Lemond Almond Meringues

As you know, I offer to bake for any dinner party, event, gathering, holiday, 1 AM on a Wednesday or really any time the phrase "I want sugar" pops into someone's head.  With two Passover seders to attend, last weekend was no exception.  

As many typical ingredients are not allowed during this holiday, my usual cookies were out of the running.  I tend to bake a flourless chocolate cake for this holiday but this year I decided to go with two lighter options: a meringue and a coconut macaroon.  

I love meringues whether they are plain, chocolate, mint, chocolate mint...really any flavor under the sun.  This year I was inspired by Joy the Baker's, Lemon Almond Meringues.  I modified the recipe a bit as technically you are not allowed to use any corn product (i.e. cornstarch) during Passover.  I did overlook the almond extract portion of the recipe and chalked it up to Elijah (yes, that was an embarrassingly terrible joke...are there any good passover jokes?  Elijah, Moses, and Charlton Heston walk into a bar?). 

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Lemon Almond Meringues
adapted from Joy the Baker

In the bowl of a mixer, whisk egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar on medium speed until frothy peaks form.  Increase speed and slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time.  Add lemon juice and continue to beat until stiff peaks form (this may take 5-10 minutes on high).

Remove bowl from mixer and fold in almond meal and lemon zest.  Fill a large pastry bag with mixture and pipe two inch circles on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.  

Sift powdered sugar over meringues and top with sliced almonds.  

Bake at 200°F for 60 minutes.  After 60 minutes, turn off oven and let cookies dry for a few hours (or  over night).  

Meringue
1/4 cup almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
76 g egg whites (2 large)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup baker's sugar (or finely ground granulated sugar)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Topping
sliced almonds
powdered sugar

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Hamantashen

A common joke among Jews is that many holidays can be summarized with the following phrase:

"They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat."

Purim fits this phrase quite well. 

The holiday of Purim just ended and for those of you not familiar with its significance, it recognizes the “salvation” of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to destroy, kill, and annihilate them.

This holiday is celebrated with a carnival-like party AND delicious cookies called hamantashen. The cookies are triangle in shape and filled with a variety of flavors. 

The recipe that I use comes from my mother. To be quite honest, the way that this dough comes together is unusual. That said, it works perfectly and tastes delicious so I feel no need to modify it.

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Hamantashen
makes 45-50 cookies

Make the cookies: Combine eggs and butter in a small bowl.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl then add the eggs and butter mixture.

Mix until combined and chill for a few hours; when ready to use, let dough soften at room temperature.

Using a decent amount of flour, roll out dough to roughly 1/8" thick; using a round cookie cutter, cut 3" circles.

Fill with 2/3 teaspoon of desired filling and fold to create triangle (note: this takes practice!)

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

1 cup melted butter (cooled)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh orange juice
Grated rind of orange
Grated rind of lemon

Desired fillings (apricot, poppy seed, cherry, chocolate ganache, fig, etc.)

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Apricot

Chocolate Ganache with Almonds

Red, White, and Pink

Macarons have become quite popular over the last few years...there is a reason for this: they are delicious and absolutely beautiful.

I have been making them for a while and have cycled through the same emotions that I imagine many people experience while making the infamous macaron shell:  utter delight, anticipation, I-fail-as-a-baker frustration, coming-to-terms-as-a-failed-baker disappointment, and extreme joy.

Why, you may ask?  Because they can be extremely hard to make.  The following are a handful of reasons why they will fail: batter consistency, kitchen temperature, kitchen humidity, oven temperature, time in oven, air pockets, dark magic.

BUT they can also turn out wonderfully, look and taste delicious, and make your year.  As it is almost Valentine's Day, I decided to make a batch of red, white, and pink macarons to get in the spirit of the holiday.

I have tried a number of recipes but have had the most success with one of Ms. Humble's.  The ingredients are simply egg whites, sugar, and almond flour.  Some recipes add a stabilizer, as you will see in this one.  In terms of baking temperature and time: this is trial and error as every kitchen is entirely different...

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French Macarons
adapted from Ms. Humble

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5g Dehydrated Egg White Powder
28g Baker's Sugar (finely ground granulated sugar)
225g Powdered Sugar
125g Almond Meal (either purchase or grind yourself)
100g Aged Egg Whites (lightly cover and leave out at room temperature/in refrigerator for a few days)

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1. Sift baker's sugar and egg white powder in a small bowl.
2. Sift almond meal and powdered sugar in another small bowl.
3. Whisk egg whites in mixer until foamy. 

4.  While on medium speed, slowly add baker's sugar/egg white mixture until firm/glossy peaks.

5. Remove from mixer.  Add 1/3 of the almond/powdered sugar mixture.  Fold gently until combined.  Repeat with the next 1/3...and the last 1/3.
6. Fill a piping bag with batter and pipe small circles onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.  Let macaron shells rest for 30-60 minutes [the tops need to harden].

7. Bake one sheet at a time at 280° for 15 minutes.
8. Let shells cool completely [read: a few hours] before removing them from the pan.

9. Fill with ganache, fruit preserves, buttercream, etc.  I filled a few of mine with strawberry jam and the rest with a strawberry rhubarb buttercream.

10. This step is super important: fill the shells and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.  During this time, the filling will add moisture and flavor to the shells.  This is a great step if you over bake them...

Ms. Humble's post has fantastic directions, troubleshooting tips, etc.  I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out if you are interested in making these yourself.