Cooked From the Heart » cookies, Featured » Cat’s Tongue, Katte Tongen or Lengua de Gato
Cat’s Tongue, Katte Tongen or Lengua de Gato
It goes by many names and just about every country has adapted this recipe and made it their own. What it is, is the most delicate, most elegant, melt-in-your-mouth, best ever sugar/butter cookie. I got this recipe from a co-worker a long time ago and she in turn got it from a Dutch cook book. This has been one of the holiday traditions in our house since then and Christmas just isn’t the same when we don’t make them. Now, the girls’ friends have come to expect them too and look forward to the bag of treats that my daughters give to their friends before Christmas break.
This is actually a twin recipe to the Spritjes sugar cookies. Whenever I make a batch of one, I have to make a couple of batches of the other. That’s because one recipe uses only egg whites and the other only uses yolks. They are both sugar cookies, but their texture is so different from the other and the flavor us just perceptively different that you will have a hard time deciding which one you’ll prefer.
My youngest daughter prefers this one but I think part of it is the pleasure she gets in announcing to her friends that she is giving them Cat’s Tongue for presents. So last weekend, she requested that we make these so she can bring them to her friends.
A batch of these Lenguas uses only 3 egg whites while the Spritjes recipe uses 6 egg yolks. So in order to balance things out, I usually double this recipe. This will yield hundreds of cookies, but don’t worry that you have too much. They will be gone before you know it and you’ll be asked to make more.
This is really a very simple recipe. If you have strong arms, you won’t even have to pull out your mixer. But of course a stand up mixer will always make this job a breeze.
| Cat’s Tongue, Katte Tongen or Lengua de Gato |
- 3 Egg whites
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 2 sticks Butter (1 cup) – softened
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Beat egg whites until stiff then add the vanilla.
- In another bowl, measure out and mix together flour and sugar.
- Alternately add butter and flour mixture to the beaten egg whites until combined.
- Place the batter in a plastic piping bag and pipe out in 1½ inch length by ¼ inch thick. Place them about 2 inches apart as they will expand as they cook.
- Bake them for approximately 5-6 minutes or until edges are just slightly browned. (depending on your oven, this may take up to 8 minutes but should not be more than that)
Let the cookies cool in the pan for about 30 seconds to a minute before lifting them off with a spatula. This will allow them to set a bit and keep their shape. If you start taking them off the pan too soon, they will wrinkle up and fold on you. However, if you leave them too long in the pan and they start cooling, they also have a tendency to stick. So gauge your timing and see what works best for you.
I did tell you you’d have hundreds of them didn’t I? 
Here are it’s twin cookies, the best sugar cookies you’ll ever have:
You can click on the image above for the recipe or click on this link for the corresponding sugar cookie recipe.
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Written by Jeanette Moore (JMom)
I am a terrible housekeeper but I do love to cook so it all evens out in the end. I like to try new recipes that I think my family will like. However, I am not one to follow all recipes to the letter. I tend to tweak and change the recipes based on what I have on hand and how I am feeling at the time. Feel free to share your versions, I just might try it out next time I make the dish again.
Filed under: cookies, Featured · Tags: Cat's Tongue, Katte Tongen, Lengua de Gato
Hi,
… We must try to cook it for this reason!
It is really cool name – “Cat’s Tongue”
Alexander recently posted..My cat Busya has felt from the balcony and get lost…
These look so yummy! I’m for sure going to bake some of these, and I’m glad the recipe makes a lot of them. This will help when it comes to Christmas time and I make all kinds of cookies to give to friends and neighbors.
Oh these look delicious. I love the name!
O WOW! It does sound easy to make
I love these cookies and so do the girls, I’ll have to try this one. Thanks sis! XO