Ooh La La! Macarons and A French Obsession

Hello, everybody!

 The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got some fun eats for you! Edna and I were just reminiscing over our very favorite desserts of all time. That's what we do around here. No stimulating conversations over politics or religion. Favorite desserts is our topic of choice.

  When I lived in France, I lived in the North where they used almond paste for almost every dish. But every now and then I had something truly different. One day a friend of mine brought me a macaron. (I tried to find her on facebook, but there are a lot of Stephanie Michels out there and it's hard to tell what someone would look like at nearly forty when you knew them at 13. So, Stephanie, I really, really loved that macaron! And now I'm going to try and make my own.)

 Apparently there's a real science to it. I suppose I should have researched it a bit before I started. For one thing, it's NOT a rainy day activity. Which makes no sense. If it wasn't raining, we'd be at the park, not in the kitchen!!

 Anyway...

1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 300F.

(I used almonds with skins. I think you're not supposed to use almonds with skins because my nut flour had little dark specks and the other pictures don't have those specks. That's my theory. The other theory is that the internet is a big fraud and no on can be that perfect.)

Edna went to work on 4 large egg whites, room temperature. She was singing a lovely song. You can listen to it here. Sing it, Edna!

 So, she got the egg whites whipped to stiff peaks.
 Slowly add 2/3 cup sugar.
 Then we stirred in the nut and powdered sugar mixture, just until it was mixed.

 Then, I put it in a pastry bag and piped it onto a cookie sheet. Put it in the oven for 18-20 minutes.

While they're cooking, cut some fresh strawberries.

Ok, the oven went off and these looked done. They didn't look right, but they looked done. How do I know? I poked one.

The top should crack and cave in while the inside stays chewy. At this point I'm re-reading instructions because they look a bit... flat. Edna mentions the 'rainy day/ meringue' issue and I agree. Perhaps a sunny day would have a better time to try the elusive macaron. But we are not deterred!!

Leave the macarons on the sheet for 20-30 minutes until cool. Otherwise they will come off the sheet in one piece. Here's one with some whipped topping and strawberries. Verdict?? DELICIOUS. It was almost exactly like I remembered. And hey, that memory was from a long time ago. I'll say this was a success. A bit flat, but still a success.

And of course I had to try and make some cool colors. Here are some blue... with raspberry filling. My kids said it looked like they'd been given a color filter like one of those fancy apps on the phone...

 

So, they were good. An now they're gone. I thin I'll leave you with this picture of the cake my sister made for my birthday last week. DO NOT TRY TO COUNT THE CANDLES. The smoke alarm might have gone off. We might have had to get the fire extinguisher. We might have vacated the house. Or not.

Anyway, the cake is vanilla layers with huckleberry cream cheese inside an buttercream frosting for the outside! Huckleberries grow in the mountains where she lives. If you've never had them, they're like tiny blueberries an insanely hard to harvest. You can spend all day picking huckleberries and come home with half a gallon and a number of ticks. Yikes.

  But lucky me, I don't have to do any of the hard work. THIS just SHOWS UP at my house! yee-haw! And the picture doesn't do it justice. It was bursting with flavor, partnered with the light vanilla cake and silky smooth butter cream frosting... it was amazing.

 So, until next time my dears! Edna waves her beaters and we'll see you in a week!