Homemade Macarons? Yes Please!

 Macarons are on everyone's wish list. These delightful  little bites  are sweet and airy treats a taste of alomnd mixed with ganache ro buttercream. They're every sugar addicts dream. Unfortunately they can be expensive , costing two and sometimes three times more than the average cookie. Don;'t depair .Macarons can be made at home.

Famed pastry chef and regular contributor Claire Saffitz gave the recipe for chocolate ,pistacchio and raspberry ones in yesterday's new York Times food section.Many home bakers balk at the thought of making them. They can be tempermental at best and even some of the better bakeries have had trouble creating them. There are plusses in baking themat home. One they are very expensive, One cna cost as much as five dollars. You'll be saving a lot of money by creating your won. Also you have more control of the sugar added. Many bakers put in a bit too much sugar which can mask the other flavors.Another asset is that once mastered macarons can be made in a varirty of different flavors with different fillings. Home bakers can go wild with their own creations and have fun using different or unusual ingredients. You do have to be dedicated for baking them. Filled macarons are really a two day process. It stsrtd with almind meal flour, usually King Arthur's is the best choice. Then there are th e egg whites which can be subbed in with aquafaba for vegans and vegetarians,

There are excellent tips included too, The mernigue should be very firm which creates a stable base. Then you mix in your dry ingreidients like almond flour and the confectioners sugar in a folding mtion called macronage. This deflates the meringue which gives the batter a glossy lava liketexture. This will make it settle into flat smooth cirlces on the baking sheet. Keep in mind that if the batter is lumpy it,s been undermixed: if it's pancaking into thin  puddles its been overmixed. as for the flur use an extra fine almond variety.A coarseer grind can lead to cracked shells and oils from almond skins can weaken the meringue. Use gel food coloring. The liquid kind can lead to cracking. You have to have a pastry bag to pipe the shells on a silicon baking mat. The mats will stay perfectly flat resulting in rounder shells. DO NOT use parchment because it tends to wrinkled underneath the macarons, sightly distorting the circles. Let the rounds air until a skin forms on them, Unlike other baked good , macarons should be baked at a low oven 275 degrees Farenheit. This will maintain their round shape. Let them sit overnight before filling them with ganache or buttercream.

Merignues are such tasty treats that they're hard to resist. Make them at home with favorite flavors. They'll be at the ready to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Ice Cream, Cold ,Creamy Goodness

 It's July and that means one thing - it's ice cream season.It's time to enjoy this treat a variety of ways There are sundaes and sodas, cakes and cupcakes made with it to savor and refresh. 

What is the best ice cream to use ? That actually depends on you. Some love Blue Bunny. It' is the most flavroful and creamiest. Other's prefer Breyer's which has a less dense texture and lighter taste. What about vegan ice cream. Surprisingly there's just as creamy as the dairy however they do need to thaw out a bit before scooping. Try Oatley and Ben and Jerry;s for the best flavor. You can get everything from plain vanilla and chocolate to chocolate chip mint and fudge brownie. Now onto the syrups, Homemade is the best . The taste is the purest and it even makes for a yummy egg cream.It's just taking unsweetened cocoa powder  and sugar whisked together in a cold saucepan. Just boiled water and  salt are added along with a teaspoon if vanilla extract. Keep whisking th e sauce as the heat is reduced  to a low flame. wait ten minutes before serving. You cna also use Hershey's which is the gold standard of syrups. Smuckers has a good varoety of sauces too, ranging from butterscotch to raspberry. You could also try their Hot Fudge one too. As for the whipped cream topping nothing beats Reddi-Whip. It's light and airy with that milky taste we all love. They also have coconut and almond milk versions too.

What can you make with these? Melissa Clark gave three recipes in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. You can try her banana split, ice cream soda or ice cream sandwich ones. Her hot fudge recipe is for a think gooey one that turns to taffy when it hit the ice cream's coldness. She also includes the recipe for a sundae staple wet walnuts , hers made with honey and maple syrup. You cna also make it like the Dairy Queen classic with strawberries and strawberry sauce. Her ice cream sodas are fruity with homemade fruit syrups made with fresh strawberries or blueberries. Of course nothing beats a chocolate one, with two or three scoops plopped in sletzer and topped with a good shoot of Reddi-Whip. Her ice cream sandwiches are made with a giant chocolate chip cookie layered with vanilla ice cream. Try something different by using vanilla wafers stuffed with a fruity ice cream like peach or strawberry for a kind of macaron. Ice cream cakes and ice cream cup cakes are snaps to make. The only hard part is the cookie layer. Take Nabisco chocolate wafers crush in either a blender or in a plastic baggie with a rolling pin. Mix with melted butter and press half of the cookie layer on the bottom of the mold. Add one layer of ice cream  and one layer of topping. Repeat and frreze for an hour. Serve topped with Reddi-whip. You cna do the same wiith ice cream cup cakes. Use a silicone muffin tin to make a mini version. Decorate with candy confetti or sprinkles.

It's ice cream season. Have fun creating a sweet cold treat. Pick an ice cream and have fun making your favorite recipe.

Sweets For Your Honey

Valentine's Day means sweets - and lots of them. You can easily buy a pretty box of mixed chocolates or you can make and bake different treats for your love. Anything homemade will be appreciated - and loved. It's also from the heart which is special and from your kitchen which makes them even more special.

Of course many go for baked delights.  A fancily frosted two layer devil's food cake is always welcome, especially after a home cooked dinner. Think of frosting it with homemade raspberry or cherry frosting for extra dazzle. (Two Sisters Crafting has the best frosting recipes for these flavors). If you're baking for your guy, stout cupcakes with Bailey's Irish cream. For those guys who love to bake, think dainty little cupcakes, dusted with sanding sugar for sparkle. If you're ambitious you can give French macarons a try. They  can be a bit labor intensive because almonds have to be ground for flour and the recipe requires egg whites. A better version would be made with aquafaba, chickpea brine that has the same consistency and proteins as egg whites. Fill with a rich chocolate ganache, an easy make that has heavy whipping cream cooked with semisweet chocolate pieces. Of course a Valentine's Day cake doesn't have to be chocolate. There's no rule saying you can't make an airy angel food and serving it with a light whipped cream and sliced strawberries. You can also make a lovely lemon cake with a homemade vanilla icing. Decorate with candied lemon peels. A crostini filled with fruit is another nice treat, especially if it's served with chilled Prosecco.

Candy is always welcome and there are so many recipes you can make. One of the easiest is haystacks. These are mounds of chocolate and toasted coconut blended together. Some recipes also add almonds, peanuts and rolled oats. The purist recipe is the best although you can make it with white dark, or milk chocolate. You could also mix the chocolates too for a colorful spin.A variation would be nut clusters made with any of the chocolates and nuts added. You can try just one kind like peanuts or almonds or a mix that includes cashews and walnuts. Chocolate dipped fruit is always welcomed. Ganache can be used or just plain chocolate chips.Remember to add coconut oil so the chocolate will have a glossy finish when dry. Most would go for strawberries but chocolate covered blueberries and pineapple are also good.A different spin is caramel. Homemade caramel is surprisingly simple to make.You'll need butter, Karo syrup (or any corn syrup) evaporated milk and vanilla extract. This is all cooked down into creamy squares of deliciousness. For added decadence dip the squares in bitter chocolate for a really lovely rich flavor.

Create something sweet for your honey this Valentine's Day. He or she will appreciate the work and love that went into it. A home made sweet is really the sweetest gift of all.

Fancy Up Your Bake Sale

The new school year is here and with it the promise of bake sales. Sadly it'll be the same old products - cupcakes with blobs of store bought icing. Slice and bake cookies. Maybe a batch of scratch chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps it's time to fancy it up. Make elegant but easy treats that will be absolute hits and bring in more money for your cause.

Add a bit of France to your bake  sale with a  variation  of Gateau breton .This is a buttery tart made with buckwheat with the filling of  dried prunes and apricots. Melissa Clark made this , and gave the recipe in her A Good Appetite column in Wednesday's New York Times Food section.It is a tad labor intensive , because the prunes and apricots have to be cooked in rum before spreading on the dough. Still' it's about the same amount of work as a scratch cake.Also if the prunes and apricots are not to your liking, then try a hazelnut filling. If hazelnuts are hard to find, then try pecans.Another crowd pleaser is the French yogurt cake, This scratch cake looks and has the same dense crumb as a pound cake. It's zinged up with Greek yogurt and finely grated lemon zest. It can be sold in slices or make four or five loaves and sell them.Of course macarons are still hot and will definitely be a big draw to any bake sale.It's a flourless recipe made with a combination of almond meal and confectioner's sugar. One popular combination is a vanilla macaron with a chocolate ganache filling.

Italian treats are another idea. Biscotti is a well known favorite (and a chance to serve cappuccino) and relatively easy to make. It's a twice baked cookie with a simple flour and butter based dough. What is great about them is that the recipe can be varied.Add a cup and a half of cocoa powder for chocolate biscotti. Also nuts can be used to vary the flavors. To give them more oomph, dip the ends in a variety of chocolate  white, milk and dark . Crostoli, those deep fried ribbons of dough will definitely be best sellers at any bake sale. They are deep fried  dough, flavored with vanilla and lemon juice. You could sub in freshly squeezed orange juice to vary it. Most recipes usually call for them to be fried in peanut oil, however due to the large number of peanut allergies, use vegetable oil instead. As far as what to drink with these gourmet goodies,think cappuccino and espresso (although have regular coffee and tea for customers), Also have a variety of teas, from Earl Grey to peppermint and jasmine. If someone has  a Keurag machine and  there's an outlet, then use it to offer a wider variety of beverages.

Zing up your bake sale with fancier cakes and cookies. They'll not only be top sellers but will bring in much more cash than a regular bake sale. Make it fancy - and you'll reap the rewards.

The Best Aquafaba Cookbook!

Aquafaba is one of the hottest and trendiest ingredients in the food world today. This miracle ingredient  is nothing more than bean water, coming from the humble bean. Yet it can create anything from elegant French macarons to homey scrambled eggs.

This magical elixir is the subject of vegan food blogger. Rebecca Coleman's new all vegan cookbook Aquafabulous (Robert Rose Publishers 2017). This cookbook is completely devoted to aquafaba, or bean water that comes not only chickpeas but also from navy beans and cannellini beans, The  recipe book is perfect for hard core , serious vegans, who have eschewed all meat, eggs and dairy products.What is great about the book is that it has recipes covering everything from breakfast to dessert. Mostly aquafaba is used for meringues and macarons, but there are all sorts of easy to create dishes and treats.A plus of the book is that Ms Coleman answers the many questions about the liquid. She  assures home chefs that their sweet desserts won't have an overpowering bean flavor.There is also an explanation of the different beans used in making a light or dark meringue along with the surprise of using tofu water to also create aquafaba.She also has a list of the important ingredients that are musts in any vegan pantry.There's also three different recipes for making homemade aquafaba, using  stovetop, slow cooker and pressure cooker methods.The last two methods do require an extra step of boiling, but this is minor.

I absolutely love this cookbook!! I had no idea that bean water could be so versatile. I have been wanting to make homemade macarons with it  - and the book has the recipe - but thought it was only used for this. How wrong! It can be used to make a sub in for real scrambled eggs in such tasty recipes as Breakfast Burritos and a potato -kale frittata. It makes waffles airy and light and pancakes puffy. Aquafaba is also a main ingredient in homemade pasta, creating a feather light dough along with being in a healthy baked mac and cheese.Of course there are meringue and macaron recipes. Ms. Coleman has an excellent one for French macarons filled with a chocolate ganache that I would love to try. There is the other famed meringue recipe, Pavlova that is a combination of heavenly meringue covered in macerated berries. Vegan bakers will love making the lemon meringue pie, sans the usual egg whites. Chickpeas themselves shine in some of the savory recipes too. Anybody, even fervent meat lovers would gobble up chickpea curry, chock full of sweet potatoes, chickpeas and green peas.There is a vegan chicken salad made with mashed chickpeas that's on my radar. It will be perfect for picnics . A meatless loaf with miso gravy is another must make, perfect as a the main course at any holiday dinner. An aquafaba  based ice cream will be the perfect ending to these dishes,.

Aquafabulous is the definitive cookbook for this amazing ingredient. Buy it and create not just out of this world macarons and meringues but a wide variety of tasty and healthy savory dishes.It's amazing what this humble and simple ingredient can create.

Macaron Madness

Have we OD'ed on the simple yet elegant macaron? The answer could be yes. Yet despite their now commonplace stature they still maintain  an air of luxury. Buy the true French ones and you can still taste the complex yet surprisingly basic taste of almonds and sugar/

They were the subject of Elaine Sciolino's Letters From Paris column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section.Macarons are  as common to the French as croissants, in fact too common that they're not the big deal anymore. Ms. Sciolino has discovered that Parisians like the creamier and more heartier eclair better/Also profiteroles are also hot right now according to the trendy Madame Figaro magazine. e this has something to do with the French McDonald's serving them up with their cafes or possibly we have Sofia Coppola  popularizing them  as uber hip in her movie :"Marie Antoinette" a few years ago.

Still a good macaron is just that. The original recipes was made by two Benedictine nuns in  postrevolutionary France. Thanks to the new government banning religious orders, they took refuge with a local doctor and made a living baking macarons. The company House of the Macaron Sisters or Maison des Soeurs Macarons  guards the original recipe, ensuring the most purest of macarons. This is a simple almond instead of it being infused with today's trendy flavors of saffron, anise, strawberry and anything else .Smaller french bakeries also keep to the original recipe  as well. Ms Sciolino also give the recipe. You do need good cool weather (never make them on a hot humid day) as well as precision to create perfect little rounds, Baking time is only fifteen to twenty minutes.

Is macaron madness over? for those trendy pastel colored ones yes. However the true, pale creamy colored ones are here to stay - as they have been for over two hundred years

Macarons Dans Manhattan

New York City has always embraced the latest trends. From fashion to cars to food, the Big Apple takes a bite out of anything cutting edge. The same is true for sweets. Macarons, the latest import from France, is becoming the darling of society. They are now found everywhere, from the heart of the city to the boroughs.

The sweet Gallic treat was the subject of an article written in yesterday's New York Times Dining section,. in the $25 And Under column by Ligaya Mishan. A few words of clarification first. Macarons are not macaroons ,those drops of coconut that can be cookie or softball sized depending on the baker. Macarons are more delicate, being almond flavor in taste . They are usually filled with some sort of ganache or creme.also come in a variety of colors from Easter egg pastels to psychedelic brights. Ms. Mishan was able to test the best and the worst and came up with eight good macaron bakers in the New York City area. Here are some of them.

The most famous is Laduree on the Upper East Side. Theirs is obviously the best because this is a French patisserie with roots in France. The bakery was founded in 1862 in Paris and is also known for its' cakes and homemade chocolates. It is also credited with creating the macaron sandwich in the early 1900's. Now it creates sighs of pleasure from any enthusiast who bites into the eggshell like crust and chewy center. Another one to visit La Maison du Chocolat, again located on the Upper East Side. This is the perfect one for chocolate lovers.All their macarons are filled with chocolate ganache infused with pistachio, coffee and salted caramel. Other patisseries mentioned are Almondine in the trendy Park Slope section of Brooklyn and Little Oven at Long Island City, right across the East River. I am going to try La Maison du Macaron in Chelsea, a favorite neighborhood of mine. Theirs are supposedly sweeter than the average treat however they offer a variety of flavors including , fig, vanilla, Calvados and champagne.

If you're in Manhattan this holiday season, stop for that latest loved treat, the macaron. Experience a plate of them with strong coffee after a day of holiday shopping or just sight seeing. They are parfait -vraiment - during a crisp fall day in new York City.