The first time I had financiers was at Arcaffé. I was 10 years old, and it was the most special cookie I had encountered. It is known that taste is related to memory, and that sometimes food is tasty because it brings back past moments. This is certainly the case with financiers for me. I still find myself tempted to take home a box full of them whenever I’m at Arcaffé.
I tried the recipe from Joy of Baking, and it was my first time making financiers. The result was fine for a first time. The texture was exactly as it should be, but the taste was a bit off. Still tasty, but no as good as it could be. I think I might have under-browned the butter, under-roasted the almond meal, or under-baked the cookies. I also blame the vanilla extract which I used, going to try something better next time.
To make things interesting, I doubled the recipe, and mixed half of the batter with 1tbsp of cocoa powder and pistachios. I really liked the taste of the chocolate financiers – but it was a chocolate taste. It overshadowed the subtle almond taste that makes financiers special. Still worthwhile though, as the texture was just fantastic.