread very thinly:The most important thing when you make tuiles is to spread it very thinly: about one millimeter or even less. You can enjoy the delicate, light crispiness by making it as thin as possible. It'll also get a lot easier to roll when it's thin. (It cracks much easier when it's thicker.)Clean up the edges with a cake spatula.
- [Bake] Bake at 330 F | 165 C for 4 - 7 mins until you see the light golden caramelization, especially around the edges.
- [Roll] Start rolling right after it's out from the oven: The cookie is soft while it's very hot, but it'll get crispy quickly as it cools down. That is why it's important to start rolling it immediately.Roll it on top of the hot tray:This helps hugely to keep your cookies hot while rolling it.Take off the pole once the cookie cools down completely.
- [With Chocolate] As an option, dip your cookies in melted chocolate.* Melt chocolate chips and add some oil (about 5% of the whole chocolate) to make it looser.* Or temper chocolate; check out my chocolate truffle tutorial for one of the easiest ways to temper chocolate.Set it aside until it sets.Some Dark chocolate
Lace Cigarette Cookies
- Randomly pipe the batter with a pastry bag. Ensure there are no huge gaps between them.Bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies.When you roll it, be careful not to add too much pressure from the top since it is more fragile than the basic cigarette cookies.
Almond Tuiles
- Spread it very thinly, Clean the edges, attach the almonds all around, and bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies.If you want to make it curled, do so while it's hot.Some Toasted sliced almond
Tuile Cookie Sand
- Bake the same way as the basic cigarette cookies.Use your favorite buttercream as the filling. (Preferebly something that does not contain a lot of liquids.)Some Cacao nibs
Video
Notes
How to store it:
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature.I highly recommend storing them with a silica gel or adding one in a box when gifting them to someone. Silica gel is soaking up all the moisture, and it'll keep the cookies nice and crispy. The cookie will last at least one week (especially with a silica gel), but consume it sooner for the best taste. I recommend eating it right after it's made when you don't use silica gel to enjoy the most crispy texture. ** For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements are provided for your convenience. **
Nutrition
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Kara says
These cookies turned out fabulously. I even made them gluten free using King Arthur Flour’s measure for measure flour.
ayacaliva says
Thank you!! I haven't tried with gluten flour, so it is really good to know! Thank you for sharing your experience.