Petits Fours Secs

In the previous chapter, the subject of petits fours was introduced with a discussion of petits fours glacés, or iced petits fours. Petits fours secs, or dry petits fours, are, by contrast, more properly discussed with cookies than with cakes.

As you may recall, nearly any pastry or cake item small enough to be eaten in one or two bites can be considered a petit four. The term sec, or “dry,” means that these pastries have no icing or cream filling, although they may be dipped in chocolate. In practice, small quantities of creams or jellies are sometimes used—for example, in sandwich-type cookies.