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

Macaronnage, Macaronner and Pied!

Three things you will need to know when making macarons are macaronnage, macaronner and pied.

Pied is the little feet the pastries have. If your pastries don't have a pied they are not macarons.

Macaronnage is the way you mix the flour and the meringue to make macarons. With a spatula bring the batter from the bottom of your bowl up and turn it upside down. You will do this 15 times.

Macatonner is when you mix the batter until it is firm enough to slowly drip with lifted with the spatula. At this point your batter will be ready to pipe on to cookie sheets.

Basic Macarons

Best thing when making Macarons is to have all of your equipment and ingredients together before you start mixing your batter. Save your alcohol consumption till your done, cuz you will need it then!

Check list time!

Equipment:
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheets
Pastry bags/ or if you are cheap like me, large zip-lock bags
A mixer, stand or hand held
Spatula
Flour Sift
Mixing Bowl

Ingredients:
2/3 cup ground almonds (I make mine from blanched almonds, but you can always buy almond meal)
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
3 egg whites at room temperature
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



To make a basic Macaron you will need to follow these steps closely, because if the cookies you make don't have feet, they are not a Macaron.

1.Set up your cookie sheets by covering them with parchment paper. You will want to draw out 1-inch circles on the paper. If you plan to add macaroons to your baking repertoire you will want to draw out your circles on a separate piece of paper that you can place under the parchment paper. This way you can use it over and over again.
2.If you are grinding your own almonds you will want to use a food processor. A nut grinder is going to take too long and make more dishes. You will need the food processor to mix the ground almonds with the powdered sugar. After you have done that you will need to sift the almond and powdered sugar mixture. You can discard the large chunks that won't break down after you have shifted the mixture twice. You will want to set this mixture in the refrigerator while you are doing the next step.
3.Angry? Good…you get to beat some eggs! You can stop when the egg whites are foamy.
4.Now a tablespoons at a time add in your granulated sugar and continue to beat the whites until the white become a meringue. Your meringue will be stiff, firm and glossy (sorry that sounds dirty.)
5.If you are adding in a liquid flavor this would be the time to add it in.
6.Now add in half of the almond and powdered sugar mixture to the meringue. Also if you are using dry flavoring this is the time to add it in. Use your spatula to bring the meringue up from the bottom of the bowl. Once the is combined you will add in the rest of the almond and powdered sugar mixture. This is macaronnage. (see Macaronnage and Macaronner post for technique)
7.Place your batter into a pastry bag or a large zip lock bag. Following your drawn out circles, pipe out your batter. (If you suck at piping and your cookies have bumps you can always get your finger slightly wet and dab the bumps down... but I would suggest that you just learn how to pipe better. Dear readers I am sorry for my feistines of this post... all I can say is I just burnt a cookie sheet of macarons and I am taking it out in this post. For better piping instructions I would have to suggest checking out Martha Stewart. This is the only time I suggest referencing her for macaroons.)
8.You will want to gently (something I can't do right now) tap the cookie sheet against the counter top. I am under the assumption that this will help your macaroons get there pied.
9.Here is where you will learn patience. You will have to let your batter dry. You will want them to be still moist with a thin crust. They can be touched without coming off on your finger.
10.Bake your cookies in a 375ºF oven for 15 minutes.
11.Remove from oven when they are slightly crisp and let them cool on a wire rack.
12.Thank me if they have turned out correctly, if they didn't, go to your favorite book seller and pick up a copy of Hisako Ogita's I ♥ Macarons.