macarons #3 finally got it!

i know i'm a bit behind in my posts, but i have a good excuse. we moved :) i'm loving our new home and we're fairly settled. so here we go again...

after a great deal of trial and error, i finally got it right! the problem was measuring the egg whites prior to drying. be sure to have 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons after you let the egg whites sit out... but to be honest i don't even let them sit out. i separate my eggs and use them right away. also reduce the temp to 300F. i don't always sift my powder sugar either. so the long awaited macarons are done! now on to the next project.

macarons #2

almost there. i put 3 egg whites and dropped the temp to 300 F.

then i had left over cream cheese frosting, from making home made oreos.

so not quite there yet, close though. and they sure taste good. i'm thinking a little less egg whites now. oh and parchment paper is a must. the temp change worked better this time. so try try try again. btw i can't stop eating these... they're almost gone and i just finished making them an hour ago!

macaron

1 1/4 cups powder sugar

1 cup almond flour (finely ground blanched almonds)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons egg whites

pinch of salt

1/4 cup sugar

ok, so not the easiest dessert to make... i've been trying to get these right for over six months at least 5 or 6 different occasions. and once again they didn't quite work out. but i think i finally made a breakthrough. next week i'll be making them again... and this time they should be perfect. i hope. oh and we'll get into the filling next week too. it's usually a butter cream or ganache or jam... pretty much anything yummy between two cookies.

i decided to try making different flavors...

finely ground pistachios 

finely ground almonds

finely ground macadamia nuts

put the egg whites in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours... i let mine sit out 24 hours. i got busy, so i couldn't get to them till the next day.

combine powder sugar and almonds. i've heard some people say to sift together. but you need to have the right size sieve and i'm lazy. so i combine mine throughly and be sure there aren't any lumps. 

nice and mixed. set aside.

beat the egg whites till foamy. i like to beat till soft peaks form... but it's really up to you, it works both ways. i've done it both ways. just till foamy means it'll take longer to beat.

add sugar and beat some more...

till it's pretty and shiny with stiff peaks.

then combine the powder sugar/almond mixture... i added a little pink food coloring so i could differentiate between the different nuts. plus it makes it pretty.

combine until the mixture flows and peaks disappear. this is where i thought i went wrong... but what i really think it is, is i didn't have quite enough egg whites and i mixed too much.

i use a piping bag with a size 12 tip.

fill the bag with the beautiful mixture.

and start piping onto parchment paper. i've used wax paper, and it does work, but not quite as well. don't make them any larger than about an inch... yet again another thing i keep doing wrong. if you make them too big, they stay kinda flat.

these are the macadamia nut ones.

and these are the pistachio ones... yes i added food coloring to these too. otherwise they look like bird poo.

now let them dry for a couple hours. just until a skin forms and the batter is matte instead of shiny. btw the batter should have a smooth surface not the spiral that mine does.

heat the oven to 325 F. then cook the macarons for about 11 min. be sure to put a spoon or something in the door, keeping it slightly open during the cooking. some people like to rotate half way through too... not me, i'm lazy.

and the disaster is revealed. as i said, i think i know all the steps i went wrong. and i'm going to try again next week.

these ones were a little better, but still not great.

and these were the closest i could get... they all still tasted great. just not so pretty and not quite the right texture. wish me luck next week and if you have any advise, please help!... i've got to get these right someday.

kouing aman

1 tablespoon yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

3-4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup sugar (aprox.)

1/2 cup butter (plus additional for coating pans)

and so we begin with the ever enticing kouing aman. i've never been able to say it right. thank goodness i only  have to spell it. this wonderfully crunchy, salty, sweet pastry is the perfect treat for breakfast. admittedly i'd never had kouing aman, i'd never even heard of it until i saw it on tv. it looked so good i had to try it. so i made it at home with very little success, then i went to a somewhat local bakery and had it there... i was in heaven! so with my new found knowledge on how kouing aman is suppose to look and taste, here we go again...

let's begin with the dough.

 add yeast to water (add a little sugar to ensure foaming.)

 lightly stir, but don't soak.

 while yeast is developing, i get my butter ready. first i put it between some plastic wrap, then get a rolling pin and smash away. this is a little easier if you let the butter sit at room temperature for about 30 min. but you can do it right out of the fridge. 

 roll it flat... about an 1/8 inch... or so, i'm not sure i didn't measure.

 it should look about like this. mine's not perfect, but it doesn't need to be. once it's flat, put it in the fridge. we'll get back to it later i promise.

 look! the yeast is all bubbly now.

 and so we add the flour. i never add the entire amount on the recipe. usually a 1/2 cup short, and add more as needed. any type of bread dough is temperamental if you add too much flour. and remember, you can always add more, but you can't take away.

 stir it all together

 until you get a loose ball. you want the dough to be sticky.

 then pour the dough onto a floured surface.

knead for about... oh i don't know, until it's done. to be honest the best way for me to describe the texture of kneaded dough is.... wait for it.... breast tissue. i know i said it. but it's true. so moving on.

 i told you the dough was sticky.

 once you're done kneading

 put some melted butter in the original bowl. no you don't need a clean one. why make more of a mess than you already are.

 put the dough in and flip it upside down. be sure to coat all of the dough.

 i cover mine with plastic wrap, but you can use a clean kitchen towel. it's personal preference. 

 oops... i forgot to add the sea salt. i hope adding it late is ok. i just sprinkled it on top. i'll knead it in later. let dough rise for 60 min (or until doubled in size.)

clean up your counter while your dough is rising. you don't want those crusty bits left on the counter in your dough later.

the dough has doubled

place on floured surface

nice and sticky

knead the salt in... normally you won't have to do this, because you would have added the salt in with the flour. but i forgot so i'm kneading it in now and...

letting the dough rise one more time for 30 min.

looks like it turned out pretty good.

roll out into a rectangle. about 15 x 11 in.

get the flattened cold butter out of the fridge and place in the middle of the dough.

sprinkle sugar over the butter.

fold dough over butter and sugar.

like an envelope.

sprinkle more sugar over the top.

fold in thirds again.

wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 60 min.

 once it's nice and cold place on sugar coated counter top. dust the top with sugar, so the rolling pin doesn't stick to the dough. roll out into a rectangular shape.

 sprinkle with sugar.

 i like to add a little more sea salt. not too much though. you want sweet and salty, not salt and yuck.

 cut into 9 pieces. i like to use a pizza cutter.

 squish each square and place in buttered muffin pan sections. be sure to butter the sections throughout the inside and on top. the sugar gets pretty sticky in the oven. preheat oven to 425 F.

then it's time to cook. make sure to put a pan or foil under the muffin pan. and wait...

 ta dah! 35 min later, golden brown and delicious. time may vary. just make sure they're golden before you take them out of the oven.

 wait a few minutes, then take out of the pan and place on a cooling rack. careful when you take them out, they're HOT. and if that sugar touches your fingers... well lets just say i've had many a blister to remind me to not do that again. so i use a fork to take them out.

 looking good...

yum yum that was good... ok ok, that was my second one :)