Spain
Galletas de Turrón
Tender Christmas cookies baked with soft almond nougat from Jijona
2 h·24 servings
Jijona turrón
Soft Spanish turrón made from finely ground toasted almonds and honey, an oily, crumbly paste with a deep roasted-almond flavour.
Jijona turrón is a confection from the Alicante region, made by grinding and heating toasted almonds with honey, sugar and often a little egg white until the almond oil is released. Unlike hard Alicante turrón with whole almonds, it is soft, slightly oily and crumbles when cut, much like a firm almond paste. It tastes strongly of roasted almond and honey, less sweet than marzipan, and melts easily, which is why it works well blended into ice cream, creams and mousse. It can be found in Spanish delicatessens, by mail order and, around Christmas, often in larger supermarkets, usually sold as a rectangular bar.
Substitute:
There is no true substitute, since neither nougat nor marzipan matches the roasted flavour and the crumbly, oily texture. In ice cream or creams, butter made from roasted almonds mixed with a little honey and sugar comes close in taste, but it lacks the crumbly texture for eating on its own.
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