Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Drumroll, Please!

I am feeling very accomplished today! For one, I just got my Nutrition marks back (93%... oh yes!) and I wrote a Math exam this afternoon that I had agonized over for most of the morning. Ladies and gentlemen of the blog-reading community, I officially hate metric/imperial conversions! Then, I finished the final stitches of the wool blanket I've been making my friend Heather for the past, oh, 6 months! Just because I'm feeling proud of myself, here's a gratuitous shot of the finished product:


Isn't it awesome?? I'm kind of jealous... I want one now! 13 more balls of yarn later...

Anyways, I also accomplished a culinary feat this weekend that I had been putting off for some time. Yes, I finally made the infamous macaron! It was an event about 8 months in the making for me, from when I first spotted this post on Tartlette. This was followed by me perusing articles all over the web, and even going so far as buying almond meal and a carton of egg whites before chickening out and stashing everything in the freezer.

But all things have come full cycle, for once I made the Christmas shortbreads with my mom and found myself with two extra egg whites about to go to waste (not to mention just having bought ground hazelnuts on a bulk-store whim), I had no more excuses. It was time for the creation to take place... and looking back though my photo montage of the project, it really is like watching a child grow up!

First - you agonize over how they'll age and behave when you aren't around...




But soon, they grow feet of their own and can make their own way!






Some of us do get too attached to each other, though...








While others of us just crack under pressure.





With luck and good planning, though, we all find a perfect match with our own sweetie!



...wasn't that a fun little tale?? Well, I thought so *sniff*. At any rate, I'm sending these as another entry to Susan's (AKA FoodBlogga) Eat Christmas Cookies Event... it'll probably be the last one for a little while at least, hopefully I'm not flooding her roundup like I did last year! I'm drooling over all the other entries, too... everyone is so creative! Thank you to all the bloggers before me who toyed with these cookies and documented their experiences - I couldn't have done it without you!

Filbert Macarons
Makes 12 sandwiches
63 grams ground hazelnuts
112 grams icing sugar
2 egg whites, room temperature
15 grams granulated sugar

  1. Push ground filberts through a sieve with icing sugar (Note: this takes FOREVER! Persevere, though, and you will be rewarded!). Set aside.
  2. Whip egg whites in a spotlessly clean, dry bowl on medium speed until foamy.
  3. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks—the whites should be firm and shiny.
  4. Fold icing sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing. (According to Serious Eats, the mixture should be shiny and 'flow like magma.')
  5. Pipe the batter through a plain, 1cm pastry tube onto parchment paper lined baking sheets into small circles.
  6. Let macarons sit out 1 hour (this allows skins to form for the "feet").
  7. Preheat oven to 325F.
  8. Bake macarons for 10 to 11 minutes, using a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar.
  9. Transfer parchment sheet to a cooling rack.
  10. When cookies are completely cool, carefully remove them from the parchment and sandwich them with filling if desired.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 76.9
Total Fat: 3.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 9.3 mg
Total Carbs: 11.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
Protein: 1.5 g

8 comments :

  1. ooh, i tried my first this summer, and it was pretty fantastic. i do have ground almonds in the freezer, maybe i'll have to give it a go :)

    congrats on nutrition!

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  2. oh geez these look awesome! i wanna taste them

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  3. hey, sorry I'm so late answering your question from my blog... I am so uncreative when it comes to tofu. I usually just put it in the microwave or on a baking sheet with a little salt. I tried to season it once with herbs, but it didn’t turn out very well, so I decided I’d rather eat it plain, or dipped in ketchup (I should seriously buy stock in ketchup, I use so much!).

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  4. These cookies are a great addition to Susan's Christmas Cookie blog. They look so tender, yet crisp!

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  5. Congratulations on your exam marks! Woo Hoo!

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  6. Making macarons, finding feet & getting the pair is the best test of them all. Well done Sarah. Loved your write up!! xoxo

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  7. They look good. I can appreciate the thrill of finding these feet!
    I've made them quite a few times now and have had only 1 successful batch yet!

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Thanks for the feedback!