French Macarons

These little guys have been on my baking bucket list for a while after having seen them on other baking blogs like Bakerella and David Lebovitz. I had put off making them until they made an appearance in my dreams during an afternoon nap. Who else here dreams of making pastries? My dream involved traveling around town searching for almond flour and the perfect Ateco #806 piping tip that Martha Stewart says you need to successfully produce these little gems. Well, the dream turned into reality when I went to Hobby Lobby and Michael's looking for #806 (no luck) and driving to Kroger to find almond flour (score!). You can always make your own flour by grinding up blanched almonds in a food processor, but I found some in the health food section with the rest of Bob's Red Mill products (Thanks, Bob!)

I broke open 3 eggs last night and separated the egg whites to leave out overnight to age. According to several blogs I read, this is an important part of the process. Hopefully, I will not die from Salmonella poisoning.

Today, I whipped up my first batch using this recipe from Martha Stewart and these excellent instructions from the Giverslog blog (the recipe she uses is slightly different, but the instructions are very easy to follow. She also gives troubleshooting tips). This recipe does not require a kitchen scale, which is another reason I avoided making Macarons, until now. The only really time-consuming part of the process is sifting the powdered sugar and almond flour together. The almond flour is a bit more coarse, and needs an extra pass through a sifter. There were a few grains that would not go through the sifter, so I discarded those. The next step of the process is whipping the egg whites. I had read that this is where some bakers fail if there is any sort of grease in the bowl before starting. I wiped down the bowl and beaters with a bit of vinegar to remove any grease and then rinsed with water. I wiped the bowl and beaters dry and began beating the egg whites. After a minute or so of beating, the egg whites began to foam and I added a pinch of salt and began adding sugar a bit at a time. After about 5 or 6 minutes, the mixture began to fluff up into what I assume was the beginning of "soft peak stage". Since I haven't dealt with egg whites that much, I let it beat for a minute longer until the egg whites were stiff and held their shape when the beater was removed from the bowl. At this stage, you can beat a little food coloring in if you want some color; I added a couple of drops of red to get pink).

I added vanilla flavoring and began folding in the almond/confectioners sugar mixture. (basically, turning over the mixture in the bowl with a spatula until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated; I counted around 60 folds). The mixture seemed thick enough to pipe, so I put it into a plastic piping bag fitted with a #12 Wilton piping tip.

I began piping out 3/4" circles of the mixture onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. After piping them, I tapped the baking sheet against the counter a couple of times to remove any air bubbles. Then, I left these sitting and drove to Starbucks to get some Chai Tea. Otherwise, I would not have the patience to wait for these to set up as recommended. Allowing them to set for at least 15 minutes is important; apparently this step allows a skin to form on top and prevents cracking during the baking process. When I got back home, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and lightly touched one of the Macarons to see if it had set and determined that it had, so I put the first batch in the oven. I propped the door open slightly with a wooden spoon to keep it from becoming too hot (this is another common problem that can cause cracking). I should have kept an eye on them because the first batch browned way too quickly. Some of them cracked and some of them had a nice smooth top. I'm assuming they cracked because I did not let them set long enough.

I decided to make a 2nd batch of chocolate ones. I repeated the process, except this time, I did not age my egg whites. I wanted to see if it made a difference, and as it turns out, it did not seem to matter. I sifted in 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder in with the almond/confectioners sugar and mixed that with the beaten egg whites and vanilla. The mixture seemed a bit thicker due to the added cocoa powder, but it still piped without a problem. I let them set for about 30 minutes before baking and that seemed to help the cracking problem. I baked them for around 15 minutes to be sure they did not overbake. The 2nd batch was a success with only 1 cracked cookie and no burned edges!

I filled these with basic buttercream and nutella/buttercream mixture.

Macaron Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill almond meal/flour
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
Whites from 3 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift confectioners' sugar and almond flour into a bowl. Whisk in almonds; set aside. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until foamy, then beat in salt. Beat in granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until medium-soft peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, fold half the almond/cocoa mixture into the whipped egg white mixture until just incorporated. Fold in vanilla, food coloring, and remaining almond mixture until just incorporated. Firmly tap bottom of bowl on counter to eliminate air pockets.

Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip (I used Wilton #12). Pipe mixture into 3/4" to 1" circles on prepared baking sheets. Try to keep them all the same diameter. Bake until macarons are slightly firm and can be gently lifted off parchment (bottoms will be dry), around 15 minutes for me, but time in oven can vary. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes and remove from paper. They should be easy to peel off. Be careful not to crack them because they are fragile.

Make Buttercream by mixing together:
1 stick butter (softened)
1/2 bag powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Pipe buttercream onto one of the cookies and sandwich together with another cookie. Enjoy!

Spanish Natillas

Travel has a way of awakening all of the senses. The minute you arrive at a new destination, you are surrounded by new and exciting things. You experience a change of pace, either in the rush of a fast moving city or the slow tranquility of a tropical destination. Before arriving, you may have preconceived notions of a place and may be surprised once you arrive and find it is nothing like you had imagined. This adds to the adventure of exploring a new place.

One of my favorite things about travel is having the opportunity to try new foods. In my travel research, I will often make a list of the foods I want to try and make it a point to find those things as quickly as possible upon arrival.

A few years back, my husband and I went with some friends to Spain. Our friend was originally from Spain and was making the trip back to visit his relatives and old friends. This trip was especially exciting because we had the rare opportunity of seeing the country through the eyes of the locals and actually feeling like one of the locals. We had the inside scoop on all of the best sights and foods. We sampled the tastiest dishes, including Paella, Jamon, Chorizo, Tortillas, Conejo (rabbit), and Croquetas. I especially enjoyed the pastries and sweets. One of my favorite desserts was Spanish Natillas, which is a type of egg custard. I vowed to find the recipe and make it when I returned from my trip.

Since then, I have tried a few different recipes and haven't been satisfied with the results until now. I found this recipe, but I decided to tweak it a bit because the recipe called for lemon and I specifically remembered tasting cinnamon in the batches I had tasted in Spain. Aside from the lemon, the other ingredients seemed accurate, so I gave it a try, adapting it based on the ingredients I had on hand.

The resulting custard was mostly as I remembered from Spain, but was a bit more runny. The next time I make it, I will add more cornstarch; the recipe below takes that into account, adding 6 Tablespoons instead of the 5 from the original recipe.


Spanish Natillas

Ingredients:
4 Egg Yolks
2 Cups Heavy Cream
2 Cups Milk (I only had skim milk on hand, which is why I decided to incorporate the heavy cream to add the richness this custard needs)
5 Tablespoons of Cornstarch (original recipe called for 4, but it was too runny)
8 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
1/2 of a Vanilla Bean (split so that it will release the little vanilla seeds when cooking)
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Maria Cookies (optional); shown here:



1. In a bowl, mix half of the milk and half of the cream in a bowl with the egg yolks and corn starch. Set aside.

2. In a sauce pan on the stovetop (set to medium heat), add the remaining milk and sugar. At this point, you can also add the cinnamon stick, ground cinnamon and split vanilla bean. Mix slowly, but stir constantly to prevent milk from burning. It should be hot, but not boiling. Keep stirring.

3. Take a few spoonfuls of the heated milk mixture from the saucepan and add it to the bowl of milk/eggs that you have set aside. Stir well. This will help temper (bring up to temperature) the mixture to avoid scrambling the eggs once you add the eggs and milk to the mixture on the stovetop. Slowly add the mixture from the bowl to the milk and sugar that are heating on the stovetop. Continue stirring and allow the mixture to cook for another couple of minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken a bit and should no longer taste like cornstarch. If you still taste cornstarch, allow it to cook a bit longer.

4. Remove the mixture from the stovetop and strain into a bowl with a fine sieve. This will remove any clumps you have and you won't have to worry about trying to fish out the cinnamon stick or vanilla bean from the hot custard.

5. Pour the custard into small ramekins (or into one large dish, if you prefer); Add a Maria cookie on top for decoration (this is how I remember them from Spain; luckily, I was able to find them here in my local market).

6. Allow these to cool at room temperature and then put them in the fridge so they will firm up. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Enjoy!

Wannabe Limes and Passion Tea

I was strolling through Whole Foods yesterday and spotted these cute little green-striped lemons, called variegated pink lemons. Although they were a little pricey for lemons, I just had to pick up a few to try them out.



The wheels in my head started to turn as I was deciding what to use them for. Naturally, the idea for a pink tea came to mind since Valentine's Day is just around the corner. One of my favorite teas just happens to be pink.



There's no real recipe to speak of this time, since this tea has plenty of flavor on its own. However, the juice of these pretty little lemons adds a nice layer of citrus flavor.



Here's how I made it:
3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tazo Passion tea bags
Juice of 2 lemons

Heat water and sugar together till boiling. Turn off heat and add 3 tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. Pour into 2 tall glasses filled with ice and serve.

Delicious Baby Shower Details

My friend Christie and I hosted a baby shower this weekend for our friend, Kristen. Baby showers are always fun and we had a great time putting everything together. We had been working out the details for the last few weeks, and found some great ideas on our newest favorite site, Pinterest.

A baby shower is always a great excuse to have a dessert buffet:



Kristen's baby room colors are going to be pink, green and purple, so we kept our shower decor within that color scheme. Pink is nice for a girl, but it's even better with lavender and lime green!

Along with the real desserts, we also made some "desserts" out of diapers:


And some baby onesie cupcakes (made with receiving blankets and onesies):


And for the real desserts, Christie made delicious chocolate and vanilla cake balls. I just love the baby blocks shapes she created!


Kristen's favorite cake flavor is chocolate, so we included chocolate cupcakes with praline buttercream into the mix:




Instead of the usual shower games, Christie had the idea of having everyone decorate onesies. She gathered fabric samples, glue and onesies of various sizes so that everyone could assemble their own onesie masterpiece. I think they turned out great!



We can't wait to meet Kristen's new little girl in one short month!

Sweet Tea and Bluebonnets

Around this time of year in Texas, the wildflowers, including the beautiful bluebonnets, start popping up everywhere. The fragrant blossoms are a sign that Easter is just around the corner. On this particular day, I decided to capture the beauty of the flowers while enjoying some sweet tea, of course! :)

Job Security for Your Dentist

Last weekend, I found myself craving chocolate and had the overwhelming urge to bake; Those who know me are probably not the least bit surprised by that, and know that when the urge hits, look out! I had been wanting to try a new brownie recipe I'd found recently while reading one of my favorite food blogs by famed chef and cookbook author, David Lebovitz. I enjoy reading his humorous postings about "living the sweet life" in Paris (France, not Texas), where he currently resides. This is the first recipe of his I have ever tried, and it certainly won't be the last, based on how this one turned out. These things are dangerously sweet and cannot be left unattended in my home, so I made some little packets of love for my neighbors and coworkers. Lucky them!



Here's David's recipe (you can also go to David's site to view his brownies):

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter (oops! I just realized I only used 1 stick -- 8 oz. is 2 sticks, but they turned out fine)
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cup sifted flour (I used cake flour, which is a bit finer, and supposedly makes for fluffier baked goods)
about 2 pounds chocolate-covered thin mints (I used York peppermint patties)

Optional: 1 1/2 cup (150g) walnuts, pecans, or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped




(see note in ingredients regarding amount of butter required-- 1 stick worked for me, but maybe 2 sticks is better!)

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF

2. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil, shiny side down. Smooth the foil then butter it lightly or coat it with nonstick spray.

3. Chop the chocolate and cut the butter into cubes, then warm them together in a medium bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat as soon as both are melted and smooth.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or by hand, whip the eggs, vanilla, salt, instant coffee, and sugar on high speed for about ten minutes until foamy and stiff.

5. By hand, stir in the chocolate mixture, then the flour followed by the nuts, if using.

6. Smooth half of the batter into the pan. Place a layer of thin mints over the chocolate, breaking the mints into pieces to fill in any large gaps.

7. Pour the rest of the batter over the mints and smooth the top.

8. Bake the brownies for 35 minutes, rotating the brownies midway during baking.

When the brownies are done, they will have a firm crust on top but a toothpick inserted into the center should come out wet. Do not overbake the brownies.

9. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan and slice into rectangles.

Storage: The brownies will keep at room temperature for up to three days. They can be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.


This recipe is versatile in the fact that if you don't like peppermint patties, you could sub in another favorite mini-sized candy bar (I'm thinking peanut butter cups may be the next things to try).

Yumberry Bellini Tea

I apologize to my loyal reader (hi, Mom) for the long blogging absence. That's right, I'm fairly sure I only have one reader at this point, since all others have given up on me. Well, maybe not everyone (hi, Nick). I will attempt to rectify this situation by making a little tea. I have found that a good glass of sweet iced tea will bring peace and harmony to the world.

With that, I bring you Yumberry Bellini Tea. Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I was wandering down the juice aisle looking for a mixer for my latest tea find, Berry Bellini tea. Don't get me wrong, this tea blend by itself is great, with a breezy peach flavor and a hint of sweet raspberry. However, I'm always looking for a way to jazz things up, so I usually mix in one of the good old standbys - lemon or lime juice, or some crushed mint. This time, I was looking for something different, something more wild and exotic and I stumbled upon just that - Yumberry Juice. I read the list of ingredients and found that one of the ingredients was actually "Yumberry Puree", so I decided to give it a whirl.

I found this site that gives more information about the Yumberry. It's origins are from China, where it is known as the Yang Mei fruit. It is a red, dimpled fruit, with tangy sweet flesh.

Here is my recipe:
1 1/2 Cups hot water
1/2 Cup sugar
5 Zhena's Gypsy Tea Berry Bellini tea sachets (found at Central Market)
1 Cup Yumberry juice
6 Cups cold water





1. Boil 1 1/2 cups water and mix in 1/2 cup sugar to dissolve.

2. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Allow to steep for 4-5 minutes.

3. In large pitcher, add tea, Yumberry juice and cold water.

4. Pour over ice and serve.

Serves 4.