Macaroon Madness - 3 times a charm :)

I have a sweet tooth for great desserts made with love and BUTTER!   :)   

Julia Child would love me for that line!

When I was in NYC visiting my best-mate, I had my first taste of macaroons and was in love!  I mean I adore cupcakes, but macaroons are right up there on the list for me now.  I searched high and low for recipes.  I was worried that it would be too difficult to achieve greatness and searched east and west for the items I would need.

 Now believe it or not, I searched the entire town for a flour sifter, you know like your grandmother or mother used to have....NO WHERE!  I was so mad, I called by best-mate to complain about it...well that and the fact that I don't yet own my dream KitchenAid mixer that would make my entire cooking life so much easier.....oh well, one day.  Until then, I am mixing everything by hand, or so I thought.  And I ended up buying a fine mesh strainer from the local WalMart to use as my sifter....somebody tell me where to buy a real sifter!!

Here is the recipe I have been using, which was found on pinterest:

Easy Macaroon Recipe

In a large bowl sift 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cup of almond flour (found at my local grocery, health foods section)  Lightly mix the two together and set aside.

In another bowl, separate 2 eggs leaving only the whites in the bowl.  I used my lovely Egg Separator to make this job a little easier for me.   Now the trick is that if you plan to "color" your macaroons to use a gel coloring and add to the egg whites prior to beating them.

cold eggs gave me better "peaks"

 For the first batch of macaroons, I beat my eggs by hand....NEVER AGAIN!!  The second batch I borrowed a friend's hand mixer and by the 3rd batch I had bought my own hand mixer :)


Beat your eggs to soft peaks, then add 1/4 cup granulated sugar a little at a time while continuing to beat the eggs to stiff peaks.  Ideally you should be able to tip the bowl upside down when you are done and nothing will move :)  I finally got there on the 3rd try!!

Slowly fold the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into your beaten eggs.  It should slowly become dense and sticky.

For the first and second attempts I used my Easy Accent Decorator with the widest tip to pipe my batter onto the cookie sheet.

For round 1, I used just a cookie sheet.  For rounds 2 and 3 I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets....this seemed to work much better!  No sticking to the pan and the cookies cool faster because you can pull the paper from the cookie sheet right away.

Once the macaroons are on your baking pan (with parchment paper if you have it)....drop the pan on your counter 2-3 times to flatten and get the air bubbles out of the dough.   Bake at 325 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Now to make your filling:  I used just a simple buttercream recipe like the one on the recipe, only I added a splash of vanilla extract to mine for flavor because that is what my mom and grandmother have always done :)

Again, I did this by hand for the first batch (which was used for the 1st and 2nd round of macaroons) and then with my electric hand mixer for the 3rd batch.

When you macaroons are completely cooled....don't rush this or your delicate buttercream will run all over the place ! ( I know from experience - what a sweet mess I made ) .... pipe your icing on the flat bottom half of one macaroon and top with another macaroon giving a slight twist to keep the icing bonded to both.  I used a small sandwich bag and snipped the corner to use as a piping bag...so easy! 

BATCH 1 - handbeat with no parchment paper

BATCH 2 - electric mixer beat with parchment paper

 Now on the 3rd batch I used the Medium Scoop,

 to try and get the nice even and rounded look of macaroons I have seen.

My friend and teammate, Paige was my assistant for batches 2 & 3 :)

BATCH 3 - electric mixer beaten, parchment paper, scoop for correct sizing.

All sweet things are best shared with friends!

I have so enjoyed this experience!!!  Macaroons aren't as hard to make as I once thought and now I have a routine in making them.  And they are really easy to get rid of...image that :)   The next batches we will be playing with flavors and chocolate: Raspberry with chocolate ganache filling....stay tuned!

~Happy Husband Approved~
~Ginger Princess Approved~
~Midwest Maidens Roller Derby Team Approved~

Steak & Guinness Pie

I received this cookbook from my best friend on my 1st wedding anniversary.  He had moved to the NYC area and fallen in love with Tea & Sympathy.  It is a quaint little shop, 1 half sweets shop and cup'a tea to go and the other half exquisite eatery and tea service.  This past December, upon visiting him we made a few stops to this fine establishment, I fell in love too!  The tea, the desserts, the Steak & Guinness Pie :)  We had the privilege of speaking with the Grand Madam, Nicola, herself and she assured me that if I followed her recipe I would have superb Steak & Guinness Pie at home......I was terribly excited to try, but knew I wanted to wait until St. Patrick's Day.

Enjoying some Rose Tea while awaiting my Steak & Guinness Pie

 - Tea & Sympathy December 2013

 After my success with my RockCrok Dutch Oven when preparing French Onion & Mushroom soup a few weeks ago, I decided to test the great versatility of the pot again with this recipe.

 First I cubed my steak, I can't recall the cut of the meat as my husband is the one who purchased it.  You don't want anything too thick and want to cut into small cubes.  Adding 1/4 c. butter and a splash of olive oil to my dutch oven on Med-High heat, I seared the meat until brown and mostly done.

As the meat cooked, I cut my onions.  I usually do all my onions by hand, but decided to try my Simple Slicer.  I will rarely cut onions by hand again.  This little device was amazing to use and easy to clean ( I have been using it non-stop now for a week )

When the meat is done, scoop into a dish a set aside.  Now place your onions and garlic into the meat juices and continue to cook.  I don't like my onions mushy soft, so when they were brown and to the consistency I appreciate, the meat was replaced to the dutch oven. 

Meat, onion and garlic

To the meat, onion and garlic combination, I added flour, paprika, brown sugar and tomato puree.  Cook for about 5 minutes to make sure all ingredients are combined. 

Flour, brown sugar and paprika

 Now add 2 1/2 c.  Beef stock and 2 1/2 c. Guinness  - for the Guinness this is roughly 2 bottles.  

Stock and Guinness added

I added my herbs and bay leaves, turned to a Med-Low to simmer, stirring occasionally.  

I took a quick taste test.  I prefer savory tastes, so did go outside the recipe and added 1 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper to help eliminate the brown sugar sweetness.

Next for the Pastry:

I am not a pastry making person and knew this could be the challenge for me.

Sift your flour and salt into a bowl and "rub" butter and shortening in until your mixture has the consistency of crumbs. Create a well, add your cold water and mix until a dough forms.  Roll quickly into a ball with your hands and place in cellophane and in the fridge for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I rolled my dough out on the counter with a well floured counter top and rolling pin.

I used the dutch oven lid and a faux cookie cutter for the pie.  This is where I learned that the RockCrok Everyday Pan or the Deep Dish Pie Plate may be better options.  I had troubles creating a seal of the crust around the outside of the dutch oven. 

 Make sure to brush a little egg on your pastry and then bake for about 1 hour.

I dyed left over dough and hand cut shamrocks for a lil flare.

Regardless of the small pastry struggle, this recipe was amazing!  My husband and I were both pleased with the results and he was happy for my addition of cayenne pepper to offset the sweet.