Food Encyclopedia

cats' tongues

Known as langues-de-chat in France and lingue di gatto in Italy, these long, thin cookies resemble their namesakes in shape. They are light, dry and slightly sweet. Cats' tongues may be flavored with citrus zest, chocolate or flavoring extracts. Two are sometimes sandwiched together with jam or another sweet filling; they may also be frosted. Cats' tongues are commonly made by pressing a thick batter through a pastry bag. A special langues-de-chat pan is also available in cookware shops. It has ten 3-inch long indentations with a slight hourglass curve in the middle.