When I was a little girl, I used to read the Magic Faraway Tree stories by Enid Blyton. In the books, one of the characters (I can’t remember if it was Silky the fairy or Moonface) would often bake “pop biscuits”. These would go “pop” in the mouth when eaten, and as a child, I was fascinated with them.
I’d like to think that if pop biscuits actually existed, they might taste a bit like these amaretti. They’re supposed to be easy to make, but it’s taken me three attempts to get them right!
I started with a recipe from Alice Medrich’s Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts (which I bought as an e-book)…
Here are my first two attempts – maybe they’ll save you from making the same mistakes I did.
Initially, I tried to cheat and use almond meal rather than grinding blanched almonds. These tasted quite nice, but they were heavy and dense, and took ages to bake…
The second batch ended up very flat – which would have been great if I’d been making macarons. The egg whites need to be beaten until very stiff, and they weren’t for this batch, which resulted in the meringue spreading out as it baked…
Finally, success on the third attempt…
I tweaked the original recipe a little, but I was very happy with the end result. They’re light, super crisp, and really do go “pop” in the mouth…
- 225g (8oz) blanched almonds (I used almond slivers)
- 225g (8oz) icing sugar mixture (confectioner’s sugar)
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 4 large (59g) free range egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 110g (40z) caster (superfine) sugar
1. In a large food processor, blitz together the almonds, icing sugar and salt. Pulse until the almonds are well ground. Don’t be tempted to substitute almond meal here – it doesn’t work, but I have no idea why not.
2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy, then gradually add the caster sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy. Continue beating until the whites are very stiff.
3. Gently pour the almond and icing sugar mixture over the top of the egg whites and, using a large metal spoon, carefully fold the dry ingredients in until just combined. Try to keep as much air in the egg whites as possible.
4. Preheat the oven to 150C with fan. Using two teaspoons, drop heaped teaspoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto parchment lined trays. This batter makes a large number of amaretti (I ended up with about 75).
5. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through the baking time. The amaretti should puff up and turn a light brown. Turn the oven off, leave the oven door slightly ajar (I prop mine open with my leather welding gloves) and allow the cookies to cool in the oven (sometimes I leave them overnight). Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.
Allowing them to dry out completely in the oven ensures they’ll keep well for weeks…
One last suggestion – turn the four leftover egg yolks into microwave custard, and serve it with crushed amaretti for a perfectly simple, delicious dessert. My microwave custard recipe is all through this blog, but here it is again to save you searching for it…
- 2 cups (500ml) full-cream milk (I used UHT)
- 1 tsp homemade vanilla extract*
- 4 egg yolks (from 59g eggs)
- 1 Tbsp (4 tsps) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1/3 cup (70g) caster (superfine) sugar*
* Instead of the extract and caster sugar, I often use vanilla sugar.
1. In a large pyrex mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, extract, cornflour and caster sugar until smooth. Microwave on high for 2 minutes until hot (my microwave is 1100 watts).
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Pour the egg yolks through a sieve into the bowl of heated milk, whisking constantly as it ribbons into the hot mixture to ensure it doesn’t curdle.
3. Heat the eggy milk in the microwave on high for 1 minute, then whisk. Heat for another 30 seconds, then whisk again. Continue heating in 30 seconds bursts, whisking well after each, until the custard has thickened to your liking. Use immediately, or refrigerate until needed, with a piece of clingfilm pressed to the surface to stop it skinning.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Salivating…. yum, yum, yum, yum! My favourite biscuits AND custard, Celia. Double deliciousness!
Thanks darling! The boys have been eating the two together! :)
Oh yes! Pop biscuits! Silky used to bake them; it was her specialty. I loved those books. :) Mr Whatsisname. Oh, and Mrs Washalot, was it, who would throw her dirty washing water down the tree? *laugh* I want to read them again now!
Great post!
Don’t forget Mr Saucepan Man! :)
Oh, dear old Saucepan Man! Yes! So amusing that he ended up becoming Whatsisname’s roomie. *giggle*
I like your tenacity Celia and your efforts paid off. What a lovely idea enjoying these with your wonderful custard.
Have a super weekend. I am fetching my Pete and will have him home for 6 days. Yay.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, that’s so great, have a wonderful time!! I have a big grin on my face, because I know how chuffed you’ll be to have him home! xx
I’ve never tasted a pop biscuit but I think I’ll love them. Microwave custard alongside sounds wonderful.
Maureen, since we discovered microwave custard, we’ve never wasted an egg yolk again! And when no-one eats the custard, we churn it into icecream! :)
How generous of you to publish your less successful batches as well as the successful one, so that we can learn with you! Thank you!
Ardys, you’re kind, thank you – none of the rejects were wasted, they were all delicious, just not quite right! :)
Hi Celia, I use to love Enid Blyton books I’m all nostalgic thinking about them :) Your biscuits look delicous!
Stefanie, I can see why they’ve fallen a bit out of favour (kids wandered around in the woods by themselves, chatting to strangers, getting caned), but they really were wonderful at the time, weren’t they?
G’day! Wish I lived closer Celia as would love to “pop” one or two of these in my mouth right now! :)
YUM!
Cheers! Joanne
Joanne, they’re a bit addictive, we’ve had to ration ourselves. My young neighbour Luca ate a dozen in one sitting last night! :)
Those cookies look perfect…love the memory from your childhood. :) and the custard looks delicious and easy to make.
Laila, the custard is a doddle to make – it literally takes about five minutes! I hope you get a chance to try it, I quite like the thought that it might be eaten hot when it’s snowing outside! :)
Yes indeed, a very lovely idea!!
By tiny hockey players! :)
Delightful fun tasty amaretti bites! Yummm! I love your tasty thicker microwave custrad a lot, Celia! It is a full proof recipe too! xxx
Sophie, thank you for trying it darling! So glad you like it! xx
I love every tried recipe from you, darling! :)
I have just come into quite a few eggs and was going to make ice cream but was researching what to make with the egg whites. Then here you are coming to the rescue. Fantastic, thank you.
Tania, here are some other suggestions:
Almond Florentines: https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/08/04/almond-florentines/
Chewy Amaretti: https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/11/18/amaretti/
Almond Bread: https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/03/30/almond-bread/
…and of course, the all-time best thing to make with egg-whites…
Friands! :) https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/05/20/raspberry-chocolate-friands-and-microwave-custard/
This must be use up the egg white week. I made a batch of almond biscuits as well. Wish I’d seen your recipe before I started. I tweeked a toasted pecan macaroon recipe using toasted natural almonds but it was too sweet and the baking instructions left them slightly underdone. The taste was great though. Thanks for your blog, I look forward to your posts.
Thanks for reading, Liz! :)
As a 7-year old I loved that series of books too. I was so disappointed there weren’t more in the series. They were so magical and I love how Enid took us into such an interesting and believable world. As for your biscuits – I made macaroons on the weekend and they were far too much like meringues. I agree with you that with sugar and egg whites and the extra ingredients, there is such a fine chemical balance xx
Charlie, I’m not quite sure what the distinction is – do macaroons have coconut in them? I can’t stop making these now, and they keep disappearing! :)
I grew up with them too Celia, and I loved the idea of going to different lands every day. I liked the Angry Pixie- maybe I could relate? :)
Your Pop Biscuits sound wonderful, thankyou for not giving up until you got them just right sweetie xox
Hahaha…Becca, you’re nothing like the Angry Pixie, you’re always so calm! :) xx
My daughter is into reading Enid Blyton books at the moment! They are timeless reads aren’t they :-)
Sandy, I’m not sure quite how timeless they are – as I was saying to Stefanie above, stories about kids wandering around in the woods, talking to strangers, eating strange things, getting caned – probably wouldn’t pass muster these days! :) But they were fabulous fun, and I still love them! :)
It’s tea time here, could you send some over please :)
Tandy, no problem! :)
Perserverance paid off! They look delicious!
Thanks Manuela! At least all the rejects were delicious – we didn’t have to waste any! :)
how very enchanting to create a pop biscuit. they really are a dream come true. aren’t they!
Thanks for stopping by! :) I think the original pop biscuits were supposed to have honey in the middle, but I just couldn’t do it – these were already sweet enough! :)
I guess it must be true what they say about the 3rd time being the charm. The book and biscuits sound charming. And of course you don’t let a thing go to waste. You always inspire me Celia to think and plan of what to do with anything extra.
Diane, you’re very kind, but I do end up wasting some things, just not our backyard eggs. They’re precious! I once dropped an egg on the floor, and had to go outside and apologise to the chickens.. :)
You’re too funny. Now in my house a dropped egg would not have gone to waste…the dog would have been all over that, including the shells.
I loved those books! And the pop biscuits! These look and would sound so good and the microwave custard would be the perfect addition! We just have to wait for our chickens to lay some eggs.
Clare, how exciting that you’re getting new chooks. Are any of your old chooks still laying (I know you got rid of the mad ones, but wasn’t sure if you had any left)? Microwave custard made with backyard eggs is the most amazing yellow colour!
Brilliant, my daughter loves the Magic Faraway Tree books. Funnily enough, we’ve just started re-reading them for 2nd time tonight at Ruby’s request (before I read this) so very spooky timing! I think she’d love to make pop biscuits.
Serendipitous timing! :) Hope she likes these, your Ruby sounds wonderful!
I’ve read The Far Away Tree, then I read the books to my children, then my grandchildren. I have two more coming up and almost ready for the adventures. They are a bit dated, but I never get sick of reading them with a bit of editing as I go along. Now I can bake a batch of pop tarts to go with the stories. So looking forward to it. Thanks for the recipe and for the tips.
Mary, I hope they like these! Once I had these figured out, they were actually quite easy to make – I think I’m going to try a hazelnut version next!
A brilliant way to make custard. At last a reason to use the microwave.
Francesca, we also make lemon curd in the microwave, which you might enjoy:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03/17/lemon-curd/
They look great. I was fascinated by pop biscuits too – glad you got it right – maybe I should try these for sylvia who loves the faraway free – silky is such a darling!
Silky was lovely, wasn’t she? So was Moonface, although everyone else was a bit barmy.. :)
Yum! I have never made these before but I used to love everything written by Enid Blyton, especially the folk if the faraway tree.
Thanks for reminding me, I will have to try these pop biscuits.
Julie, they were great fun to make (in the end), and even the rejects were delicious! :)
Yum! They’re like almond meringues? They look fantastic… I once subbed almond meal instead of grinding my own for a flourless chocolate cake, and I had the exact same problem- it was too dense (we still ate it though!) I love the idea of lemon curd with these too :)
Em, yes, almond meringues! And here’s my microwave lemon curd recipe as well! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03/17/lemon-curd/
Reblogged this on Food Wine Fit 40 and commented:
Love these!
Pop biscuits and microwave custard? That will brighten anyone’s day!
:)
Hahaha…the boys and the neighbours have been going through them at a rapid clip! :)
These have been on our to-do list forever. We always have store-bought amaretti for crusts and things.
Greg, so do we – we make Dorie Greenspan’s 15 minute torte with them. I wonder if they’ll work with our homemade ones…hmm…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/04/20/dorie-greenspan-fifteen-minute-torte/
The first food that registered in my consciousness from reading was in a young adult book about adventures of a group that got stranded in a tropical island and they found a “bread tree” and I thought that was the coolest thing I’d ever heard! I’m delighted to read about a recipe that traces its way back to one of your favorite childhood stories.
Azita, what IS that book? I remember the bread tree reference too! :)
In translation into Persian it was called ” The Coral Island” … I’d love to find it in whatever its original language it was written
Was this it? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coral_Island
Oh my gosh, I think that’s it!! :D Is that the one you recalled as well?
Honestly, I don’t know. All I remember is the breadfruit tree! :)
Can only agree with custard. KP loved the Faraway Tree. I was more into The Famous Five! Lovely biscuits.
Sally, the biscuits and the custard go together! One uses the egg whites and the other uses the yolks, you see.. :)
Celia, they look fabulous, I do wonder why the meal didn’t work. Your second lot look better than my macarons.
Glenda, buggered if I know! I wasn’t game to try a second time though.. :)
These sound wonderful, Celia. Love how crunchy they must be.I bet they’d be great crumbled in any number of parfaits or over ice cream, too. Thanks,too, for the microwave custard recipe. I know I’ll be using that one — sooner that you think. ;)
Still occasionally have a read of these books, takes me to a lovely place! Celia, do you or your followers have any recommendations for a stand mixer. I’m in the market and tossing up between a Kenwood and a Kitchenaid. Think I’ve overloaded myself with research and am now just confused! (more so than normal). Nothing better than feedback from people who actually use these appliances. Cheers, Maree.
Maree, do feel free to ask again – maybe as a comment on the next IMK post? For what it’s worth though – I own a Kenwood. It’s not bad, but it’s not as good as my mother’s original one. I had trouble comparing motor sizes and capacities – they all seem to be measured differently.
This is a rather late reply but I was curious: would you be able to add a honey filling without it melting and leaking through? That seems to be the problem in the other pop biscuit recipes I’ve seen online. I know you’ve said honey would make it too sweet, but if it could actually be added to the middle, maybe cutting down on the sugar in the recipe would help reduce the sweetness? I’ve had a serious case of Enid Blyton nostalgia and would really like to try to make a honey filled pop biscuit!
I’m not sure it would work, as the amaretti are basically a meringue. No harm in trying though! :)