Petits Fours Secs

The following ten recipes are classified as petits fours secs. The French word sec translates to “dry” in English, which doesn’t sound appealing and might lead you to believe that these bite-sized pastries are unfilled or unadorned. In fact, they are delicious, elegant, miniature creations — far from dry. A small amount of ganache, buttercream, or jam is used to either sandwich the pastries together or to decorate the tops, and they are often dipped in chocolate. These decorated cookies look beautiful lined up on silver trays to be served with afternoon tea. They are also frequently served as an accompaniment to after-dinner digestives such as grappa or cognac, and, of course, with coffee. When served in this way they are typically made even smaller and may then be referred to as mignardise (see box). Petits fours secs can also be used to garnish ice cream coupes or any dessert where the serving dish is placed on a plate with a doily. Many cookie recipes can be converted to petits fours secs simply by making them smaller and, in some cases, enhancing the decoration, just as many of the following recipes can be made into traditional cookies by cutting or making them larger.