A Venture in Macarons and a new Lightbox

It has been quite awhile since I saw a recipe as daunting as these little deceiving delights. Unbeknownst to me was the finicky treat that is a macaron, and my first attempt at making them fell quite close to failure...(okay, very close, but I'm still recovering from defeat,here...).

They look just fine...

I started off this endeavor just as any other. Got a craving, saw a few recipes, and started the search for the perfect recipe to be the first one I tackled of its kind. Now just to clarify, there is a difference between macarons and macaroons. Don't get them confused as I did.

Now as I searched, one thing became common quite quickly.

The complaints...

"Even the professionals struggle with macaroons"
You must allow them to mature before they reach their peak of flavor
 “Three seconds of overbeating and they’re ruined"
Article after helpful article on experimentation and trials from Not So Humble Pie

Phew. Can these things be that tough?

So with fingers crossed and hopes set high, here we go.

Vanilla Bean Macarons (makes 50)
110 grams almonds (blanched or slivered)
200 grams confectioners’ sugar
100 grams egg whites, aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
¼ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
50 grams granulated sugar

Not at all adapted from Annie's Eats

Oh! I used these as an excuse reason to buy new cookie sheets!
You may notice this recipe is given by weight. First critical point with these, you MUST weight your ingredients. Measuring them otherwise will result in disaster.
Also, the recipe calls for blanched or slivered almonds, but I just bought almond meal. I didn't want to run across the risk of them not being perfectly ground.
On a final note, notice that you have to age your egg whites for a day beforehand. Yes, AGE them! So plan to take out your egg whites and place them on the countertop loosely covered for at least 24 hours to age them.

From top left, clockwise: powdered sugar,egg whites,sugar,and almond flour.

      1. Pulse the almonds and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor until finely ground and    well blended (Of course you will skip this part if you're using almond flour).

       2. Whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.

  
      3. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod into the mixing bowl
      4. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until a smooth, shiny meringue with stiff peaks forms.

Very small , yet stiff, peaks

      5. Blend in the vanilla extract. (I was paying too much attention to getting the timing right, so I kinda forgot this part...)
      6. Add the ground almond mixture to the bowl with the meringue and quickly but gently fold together using a wide rubber spatula until no streaks remain. You want to achieve a thick batter.

      7. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
      8. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain wide round tip and pipe into small rounds on the prepared baking sheets (each round should be about 1-1½ inches in diameter), spaced about 1 inch apart (I think mine were a little on the small side...) Let sit at room temperature for about an hour to develop a hard shell.

It makes a ton..I used 4 baking sheets...

       8. Preheat the oven to 300˚F.  Bake for 12-18 minutes, depending on size. To test whether or not the cookies are done, let cool for a minute until cool enough to touch.  Carefully attempt to remove one shell from the pan.  If it cracks at all or does not remain intact, continue to bake until one is removed intact. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before moving the cookies.

This is what happens when you rush and drop the first pan out of the oven...

 But this is the way the rest came out:

 Pretty,huh?

But completely hollow. I checked a few other references on macarons that I had and tried raising the cooking temperature and keeping the oven cracked open to try and fix it.
No luck. I just overcooked them and they were still hollow.

The original recipe suggests that you should store the shells in the fridge for 2-3 days to mature and then fill and sandwich the cookies right before serving.

Okay, so maybe if I let them sit for a few days, they will be...less hollow....

3 days later, and still no luck.

Alright, so this attempt at macarons didn't turn out so well, but I will be tackling them again very soon with a new recipe and hopefully better results.

Adorable little failures aren't they?

Alas, two good things came out of this venture.
1. I made an absolutely delicious filling for for future macarons. (I'll show you how to make it later, it's a white chocolate raspberry ganache and it is irresistible).
2. I finally made a light tent!

Here's one of my first shots with it:

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Of all desserts and confections, the ones that induce smiles just by the name for me would have to be whoopie pies. I mean,honestly, just say "whoopie pie" a few times...happier,yet? I thought so.

It is said that the name comes from when people would find them in their lunch boxes and cry out "Whoopie!" in delight. Perfectly understandable, I'd say.


What makes me just as happy as saying whoopie pie, is making them. They're so easy!

My foremost concerns when making something new are getting the aesthetics just right. I want the final result to look just as good as I hope it tastes, and for these little cakes I seriously considered buying a 'whoopie pie pan'. Then I remembered great words spoken by a great idol of mine : "Stay away from single purpose items!"...and I went with an ice cream scoop instead.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Original Recipe

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg,room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Makes about 2 dozen pies.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter until till light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and alternate additions of flour mixture and buttermilk, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition.
3. Scoop about a tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on baking sheets. I filled my ice cream scoop about halfway full and they were the perfect size and shape. Bake until cakes spring back when pressed lightly, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking.
4. Cool cakes on sheets for a few minutes, then slide parchment onto wire cooling rack and repeat for remaining batter.

They're so nice and pillow-y!

 
Peanut Butter Filling
6 oz cream cheese,room temperature
2 1/2 tablespoons butter,softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

1. Sift powdered sugar.Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating between each addition and scraping the bowl down often. Add the peanut butter and beat until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. 
2. Spoon or pipe (I prefer piping, they look neater and it's just fun to pipe frosting!) generous amount of filling onto half the cakes, then gently top with remaining cakes, pressing down gently to make a small sandwich.

See? Piping is much better :)

Yum!

Homemade Pierogies

To me, pierogies are like that comfort food that you just can't seem to get as often as you need to. Of course, I can always make mashed potatoes, chili, or a grilled cheese sandwich; but sometimes I just need something a little more particular.

 

With not-so-conventional fillings

Pierogies with Sour Cream (makes about 10-15 large or 20-30 small)
4 cups flour, plus extra for kneading dough
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, softened and cut into small peices
butter and onions to sautee them in once finished
filling of your choice [I used potatoes (5 large,peeled and boiled),onions (1 chopped and caramelized),cheddar cheese (about 6 oz),and bacon (about 10 strips,cooked]

I doubled the original recipe so I could have leftovers for a few days :)


Making the dough:
Mix together the flour and salt. Beat the eggs, then add them to the flour mixture.

Add the sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes).

I used a potato masher for this. Brilliant,I know!

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days

While the dough is in the fridge,this is the perfect time to prepare your filling, if you haven't already.

Assembling the pierogies:

Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick.This dough is very thick, so you'll have to beat it out, a rolling pin won't work that well here!

Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. I had trouble getting them as thin as they needed to be, so you may have to cut them slightly smaller than you want and them stretch them out individually to get the correct thickness of the dough.

This is my favorite bowl :)

Of course I had to make a few minis!

Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Wipe the corners of the dough with some egg wash for good measure.

Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Once you have assembled your pierogies, boil them a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top. Place them in an ice bath to cool, and let them dry them before sauteing. I pan fry them in some oil alone (I'm picky when it comes to food that isn't dripping with chocolate or smothered in frosting) but you can saute them in butter or oil with some onions if you like.

Fried up and ready for dinner!

WARNING: The original recipe claims that this takes a mere 60 minutes to accomplish...don't believe it! Pure nonsense. It took closer to 2-3 hours to finish these bad boys, but let me tell you, it is completely worth it.
I highly recommend the filling I used. If you're going more traditional,of course they are delicious with simply potatoes and cheese; but the sweet caramelized onions and the salty bacon work together so well in this recipe, it's hard to pass up.

Store the leftovers that you don't devour immediately upon completion in an airtight container and they will last in the fridge for a few days up to a week depending on what you used as your filling.

Blueberry Muffins that even Don will eat.

As my belated,yet very relevant welcome to summer, I made blueberry muffins!

I have a pronounced adoration with fresh produce, as we all should. I see something seasonal at its peak of perfection and must bring some home with me to enjoy during that time of year that we can truly appreciate it. Case in point, some locally grown blueberries caught my eye on Friday while grocery shopping and of course I picked some up.

Out of the two days I have off this week, today was the one that I really didn't have any plans for. I saw that we still had quite a few blueberries left in the fridge, and decided to make the best of a boring day! Oh! And I got to break in my new cooling rack :)


Blueberry Muffins (makes 10)
Another great recipe from Smitten Kitchen!

5 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon  baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don’t bother defrosting)

I also saw a struesel topping in another recipe that I added, but it's optional.

Struesel Topping
Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork.
 

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray, I prefer the traditional butter and flour method, myself. 

• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. 
• Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. 
• Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift dry ingredients. Add half of dry ingredients into batter and mix well. Add the other half and mix just until the flour disappears. 
• Gently fold in your blueberries with a spoon. 
• The dough will be quite thick, and as suggested an ice cream scoop works perfect.

• Fill about 3/4 full, then sprinkle struesel on top (if you decided to add it)
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Let cool.

New cooling rack :D

My step grandpa,Don, is the embodiment of the word 'finicky'. He eats the same plain bologna sandwich an apple everyday for dinner and my grandmother (bless her patient heart) rarely cooks homemade meals for him ;she knows of the immense possibility he will scrunch his nose and deny her suggestions for dinner. Tis a shame. But as a testament to these muffins and their tastiness, he tried one, and liked it :) .

Fondant Effects: Wood grain

There are plenty of ways that you can manipulate fondant to do near exactly what you want it to do. It can present any color you want and you can give it near any texture you can think of. When making my sushi cake I played around with thoughts of how I could give the cake extra details to make it look more realistic. I wanted the base to be a table, so I looked for a way to make fondant look like a wood table. I found an amazing tutorial on How to Baker and it came out perfect.

 One: Take a large ball of fondant and split it in two equal pieces. Set one half aside and color the other half with brown icing color by kneading small bits of color in until it is the shade of brown that you want.

 Roll the pieces into two long skinny ropes. My counter is fairly small, so I had to make more than one rope.

 Twist the brown rope around the white rope, making sure that some white still shows through.

Roll out the fondant until it is larger than your cake or cake board so that it will cover completely.

 

Cut off the excess with a pizza roller and smooth out with fondant smoother.