These are the langues de chat, thin, crisp little biscuits shaped like their name suggests, that turned up on French tables during the Second Empire and never really left. They're made from simple ingredients, baked on metal plates until golden and picked off by hand so they keep their snap. Light, buttery and just sweet enough, they're built to sit alongside a coffee or a hot chocolate rather than steal the show.

They come in a neat box that travels well, so they're an easy thing to pick up as a gift or to keep in for when someone drops by.

The details

• 120g.
• Made in France by La Sablésienne, established 1962 in Sablé sur Sarthe.
• Baked in the traditional way and packed by hand.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour, Egg white, Fresh butter, Sugar, Natural vanilla flavor

Made in a facility that also uses sesame, soy, tree nuts and gluten-containing cereals, milk and butter.