MADELEINE, JE T'AIME!

I am truly in love with Madeleines. They are wonderfully perfect, cake like cookies. Madeleines are also very easy to make if you have the mold for them. You will also find they are perfect for thanks giving, if you have a talent for icing. Their fan shape makes them easy bodies for turkeys. Think how delighted your guest would be to find sweet turkey decorated Madeleines waiting for them at their table place. I think they would be almost as delighted if they were to find a double martini.

So to make your own Madeleines you will need:

2 large eggs

1 table spoon vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 pinch of salt

1 cup and 2 table spoon cake flour

10 table spoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

To make them you will need to start off by pre-heating your oven to 375°.

In an electric mixer bowl, beat eggs and sugar, just until blended.

Next beat in vanilla, lemon peel, and salt.

Add flour and mix well.

Finally gradually add in butter.

Take your Madeleine molds and grease and flour them.

In the molds place a tablespoon of batter.

Set your timer for 10 minutes of baking. Yes, that is Cary Grant, I always like to bake with a handsome man in the kitchen. The Madeleines should be puffed and browned.

Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from the mold.

I personally don't like them to get too brown so I pull them early.

If you are talented with icing you can use royal icing to make these yummy cookies into turkeys.

Happy Thanks Giving!

I am so thankful for my followers.

Gamma Phi Mocktails

So I thought it was fitting to do a post on mocktails. Today is my sorority’s Founders' Day and I have been thinking of fond memories all day long. I remember we once did a mocktail party. It was a blast and I thought it would be fun to share some gamma phi themed mocktails. I love you ladies so raise a cup for Helen M Dodge, Frances E Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham and enjoy!

The Silver Moon

Tonic water
Squeeze of Lime
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Crushed Ice

In a fun shaped glass combine all ingredients and garnish with a crescent of lime.

Love, Labor, Learning and Loyalty Mocktail

2oz. Amaretto- for love, because who doesn't love amaretto

2oz. Cherry syrup- for labor, if you make it with maraschino cherries you can reward yourself for your hard work by garnishing your drink with a cherry.

4oz. Orange ounce- for learning, an orange a day is so much better than an apple a day

4oz. 7-up- for loyalty, you can always count on 7-up to be a great mixer.

Once again combine and served chilled.

Pink Carnation

(It is a Shirley Temple)

7oz. Ginger Ale or 7-Up

1oz. Grenadine

Combine and serve over ice

Party Punch

(You can't have an event without it)

½ gallon sherbet (strawberry is best)

2 bottles of fruit punch

1 bottle lemon-lime soda

Combine in a large bowl, make sure you keep it filled, and have plenty of napkins for serving the sherbet, it can get a little messy... ladies do you remember last springs pref night?

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 oz. dark (70%) chocolate, finely chopped
1 table spoon unsalted butter, softened

Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add butter, then whisk until mixture is smooth. Let cool while stirring often. Use immediately.

Gluttony (Salted Caramel) Macaron

Over-indulge; don't resist the temptation of Salted Caramel Macarons. One taste will always lead to more and more. They are an amazing combination of flavor that will ignite your taste buds.

You will need to make a Chocolate batter macaron, with a Swiss Meringue butter cream filling with caramel and a pinch of fleur de sel.

To add chocolate flavored macarons you will need to follow the basic macaron recipe. In the beginning when you are mixing your almond and powder sugar you will want to add in Dutch-processed cocoa powder. The amounts used are as follows;

3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

½ cup almond powder

1 cup powdered sugar

I use just a plain Swiss Meringue butter cream filling and store bought caramel. I know “store bought” but I am too afraid of burning it to make homemade caramel. I promise it is on my to-do list but I am just going to use store bought for a while. You can see the Swiss Meringue butter cream post to see how to make it.

Fleur de Sel is an amazing French sea salt and for a French pastry you have to use French sea salt.

Spicy Thumbprints

When making Macarons I find myself with a large collection of egg yolks. Now I have tried to make Crème Brule with the yolks and its richness seemed to take away from the Macarons. I have also tried to make Bavarian Cream with the yolks but gelatin just freaks me out. I just wanted something simple to make with my left over egg yolks... maybe even something that would freeze well. Finally my very good friend Samantha posted her recipe for Thumbprints on her blog. Score! I found a simple cookie that is amazing even after it has been in the freezer for a while.

Check it out:

The Art of Procrastinating

Since everyone has a unique finger print I thought I needed to make these thumbprints just as unique.

For my thumbprints I used Strawberry Jam and almonds. I also added a little spice by adding ¼ teaspoon (ground) of the following spices to the almonds; Cloves, Allspice, Cardamom, and Cinnamon.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

You need:
6 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds soften unsalted butter

To make:

In an heat proof mixer bowl, set over simmering water, place your egg whites and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches a temperature of 160º. Remove from heat and mix on a high speed until it forms a meringue (perks start to form). Beat in the vanilla extract and the butter ( 2 tablespoons at a time) on a low speed. Beat until smooth.

It is like silk and makes a generous amount. I always keep it refrigerated unless I am using it to decorate, it is easier to pipe while at room temperature.

Bunny FuFu Muffins

I have been eating so many sweets because I am trying to master baking cakes and tortes. My poor scale is getting abused. So the health food faerie godmother came around and said it was time for Bunny FuFu muffins. So we packed up and went to Whole Foods to pick up some bran.

We read almost every label on the Red Mill flour bags and picked out Teff flour and flaxseed meal. First of all they are both gluten free! Second, the flaxseed meal is heart healthy, contains Omega-3, and will give the muffins a nutty flavor. I picked Teff flour because it is a wonderful source of protein, iron and fiber. The health food faerie godmother is all for high fiber. Just remember to warn family and friends that these muffin are high in fiber, otherwise they might think you are poisoning them. Otherwise they might want to rename these muffins to Bunny PooPoos.


Two other helpful ingredients are wheat germ for vitamins and raw macha powder for energy.

So if you really want to make these muffins you will need:
½ cup Flour
1 cup Flaxseed meal
1 cup teff flour
2 tablespoons raw macha powder
¼ cup wheat germ
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Ground ginger (to taste)
Allspice (to taste)
Ground cloves (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)

1 ½ cups Apple Sauce
1 cup honey
½ cup milk
2 eggs
¼ cup soften butter
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

To make:

1.Sift together the first 12 ingredients.

2.In a large bowl combine apple sauce, honey, milk and eggs.

3.Add dry ingredients to wet batter and mix until blended.

4.Stir in pumpkin seed, if you have raisins you could add in a cup of them.

5.Pour batter into greased pans.

6.Bake at 350º for 30-45 minutes.

7.Let cool on a wire rack