La Sablésienne Langues de Chat Cookies 40g

There is an easy charm to a langue de chat. It is narrow enough to perch beside an espresso cup, yet substantial enough to make the cup feel as though it came with a thoughtful invitation. La Sablésienne makes this 40 g sleeve in Sablé-sur-Sarthe from wheat flour, butter, sugar, eggs and natural vanilla flavouring. The biscuit is baked on metal plates until golden, then lifted by hand, according to the maker. Its long, slim shape comes from piping the dough in thin strips before baking. That form gives you plenty of browned edge for a gentle snap, while the centre stays softer. Vanilla is present without turning the biscuit into a perfume; butter and a little sugar carry the flavour. The result is particularly good when you want a biscuit that will accompany something else without drowning it out. It can sit beside fruit, custard, tea or coffee and still have a personality of its own. Small biscuit, surprisingly good company.

• A tea tray with a little lift: Brew Dammann Frères Breakfast Tea and serve two or three biscuits on the saucer. The tea's structure gives the sweet vanilla edge a pleasant counterpoint. The tea is sold separately.
• Dessert in a minute: Stand a few biscuits in a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a bowl of berries. Their slim shape makes them a neat edible spoon, and the crisp edge gives a soft dessert some welcome contrast. Add them only at the table so they keep their snap.
• Fruit and biscuit: Offer a small spoon of Maison Perrotte Orange, Madagascar Vanilla & Ceylon Cinnamon Preserve on the side. Orange and spice bring warmth to the vanilla biscuit; keep the preserve separate so guests can choose their own balance. The jar is sold separately.

The French name means “cat's tongues”, a description of the biscuit's long, narrow outline rather than its ingredients. La Sablésienne places the fashion for langues de chat in the Second Empire, when British ideas about tea and biscuits caught the attention of French tables. Its product history also names the chef and culinary writer Auguste Escoffier in the biscuit's French story. Whatever the exact route from one country to the other, the shape has proved wonderfully practical: a piped strip of dough bakes quickly and slips neatly beside a cup or dessert. La Sablésienne still makes its version in the town best known for sablés, using the same metal-plate baking and hand pickup it describes for its biscuit craft. It is a tiny example of how a straightforward recipe can become a recognisable ritual.

Ingredients and allergens: Wheat flour, butter (milk), sugar, eggs, natural vanilla flavouring. Made in a workshop that also uses sesame, soy and tree nuts.

Store in a cool, dry place, away from heat and moisture.