Palets de Dame (French Cookies)

Palets de Dame are a specialty from Northern France. These cake-like cookies with a rum icing require only basic ingredients.

Lire la recette des palets de dame en Français

And another recipe from Northern France ! After tarte au sucre and coquille de Noël, let me introduce you to palets de dame.
These cookies, just like tarte au sucre, are linked to my childhood. I remember the exact taste that the palets de dame we bought (from the same bakery we bought tarte au sucre from) had. I read a lot of recipes, before finding this one. Some had ground almonds, some said to spread a layer of apricot preserves between the cookie and the icing. I don't remember the ones I ate as a child to have had an apricot preserves layer, so I didn't write those down.
This recipe, with the adjustments I made to the icing, tastes exactly like the palets de dame we ate years ago (talk about a walk down memory lane !).

Palets de dame means "lady's pucks". I tried to search why they were called that, and according to Google, an 18th century baker got the idea for these cookies in the Royal Palace in Paris, when he saw women playing a game with pucks. He invented cookies that looked like pucks, with an icing as glossy as the ladies' dresses. They all loved the cookies, and they became known as palets de dame. I'm not sure if that's their actual story, though (because palets de dame are a specialty from Northern France and maybe Belgium, so...)
Anyway, these cookies are amazing. I think texture-wise, they'd be close to black and white cookies : not really cookies, but not cake either.


Here's how to make palets de dames :

PALETS DE DAME (French Cookies)
by A Cup Of Sprinkles
Adapted from PataChou

Palets de Dame are a specialty from Northern France. These cake-like cookies with a rum icing require only basic ingredients.

Cook time : 12 minutes
12 Cookies

Ingredients :
For the cookies :
125g of butter, softened
125g of sugar
2 eggs
150g of flour
For the icing :
200g of icing sugar
1 egg white
½ TBSP of white rum

Instructions :

Make the cookies : preheat the oven. Using a hand- or stand-mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar.

Mix in the eggs, then gradually add in the flour.

Using spoons or an ice-cream scoop, drop rounds of batter on a baking paper covered baking sheet (like you would for whoopie pies or cookies). Don’t make them too close, as the cookies will spread a lot while baking. Bake at 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are a nice golden color. Let cool on a wire rack.

Make the icing (once the cookies are cooled) : with a hand- or stand-mixer, whisk the egg white on low speed until foamy, then gradually add in the icing sugar while mixing. Add in the rum and mix.

Spread the icing on the flat side of the cookies, and let set completely before eating.

Let me know in the comments if you make palets de dame ! You can also share a picture on Instagram by tagging @acupofsprinkles and using the hashtag #acupofsprinkles !

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