First step is to preheat your oven to 180˚C / 360˚F.
Pop your softened butter into a large mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Mix, mix, mix with a wooden spoon until creamed.
100 g butter, 100 g icing sugar / powdered sugar
Add half the egg whites and mix, then half the sifted flour and mix until combined. Repeat for the remaining egg whites, then the remaining flour, until you’ve got a soft, sweet and well mixed dough. Add vanilla extract (or any other flavourings, if using) and give it one last stir.
3 egg whites, 100 g plain flour / all purpose flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Line a baking tray with baking paper and use a piping bag to pipe out your dough into 6-7 cm lengths, leaving plenty of space between each for the cookies to spread. Tip: You can make your own homemade piping bag using baking paper if you need – watch our recipe video where we show you how.
Bake in the oven for around 5-8 minutes, but keep an eye on them and make sure you pull them out of the oven as soon as the edges turn golden brown. Transfer your cat tongue cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool.
Optional: Melt chocolate into a smooth paste, then dip one end of each cooled lingue di gatto cookie and pop aside to set.
100 g melting chocolate