Traditional French Dishes
Pink Biscuit of Reims: The Authentic French Recipe
Discover the delicate pink biscuits of Reims, a French specialty that is light, crunchy, and fragrant, perfect for accompanying coffee, tea, or champagne and for creating desserts with cream.
These dry biscuits, with an elongated shape and characteristic pink color, are a pastry tradition of Reims, in the Champagne region. Their texture becomes especially crunchy thanks to cooling and, optionally, a second gentle baking.
01
Ingredients
Have everything ready before you begin.
- ✓2 large eggs at room temperature
- ✓120 g of sugar
- ✓120 g of wheat flour
- ✓60 g of cornstarch or corn flour
- ✓8 g of baking powder
- ✓1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ✓A few drops of red or pink food coloring gel
- ✓Powdered sugar for sprinkling
02
Step-by-step method
- 01
Preheat and prepare
Preheat the oven to 180 °C, with heat up and down. Line two trays with parchment paper and prepare, if desired, a pastry bag or a rectangular mold to shape the biscuits.
- 02
Beat eggs and sugar
Beat the eggs with the sugar for several minutes, until you get a very clear, thick, and airy mixture. With an electric mixer, use medium-high speed for 5 or 6 minutes.
- 03
Add vanilla and color
Incorporate the vanilla extract and a few drops of red or pink food coloring with gentle movements. Adjust the amount gradually until you achieve a uniform pink color, without the mixture becoming reddish or liquid.
- 04
Sift dry ingredients
Mix the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in another container. Sift the mixture over the egg mixture in two or three batches, integrating it with enveloping movements.
- 05
Form regular strips
Check that the dough is thick, smooth, and able to hold its shape for a few seconds. Transfer it to a pastry bag with a plain tip and form strips of about 8 cm on the trays, leaving space between them.
- 06
Sprinkle powdered sugar
Cover the surface with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Wait 1 or 2 minutes and add a second light layer, without accumulating too much sugar.
- 07
Bake the biscuits
Bake for 10 or 12 minutes. The edges should be firm and the pink color should remain visible. If you bake the two trays at the same time, swap their positions halfway through cooking.
- 08
Cool on a rack
Let the biscuits rest for 5 minutes on the tray and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
- 09
Dry with second baking
For a drier and more resistant texture, place the cold biscuits back on the tray and bake at 140 °C for 5 or 10 minutes. Monitor them to dry without toasting.
- 10
Store and serve
When completely cool, store them in a tin or airtight container, protected from moisture. Serve them alone with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or champagne, or use them in desserts with cream, red fruits, whipped cream, or white chocolate.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar well to incorporate enough air and achieve light biscuits.
- Integrate the dry ingredients with enveloping movements to preserve the volume of the mixture.
- Start with a few drops of coloring, as the tone can intensify during cooking.
- Do not overbake: the edges should firm up, but the pink should remain visible.
- The second baking at 140 °C is optional and helps to achieve a drier and more traditional texture.
- Do not store warm biscuits, as the steam can soften them.
- If you use liquid coloring instead of gel, add a very small amount to not alter the consistency.
- Vanilla can be replaced with vanilla sugar, slightly reducing the normal sugar to maintain balance.