Lengua de Gato – Filipino Butter Cookies made with Whole Wheat Flour

It’s been a few weeks since we came back from our trip to the Philippines. One question people have been asking is “What do you miss?” and the two things I tell them is my family and well, the food! Especially the delicious Filipino desserts. Many Filipino sweets have Asian or Spanish influences. The Spanish-inspired Lengua de Gato, thin butter cookies, are perfect for pairing with coffee, tea or ice cream and are typically eaten during ‘merienda’ (an afternoon snack). My version is a bit healthier than the traditional recipe since I use whole wheat flour.

The name in Spanish translates to “cat’s tongue” because of it’s shape. And it’s OK if they don’t come out in perfect shapes. The first time I made this recipe they came out way too large and wide, but they were still delicious! When baking, make sure to keep an eye on the cookies so the edges don’t burn.

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Mix butter and sugar together, then stir in lemon zest and vanilla.

Mix in flour and salt, then pipe batter into thin strips and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Lengua de Gato is great with coffee or tea.

Lengua de Gato

1 stick butter, softened

2/3 cup powdered or superfine sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

2 egg whites

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream softened butter with sugar. Add vanilla and lemon zest and mix until smooth. Stir in egg whites then slowly mix in flour and add salt.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry or Ziploc bag (with corner snipped). Pipe a thin strip (about pencil thin) of batter onto a greased baking sheet about two-inches long. Bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure not to burn the edges too much. Remove cookies immediately and cool on racks.

Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: about 5 dozen cookies
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