Chocolate French Macarons

This recipe adapted from Delicious Everyday, Eat Live Travel Write and Stella from Bravetart - who has been making macarons using a tried, tested and true method. This is my second EVER attempt. Unfortunately my sifter broke half way, and I don't think I quite had the texture I needed. I'll continue to do more digging on good macaron-making techniques. It was a good attempt and I think I have the method (steps) down pat. 

Makes: 20 Macarons

Ingredients

Macaron:

• 57 g of almond flour
• 115 g of icing sugar
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 36 g sugar
• 72g of egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

* Its important that your ingredients are measured precisely.

Cream Cheese Buttercream used from a previous recipe. 

Directions

Preheat oven to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. 

1. Measure out almond flour, icing sugar and cocoa powder. Put in food processor, and pulse on high until while ground (~15 times). Sift TWICE into bowl that you will set aside.
2. Mix egg whites, sugar using an hand/standing electric mixer with a whisk attachment - and time yourself for this next part: 3 minutes on low speed, 3 minutes on medium, then 3 minutes on high. 
3. Now, add the salt and vanilla extract (at this point you would add food colouring or flavours, but we do not do that for this recipe) and bump the speed up to maximum for 1 minute (time yourself!). 
4. Your meringue should be very stiff. It should NOT be runny, and should clump in the middle of the whisk. If it doesn't, beat for another minute or keep beating until it clumps in the middle of the whisk.
5. Add the salt, vanilla extract, food colouring, cinnamon, tumeric, and allspice.
6. Now add the dry ingredients, and using a spatula FOLD the ingredients, which should take approximately 25 "folds" turns. 
7. Pipe 1 inch onto baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12 minutes, turn the baking sheet around after 6 minutes. 
9. Remove from oven. Allow to cool complete, then gently slide them off the parchment paper. If they are still sticking, put in freezer for 1 minute. 

STEP BY STEP ILLUSTRATED INSTRUCTIONS »

Vanilla French Macarons

So we attempted the notoriously difficult French Macarons. What I quickly learned is that this recipe has to be followed precisely. You can't overwhip it (or else you'll end up with hollow biscuits!), overcook it. and have too much of one ingredient. This actually took two batches to get just right.

French Macarons - Vanilla Flavored

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 and 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar (sifted, or food processed)
• 1 cup almond flour (sifted, or food processed)

Directions

1. Beat egg whites until they are stiff and form stiff peaks (to the point where if you turn the bowl upside down they don't move)
2. Gradually beat in white sugar. 
3. In a separate bowl for dry ingredients: sift icing sugar and almond flour. Whisk together. 
4. Do not use an electric mixer/beater for the next step. Fold your dry ingredients into the egg mixture in 30 strokes - don't do it more than this. 
5. Pipe your macaroons on parchment paper to about 35 mm. You can google "macaron" templates".
6. Preheat oven to 285 degrees Fahrenheit (140 degrees C). Let it stand for 25 minutes. 
7. Bake for 15 minutes.

Vanilla Macaron Filling

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 4 ounces of cream cheese (half a whole package, room temperature).
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/3 cup of icing sugar

Directions

1. Beat butter, cream cheese and salt together until fluffy.
2. Gradually add icing sugar beating until smooth. 

Classic Short Bread Cookies

Its very exciting to be back and blogging again. After a very packed three months, I have found the time and motivation to blog (and bake) again!

I decided to bake them for a friend's birthday potluck as a dessert.  This particular recipe only uses four ingredients, and results in soft, crumble in your mouth cookies. 

With radio playing in the background, and a little "mini lightbox" setup to take photos I was done in about 1 hour (including chilling the cookie dough for 20 minutes in the fridge).  Let's get started!

Lemon-Glazed Cookies

This is a modification from Martha Stewart's Lemon Glazed Candied-Gingered Cookies

Martha Stewart's Shortbread Cookies

I used a modification of Martha Stewart's Shortbread Cookies Recipe and made delicious shortbread cookies. Its an easy recipe and doesn't require too many ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (or 1 cup) of butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar (or icing sugar)

Recipe

Step 1: In a mixing bowl, mix together sifted flour and salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Mix the 2 sticks of butter in a beater on low:

until the butter is light and fluffy! Use a utensil to scrape down the butter in the sides. 

Step 3: While the mixer is beating the butter, add confectioner's sugar gradually. Then add the flour/salt mixture all at once. 

Step 4: The texture should look a lot like mashed potatoes. 

Step 5: Spoon the dough onto a baked sheet and press flat with the bottom of a spoon. Make sure the cookies are all the same thickness so they cook evenly. 

PUT IN THE FRIDGE FOR 20 MINUTES!

Step 6: Place in the oven for one hour until they are browned. 

and Voila! Shortbread Cookies.