Dattelkonfekt The Baking Bible
Monday, May 11, 2015 at 11:59AM 
dattlelkonfekt
Dattelkonfekt: a German date and almond meringue confectionary (cookie)
Super excited that I will be joining the fabulous existing Rose's Alpha Bakers to bake the recipes from Rose Levy Beranbaum's 'The Baking Bible'.
Rose Levy Beranbaum is the queen of cakes and an award-winning American baker, cookbook author and blogger. It's going to be fun :)
.
How it works; Once a week I will post about what I have baked, this won't include the recipe due to copyright however I will be posting how it went and photos of making/baking the gorgeous baked goods.
This won't affect the usual blog stories and there will be plenty of cupcakes, chocolate and sugar still to come.
Today is my first entry 'Dattelkonfekt'... ummm, can't pronounce that at all...and I'm sugar rushing from too many morning dattlelkonfekt but here goes ....
I needed dates and the supermarket had fresh, Californian fancy eating and a few brands of dried "cooking" dates. I went with Trident a Turkish grown date that is fairly "dry" as I thought this wouldn't add too much moisture to the meringue.
I started with processing almonds, dates and then it was time to make the meringue.
Rose's books are meticulously detailed to assist perfect baking, for example egg whites could be measured by "3 egg whites" or in imperial or metric weights. I went with metric.
Interesting meringue method as it isn't taken to stiff peaks, after the dates and almonds were mixed into the meringue I filled a disposable pastry bag a third full and snipped the bottom ready to begin piping. I didn't use an icing/pastry tip as the mixture felt thick enough to pipe without one. 
There was the option to pipe the meringues onto oblaten a thin edible wheat based wafer that you may have come across before on the base of your Christmas Dutch and German cookies. I could only find multi coloured ones and I thought the cookies would look odd with bright pink and green, so I went with option two of baking on non stick paper lined trays.
They don't take long to bake and cool, what you end up with is a meringue "cookie" that has a crisp meringue exterior with a moist slight chewy interior... plus the crunch of nuts.
My step son Daniel and I thought they would be on the cloying side of sweet, with sugar and dates but they are not. When Dan ate his second one he was nodding in the universal "yep, these are good" way. I thought they were nice, perhaps a still a little sweet for me.
Would I bake again: Yes
Would I make any changes: Yes, I'd add ground cardamom to pair with coffee after Indian food, Turkish food etc. Maybe for Christmas track down those oblaten bases and add orange zest along with ground coriander seeds.
That's it post one for Rose's Alpha Bakers done. Haven't been to Rose's site? Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Happy Baking :)
Feel like making sugar springs?
Reader Comments (13)
Hi Jeniffer! Welcome to our group!! You made your cookies so tiny and cute! I like it! Ground cardamon sounds good! Orange zest too!
Thank you Faithy… lol, yep I'm apparently a petite piper … I made 61 cookies :) I left a comment on your blog… for some reason it's as "unknown" … I've had too, too many dattelkonfekt's today :D
Hello Jeniffer and a warm welcome to the alpha bakers group. I really enjoyed your blog and like your crisp, friendly presentation. I agree that other spices and various fruit zest would add remarkable flavor as a seasonal variation. Again welcome and I look forward to your future post.
What pretty little confections! I also like the idea of adding orange zest. It must have been hard for you to decide where to start, but I'm glad to have you with us.
Thank you Tony and Marie for your lovely welcoming comments :)
Marie I really must bake the Kouign Amann or at least Lemon Posset Shortcakes next catch up week :) I feel like I've skipped the initiation!!
LOL I do think I should say again "I'm excited" "happy" one more time :D
I have dattelkonfekt envy (it's not often in life you get to say that). They turned out a great shape. Mine were disastrous and are sitting in the freezer.
I recommend making the Kouign Amann - my number one favourite - if you get a chance to do some catch up. And also the strawberry shortcake which has become a favourite dessert for me.
LOL Catherine you made me laugh :D Thank you for the Kouign Amann and Strawberry Shortcake recommendations … just went and read the strawberry shortcake recipe… sounds wonderful :D
Hi Jennifer, First I must welcome you to this very interactive group. I look forward to baking with you!
Personally, I loved this cookie for its texture and simplicity. It was a great one to start with. The height on your cookie is exceptional and they look delicious. Here's a link to my Date Meringue cookie http://www.thefinercookie.com/roses-alpha-bakers/?offset=1429497546678. Also, I adore your beauty shot.
And yes!, the Kouigans Amann is the best initiation recipe. It's the most delicious pastry I've ever made. Here's my post on that one too. http://www.thefinercookie.com/roses-alpha-bakers/2014/11/27/and-their-off-rose-levy-bernanbaums-bake-along-for-her-newest-book-the-baking-bible
All the best,
Kim
Kimberlie, thank you. I just read your Kouigns Amann post… goodness they look amazing, your images are stunning too… make you want to reach out and grab a pastry. I couldn't get to your dattelkonfekt post … when you click on 'for the complete tutorial' it takes you to Bluerhu Pie … which in it's self is a mighty fine looking pie. :)
Beautiful photos! Cardamom is heavenly and would be great in these cookies. I added orange oil to mine and they really knocked them up a notch flavor wise.
Thank you Vicki :) oh orange oil would have been lovely :)
Welcome again.. looking forward to reading more post like these one. Since I don't like fruit desserts and I'm a bit of a non-cookie person.. I totally skipped these... glad to see that you sort of like them. :)
Thank you Monica. Lol your comment made me smile, looking forward to seeing your baking on a non cookie fruit dessert week :D