4 Ways to Shape a Tuile Cookie
I love an underdog, and in my opinion, the tuile cookie is the ultimate underdog of all cookies. That may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s totally true! A pastry friend recently stated that they were “the most underrated cookie”!
The delicate French tuile cookie has a delightful crisp texture and can be flavored, colored, sized, shaped and molded a million different ways to suit your needs! If you need a great tuile cookie recipe, or want to know more about tuiles in general, start with my Cinnamon Honey Tuile Cookies recipe! To see the shapes we’re talking about, here’s a quick tutorial:
Quick Tips for Shaping a Tuile Cookie…
First – if they aren’t holding their shape, that means they are under-baked! Just pop them back in the oven for a short time, and try again. Properly baked, a tuile cookie will hold its shape within three to five seconds.
Next – these cookies cool quickly once removed from the oven. If they cool too much, they may rip or tear when you try to shape them, so I only bake four to six at a time. Stick to less for complex shapes like the cigar roll, or until you get the hang of it.
Last – once they are formed and cooled, they need to stay dry. Keep them in an airtight container on your counter. If they do start to soften, you can dry them out in the oven for a few minutes, but you may need to reshape them.
Bonus Tip: Dipping a tuile cookie in chocolate strengthens the cookie, which help with creamier fillings!
1. How to Shape a Traditional Tuile Cookie…
These are the classic shape of tuiles, because they look like French roof tiles. Tuile = tile in french!
TO SHAPE: Lay the hot cookie over a rounded item, pressing in on the ends to form to the rounded shape.
Household items you can use for this are a rolling pin, a wine bottle, drinking glasses, vases, canisters, etc.
2. How to Shape a Cigar or Rolled Tuile
These are the shape that will burn your fingers the most, because you manually roll them, piping hot from the oven.
TO SHAPE: Roll up as tight or loose as you desire, then place seam side down in between two stable items to help hold roll together, as it cools. Alternatively, roll only one end tightly, keeping the opposite end loose to create a cone!
3. How to Shape Edible Cookie Cups/Bowls
This shape has minimal touching, so no burnt fingertips! A mini muffin pan is perfect for a 2 1/2″ round, two-bite cookie.
TO SHAPE: Lay the flat hot cookie over the muffin well, then gently press down in the center with a tart shaper or the end of a wooden spoon. Act quickly, but with a light touch so you don’t tear the cookie.
These can be made with any item in your house that is a container. Cupcake pans, cereal bowls, candy dishes, prep bowls, bundt pans, the list is endless! Plus, each container is two sizes – the inside being a smaller option, the outside giving you a larger capacity cookie!
These are great for party desserts because you can scoop filling right into it, set them in a candy or cupcake liner, and they are portable personal desserts! Why serve something in a dish you have to wash or waste, when you can make it all edible!
4. How to Make a Dessert Taco Shell
For a standard 2 1/2″ round tuile cookie, I found the space between the wells of the Brownie Bite Pan was a perfect fit! It made a perfect two-bite dessert taco shell, but feel free to experiment with different sizes and tools you have on hand!
TO SHAPE: Remove the hot cookie from the pan, setting it between two wells on the backside of a pan. Then press down in the middle gently with the spatula, to form a perfect U.
The sky is the limit with these tacos. I originally created them for my upcoming post on Staycation S’mores, but they can be used to build anything a pie, tart, cream puff or other pastry would hold!
What other ways do you shape tuiles? What’s your favorite flavor of tuile cookies? Do you dip them in chocolate or something else?
Let’s talk tuiles in the comments below!
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Traditional Tuile Cookies
Ingredients
- 40 grams confectioner's sugar
- 30 grams salted butter room temperature
- 30 grams egg whites room temperature
- 35 grams all purpose flour sifted
- 4 grams vanilla
Instructions
- In small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with hand held mixer.
- Mix in egg white until completely mixed in.
- Add vanilla, mix well.
- Pour flour into sifter over mixing bowl, and add to butter mixture. Combine.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Can be held in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- If using a stencil, place stencil onto silpat or parchment paper, spread batter over stencil with offset spatula to make 4-6 cookies, then peel away stencil. If free-handing, spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of batter per cookie, onto silpat or parchment paper and use back of spoon to spread into desired shape, ensuring it's not more than 1/16" thick. Make 4-6 cookies at a time.
- Bake 7-9 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Thickness will affect your total bake time.
- Remove from oven and quickly remove from pan and shape as desired. If the last one or two start to harden before they are shaped, pop them back in the oven for about 30 seconds, then quickly shape.
- With potholder, remove silpat from baking pan to counter, to cool. Once cool (a minute or two) begin process again, then place entire silpat back on to hot sheet pan and bake immediately.
Notes
- The thicker you spread the batter, the longer it will take to bake, and could make it harder to shape. Try to keep them very thin.
- Cookies will harden within 5-10 seconds after being removed from pan and molded, so act quickly!
Great tips! I had no idea there were so many ways to shape these cookies.
And honestly, there’s about a billion more ways, Colleen! I can’t wait to see what you come up with! 🙂
Yummy! Looks delicious!!!
Thanks, Andrea! They are pretty addictive little cookies! Lol!
What an amazing blog post! I would love to try making this cookie.
Stephanie | SPV Living
Thanks so much, Stephanie! I hope you give it a shot sometime, they are a lot of fun!