Brandy Snap Baskets

Brandy snaps have similar uses to tuiles, but are more of a candy and less of a cookie.  Tuiles use eggs and more flour.  Brandy snap baskets can make a fancy dessert, eg if pressed between individual-size brioche tins.

The quantities given are for about 12 large, or 24 small pieces.  It is possible to make half this quantity: about 6 baskets or 12 cookies.  A large cookie is, say 3/4T of batter making 7cm/3in cookies.  You don't need to gather the ingredients until you have melted the butter.

• Preheat to 350F / 175C / Gas mark 4;
• Gently melt butter, syrup and sugar, remove from heat and stir to dissolve the sugar;
• Allow liquid to cool as you continue, for perhaps 15mins total cooling;
• Sift flour and spices and set aside;
• Line and grease a large baking sheet (see notes), and optionally grease the objects to be used to mould the brandy snaps;
• Stir in remaing liquid ingredients;
• Mix in the sifted dry ingredients;
• Place spoonfuls (3/4T for baskets, teaspoons for small cookies) well apart on sheet, experimenting with just 2 for the first attempt;
• You can spread the batter a little, since while it will spread of its own accord it will cook more evenly if part spread;
• Bake for 10 mins (8-15) until rich golden brown;
• Allow to cool for a minute;
• Lift with spatula or palette knife and shape over or around an object (see notes);
• Remove and place on wire rack;
• Repeat baking and shaping procedure;
• Store in an airtight container.  Apparently they can be frozen.
• Crispiness may even out over a day or two as moisture migrates from the not-so-cooked to the well-cooked parts of the cookie.

• Made with honey these are rich, and work well with vanilla ice cream.
• Maybe for sorbet, etc, use syrup and not honey, otherwise there will be too much competition.
• 2006/06/10: Put ginger in with melted ingredients and used honey.  Pressed between 3in brioche tins: 3/4T batter, spread to 2in circle, baked 9mins, no need to grease moulds.  Baskets were good, a little hard to break up with a spoon.  Maybe reduce temp to 325F, maybe reduce flour to 1 1/2oz in order to make thinner cookies.
• Brioche moulding: can cook on individual pieces of parchment paper, or transfer.  Take cookie on parchment, place small square of parchment in centre of cookie (to aid release), place cookie over brioche tin, gently push into tin using a second tin on top while teasing cookie and paper to take shape of tin, turn upside-down, remove parchment paper, replace first tin, revert to right way up, press two tins together, remove second tin.
• I didn't see recommendations to use Silicone pan liners (Silpat, etc), but that may be because these were non-USA recipes in the main.  Tuile recipes often recommend these.  Parchment is a good alternative.
• If you omit the lemon juice, you might switch the syrup and sugar so as to add slightly more liquid.
• Instead of golden syrup you might try honey, light corn syrup, a mix of corn syrup and honey, or some proportion of molasses.
• You might find it helpful to turn the sheet once, or to lift the snaps halfway through baking to assist with release at the end.
• You can shape over a rolling pin, around the handles of wooden spoons, over ramekins, or, as I do, over 3in/8cm brioche tins.
• If the snaps cool too much to shape, return to the oven for 30 seconds or more to soften them up.
• The brandy may not add that much taste, but the lemon and spices, and the choice of syrup might depend on the dish that you are creating.  (See variations below.)

• Some suggested chilling for an hour before baking; one suggested keeding the dough before this.
• Temperatures varied a bit, especially up to 375F / 190C / Gas mark 5.
• Not all recipes suggested melting the initial ingredients.
• Many omitted brandy, a lot lemon juice, some substituted lemon zest, most omitted nutmeg, a few added vanilla, a few a pinch of salt.
• Ginger varied: sometimes this amount, once 1.5 times this amount.
• Flour varied: a few doubled this amount.
• Sugar varied a lot: the syrup amount was sometimes half, and the total sugar varied from 3oz /75g to 7oz/180g.
• Butter varied: a few reduced or increased it a bit.