We Bake Bon Appetit … Day 1: Orange-Almond Lace Cookies

Last year a group of intrepid bakers, including myself decided to bake 12 Days of Cookies for the Holidays. Our inspiration was a great spread on Gourmet.com chronicling decades worth of cookies .With the demise of Gourmet ( may she rest in peace) we turned to another Conde Nast publication. I must admit Bon Appetit has never really captured my interest, but their holiday slide show provided just the ticket our growing group needed.
I must be insane to do this again. Last year the cookies built up and overtook my house. I ended up giving them away at a few friends Holiday parties. Certain Someone , at first indulgent, was not amused after a while. He will be away while I bake this year. I knocked out three recipes with him here and he liked one in particular, which is rare as he does not like sweets so much.
The first cookie Im posting is similar to another one I will post a little later. I worried about this, but the taste are way different and each cookie stands apart. What I love about these challenges is I am introduced to new recipe , I might not otherwise bake. So indulge me over these next 12 days. I will be posting a lot this December, as Tis the Season! Bon Appetit!

My first Cookie is the Orange – Almond Lace cookie. I love these butter and sugar based cookies that are mixed on the stove before baking to a deep golden color. If you are scared of butter, back away. The recipe called for finely chopped almonds, but I ran mine more into a coarse almond meal with some sliver chunks remaining. Don’t be alarmed at the batter, it it runny and you drop it by the spoonful inches apart to bake . They spread into a delicate lacy pattern as they crisp up. Addition of a little egg makes then stronger. Dont be afraid that these are turning too brown while baking. The more golden and dark, the more the flavor comes through, as the sugars caramelize. You can find the recipe here.

Be sure to visit my other fellow bakers:

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes (honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Michelle of Big Black Dog

RJ of Flamingo Musings

Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench

Tiffany of The Nesting Project

Last Years 12 Days of Cookies from Gourmet.com
if you need further inspiration.

Brandy Snaps
Galettes De Noel
Old Fashioned Christmas Butter Cookies
Rugelach
Maida Heatters Chocolate Cookies With Gin Soaked Raisins
Chocolate Wafers
Viennese Vanilla Cresents
Bizcochitos
Brown Butter Cookies
Chocolate Meringue Biscuits
Benne Wafers
Navettes Sucres (Sugar Shuttles)

Daring Bakers Make…Cherry Brandy and Chocolate Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I am noticing my Daring Baker Challenges of late have been pink in color. Wonder what that means on some psychological level?
Recently on a visit to Boston wandering the North End, I purchases some Cannoli tubes, tucked them away in my pantry,and never really got around to doing anything with them. Also on my trip ,I found a old fashioned Coffee, Tea,and Spice shop which sold all sorts of flavorings to make Liquors and such. I loaded up at Polcari’s . One such extract was a deep red Cherry Brandy.

I will admit I wasn’t in the frame of mind to this challenge. When one has many things on their mind, it is hard to focus. But I started my dough, sweetened with juice rather than sweet wine, and began to assemble Sunday evening. My lack of concentration contributed to me only buying half the Ricotta I needed and not straining it. I added a block of cream cheese to the mix and chocolate chips hoping it would firm up. But it didn’t. I photographed it anyway, and it was good, just runny and not suitable to bring to work.

I dreaded wasting all those beautiful shells I fried up and coated in chocolate. On Twitter , the talented LemonPi DM’d me and suggested I try to strain after the fact. At this point , why not! I wanted to salvage the Cannoli to bring to work the next day. So into a strainer lined with cheese cheese cloth, and the mixture firmed up beautifully. I barely filled them at the front desk in the office before the lot was gone. Scavengers. One person said why don’t I just inject the filling the their arms, the sugar crazed bunch.
Cannoli are much easier than I thought they would be. I would love to fill them with a savory filling next time.If you don’t mind occasionally deep frying, they are easy to make.

Equipment:

Cannoli forms/tubes – optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli. Dried cannelloni pasta tubes work just as well!
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters – The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels

Required: Must make cannoli dough and shells. If you don’t have or do not want to purchase cannoli forms, which I would never ask of any of you, you could simply cut out circles, squares, or any shapes you want and stack them with the filling of your choice to make stacked cannoli’s aka Cannolipoleons (directions below). If desired, you can channel MacGuyver and fashion something heat proof to get traditional shaped cannoli (6-8 inch sawed off lengths of a wooden broom stick or cane, sanded down and oiled, is THE authentic cannoli form!), or non-traditional shapes such as creating a form to make bowls, or even using cream horns if you happen to have them. Mini cannoli would be great too, and I’ve provided links to retailers of cannoli forms of all sizes.

Also, for those who don’t like to cook or bake with alcohol – grape juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, apple juice..any sweet juice of a fruit, especially ones used in or to make wine, can be substituted. Just add a little more vinegar to insure you get enough acid to relax the dough

6-8 inch long by 3/4 to 1 inch circumference cannoli forms aka your basic cannoli form size

Variations: The filling is YOUR choice! Anything you want to fill them with is perfectly fine, sweet or savory, or you can use the filling recipe provided – making whatever changes you want to it. Cannoli would make a great addition to a Thanksgiving dessert table/spread. In many Italian households, during the holidays, cannoli is always part of the dessert offerings. You could also make a Thanksgiving themed cannoli, like pumpkin cannoli (I came up with a great pumpkin filling recipe below) or apples, pecans, walnuts, any dried fruits etc. An idea to gussy up your cannoli is; dipping the rims of the shell in melted chocolate and rolling in chopped nuts or sprinkles, then letting them set prior to filling. Dipping or pressing mini chocolate chips into the filled ends OR just stirring mini chocolate chips into the filling prior to stacking or filling whatever shaped shells you come up with, is another great idea and makes a nice presentation The sky is the limit here, be creative! Naturally, if you have any dietary restrictions, by all means, go with it. I’ve provided a link to a gluten-free cannoli recipe and a slightly savory vegan cannoli recipe to help get you started.

Bonus option: Make your own ricotta and/or mascarpone cheese! http://lisamichele.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/eating-my-curds-and-ditching…
http://www.bakingobsession.com/2009/05/02/homemade-mascarpone-cheese/

Technically, I know, this is not baking, and if you prefer to steer clear of the deep fry, you can bake the shell. You won’t get the snappy, blistery texture and appearance that make cannoli so special, but I’m sure it’ll taste good nonetheless. Here’s a link where the cook bakes some of his cannoli shells: http://www.ifood.tv/network/cannoli/recipes

Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Cannoli shell preparation, cutting out the dough circles, sealing the dough around the form, frying the shells, finished shells ready to fill

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

Top row – left to right: Filling the cannoli, variety of cannoli Bottom row – left to right: Stacked cannoli, pumpkin cannoli

TIPS AND NOTES:
– Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

– Rolling the dough to paper thinness, using either a rolling pin or pasta machine, is very important. If the dough is not rolled thin enough, it will not blister, and good cannoli should have a blistered surface.

– Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

– Your basic set of round cutters usually doesn’t contain a 5-inch cutter. Try a plastic container top, bowl etc, or just roll each circle to 5 inches. There will always be something in your kitchen that’s round and 5-inches if you want large cannoli.

– Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F – 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

– If using the cannoli forms, when you drop the dough on the form into the oil, they tend to sink to the bottom, resulting in one side darkening more. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lift and roll them while frying.

– DO NOT crowd the pan. Cannoli should be fried 2-4 at a time, depending on the width of your saucepan or deep fryer. Turn them once, and lift them out gently with a slotted spoon/wire skimmer and tongs. Just use a wire strainer or slotted spoon for flat cannoli shapes.

– When the cannoli turns light brown – uniform in color, watch it closely or remove it. If it’s already a deep brown when you remove it, you might end up with a really dark or slightly burnt shell.

– Depending on how much scrap you have left after cutting out all of your cannoli shapes, you can either fry them up and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a crispy treat, or let the scraps rest under plastic wrap and a towel, then re-roll and cut more cannoli shapes.

– Push forms out of cannoli very gently, being careful not to break the shells as they are very delicate. DO NOT let the cannoli cool on the form, or you may never get it off without it breaking. Try to take it off while still hot. Hold it with a cloth in the center, and push the form out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

– When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

– Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

– If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

– Practice makes perfect. My first batch of shells came out less than spectacular, and that’s an understatement. As you go along, you’ll see what will make them more aesthetically pleasing, and adjust accordingly when rolling. My next several batches turned out great. Don’t give up!!

Coconut Cream Pie… You Can’t Have Enough Pies for the Holidays

As a kid, I always hated coconut. You know that sweetened shredded stuff would make me recoil instantly. As an adult I have come to like it a lot in its various forms. Coconut milk, cream, flakes,etc. And lately I have been obsessed since visiting Tom Douglas Palace Kitchen in Seattle. Their Coconut Cream pie blew me away. Large unsweetened coconut flakes and shavings of White Chocolate.
So on my birthday I decided to bake myself a pie , rather than cake. Ironically I found his recipe in one of those bargain books created by Kitchen Aid. A compilation of previously published recipes. I decided to use his Triple Coconut Cream Pie as a Guide. A guide, as I decided to swap out regular milk for Creamed Coconut from Goya. This is a solid block of creamed coconut that’s beyond and different coconut milk or cream. Its often called for in curry recipes and is very rich. The swap worked and worked double as it provided the texture of shredded sweetened coconut that the custard base called for as well as providing that creaminess and thickening factor as it sets without adding corn starch or flour.. Another change I made was using ground almonds in his short crust. Lot of changes, but it all came together beautifully. I didn’t have a block of white chocolate, so I melted chips, spread it thin on parchment and chilled it. The I broke it up into shards to adorn the pie with large toasted flaked coconut.

Coconut Cream Pie
( inspired by Tom Douglas’ Triple Coconut Cream Pie, but with significant changes)

Pie Crust
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds or almond flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water

Pastry Cream
1 (200 grams) 7oz block Pure Creamed Coconut (*not coconut milk or cream)
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar

Topping
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
unsweetened large coconut flakes for garnish
white chocolate shavings for garnish
1 packet Dr Oetker’s Whip It optional

Making Pie Crust
In a stand mixer combine flour, ground almonds, butter,sugar, and salt. Mix until a crumbly mixture . Add ice cold water gradually. Dough should hold together when held together between fingers. Dough should still be crumbly and not form a ball.Take the dough and gently place crumbly dough on waxed paper or plastic . Cover with another sheet and form a flattened disc . Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling out.

Roll out dough and flatten dough on lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, transfer and shape into pie tin or baking dish. It may break apart, and that’s OK. Form with hands in baking tin. Make sure you let the dough overextend edge, as it will shrink while baking.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before baking.

Take Parchment paper and cover unbaked pie crust. Fill with dried beans or pie beans. Blind Bake in preheated oven at 400 F. Bake for 25 min or until golden. Remove form oven and remove paper and beans. Place back in oven and finish baking for 10 more minutes or until golden all the way through.
Allow to cool before adding filing.

Pastry Cream
In a sauce pan melt the Pure Creamed Coconut over Medium heat. Add Milk. Bring Mixture to a boil.Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl whisk eggs , sugar, and vanilla. Gradually temper a bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture and whisking. Then add the tempered egg mixture to the hot milk mixture. Be careful as you don’t want cooked eggs. Once all in saucepan heat while constantly whisking until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming on top and bring to room temperature, then refrigerate. The cream will thicken as it cools.

Whipped Topping

On a shallow parchment lined baking sheet, toast coconut flakes at 350F until they start to brown. Be careful not to burn and remove quickly.
Make you white chocolate shavings and set aside.

Whip cold heavy cream , sugar , and vanilla in stand mixture with balloon. Add Whip It if you want a thicker stabilized cream.Do not over whip, but whip until stiff peak stage.

Spread Pastry cream in Pie Shell. Top with Whipped Cream. Smooth and make decorative opeaks with off set spatula. Garnish liberally with toasted coconut flakes and white chocolate shavings.

Serve.


Daring Bakers …Hazlenut Macaroons with Spicy Chocolate Ganache and Strawberry or "Vampire Kiss"

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
OR I attempted this months Daring Baker Challenge three times. I am not a macaroon novice, and have made them a few times before. I’m not an expert either, but this recipe and technique just wasn’t for me. The following is just my experience and is meant to be constructive and analytical. The first go round I grounded my own almonds and added dried hibiscus for color and flavor. Disaster. The second go round I used store purchased hazelnut meal, as almond meal couldn’t be found in several stores, and no flavor ingredient, just color. As you see from the first picture , they didn’t turn out and really stuck to the parchment. I found the baking time was not sufficient and to low at first, then to high. I followed the recipe and instructions to a tee. I have used parchment several times when baking macaroons and never had issues. The third time I decided to use my tried and true recipe from the Macaroon Queen , Tartelette ,herself. I figure this is fair because I made the actual challenge recipe twice before with disastrous results. Success. Not perfect, but pretty good. I compared the ratios and technique.
Helen’s calls for drying for 1 hour, which I feel is essential. That’s how I was taught at my classed in the French Pastry School as well. I noticed I kept getting tips when piping, but reading Helen’s articles, that can be resolved with a bit more folding.I was to cautious and didn’t want to over fold. The recipe I used from Desserts Magazine tutorial by Tartelette.It is now only available by subscription (Issue #2). However this recipe from Helen is basically the same, except for the flavorings. Here is a PDF of the whole tutorial someone made public.

Notice the difference in a comparison Chart of both recipes:

Daring Bakers/ Claudia Fleming’s
5 egg whites
Granulated Sugar (2 tbsp/25 g)
Confectioners Sugar (2 .25 cups/225 g)
Almond Flour/meal (2 cups/190 g)

Helen’s ( Tartelette) Recipe
3 egg whites (100 g)
Granulated Sugar ( 50 g)
Confectioners Sugar (200 g)
Almond Flour/meal (110 g)

Notice the significant difference in ratios and technique. I really don’t think Claudia Flemming’s technique works for most ovens as its to tricky with the different stages and temps. As this was my first time using dry powdered food colors , I was timid, Next time I will use more. Up to 1 tablespoon is recommended.

As this week, I am participating in the Great Hallow Tweet, Halloween Blog Hop, I was attempting a Vampire like theme. See side link to see others who are participating.

I sprinkled some black sanding sugar. I should have been more aggressive with my dry food color.

I was so happy to see feet!

A ganache infused with a Thai Chili and Cinnamon was piped onto the shells.

Then some Strawberry Jam……

My little Vampire kisses.

Love at first bite.

Be sure to visit the other Daring Bakers. Thank you Ami for giving us a challenge we all have been dying for. While the given recipe didn’t work for me, it was a great challenge to compare. I really feel weights/metric make a big difference in the art of pastry. Its more exact and can really alter the results.I notice the Macaroons taste even better after storing in the fridge for a few days and allowing to come to room temperature. The flavors really meld .

Here is the Daring Baker Challenge Recipe:

Recipe Source: I’ve tried many, many recipes, and have discovered that my favorite macaroon recipe comes from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern. They have given me the most consistent results and so, for everyone’s delectation, I present to you an adaptation of Ms. Fleming’s recipe
Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.
Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.
Equipment required:• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment• Rubber spatula• Baking sheets• Parchment paper or nonstick liners• Pastry bag (can be disposable)• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip• Sifter or sieve• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off• Oven• Cooling rack• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)
IngredientsConfectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.7. Cool on a rack before filling.
Yield: 10 dozen. Ami’s note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies… Fall Is For Making Whoopie

My good blogging and Twitter buddy Marye Audet has just penned her first book. I’m so proud of her. The Everything Cookies and Brownies Cookbook is the must have cookbook to add to your wish list this year. I find this would be a great book for the seasoned baker and well as the novice. Chock full of tips, ideas, and variations on recipes , this would make an excellent gift for the upcoming holiday season. It’s also a great book to work out out of with the kids and teach them how to bake.
Marye is passionate about baking, teas, coffee, antiques and is a prolific writer on all these subjects and more. A veritable wealth of information. I would love to visit her beautiful old home in Texas with the kids and goats all around and just bake all week with her. Making these Whoopie Pies released those smells that can be only be found in Autumn. Cloves, Cinnamon, Pumpkin , Vanilla, and brown sugar.
I took artistic license with the Cream Cheese Filling on these Whoopie Pies. It’s Halloween after all. The Great Hallow Tweet!
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
(printed with permission from Marye Audet)
yields 18 cookies
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 recipe Cream Cheese Filling

  1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda,salt,cinnamon, ginger, cloves.and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.
  2. Cream together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin,and vanilla.
  3. Add dry ingredients, mix well.
  4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 F 10-12 minutes. When done , centers of cookies will quickly spring back when pressed lightly.
  5. Cool thoroughly before filling.

Note* These can be filled and frozen in plastic wrap.

Cream Cheese Filling For Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Fills 16-18 Whoopie Pies

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

4ounces cream cheese

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablesppons candied ginger* ( I used Bavarian cream extract instead)

  1. Beat Butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
  2. Add rest of ingrediants to butter mixture; beat until fluffy.
  3. Spoon filling lightly on flat side of cookie. Top with another cookie.
  4. Serve immediatly, or store in refridgerator.

GET THE BOOK

* Marye Audet sent me a complimentary copy of this book.My opinions are my own.