Recipes

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

@house_cat.  I understood your thread and which cookie you meant.  I have never made them but DD and I watched a food show and if I remember correctly I think they can be tempermental. lol  I remember telling DD that it is too much work for a cookie even as beautiful as they were.

I agree with checking You Tube for videos.  Sometimes watching someone do it mkes more sense than the written word.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.  I'm sure your party will be great whatever you decide to make.

[loriqvc]

@house_cat - Macarons are what I'd call "fiddly" rather than particularly difficult; as long as you follow the directions carefully and exercise patience, you should be fine. As others have noted, there are some good recipes and videos available online for making macarons, but I'll check my recipe stash when I get home to see if I took any notes on my recipe the last time I made them (it has been a year or two). I believe my recipe comes from one of the Great British Baking Show cookbooks, but it could also be an America's Test Kitchen recipe, in case you want a place to start looking. Good luck!

[house_cat]

@loriqvc 

Thank you! I have that cookbook and totally forgot to look at it.  I just love the word "fiddly" and almost used it in my OP.  If you could check your recipe and post any notes that you made, I'd really appreciate that.

[deepwaterdotter]

This is the recipe from a King Arthur's cookbook that I made years ago for a wedding shower:

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill super-fine almond flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 cup sugar

Mix almond flour and 1 cup powdered sugar in food processor for 20 seconds.  Sift to aerate.  

Whisk egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.

Sift 1/2 cup powdered sugar and regular sugar together in bowl.  Beat into egg whites a little at a time until forming soft peaks.

Fold in flour mixture until evenly mixed, then stir until batter drops from spoon  in ribbons that disappear into batter after 10-20 seconds. (I tested for this consistency quite a few times before getting where it was right.)

Place teaspoon-full blobs of batter onto parchment-lined baking sheet.  Blobs should flatten out when dropped.  Let rest on countertop for 2 hours until tops are no longer sticky.  Bake in 275 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until tops are firm.  Completely cool on baking sheet.

[santorini]

They are so delicious.  I've never tried to make them and doubt I ever would.  I had to bring something to a party recently and decided to bring macarons.  My favorite macarons can be bought at a local restaurant so I bought a box of 25.  There were 12 different flavors and they were all decorated differently. They are pricey little things but they were a hit at the party.

[millieshops]

@house_cat  I had no idea there were 2 different treats, but I Googled and saw both -  both came up when I put in macaroons.  I suspected you wanted to make macarons when I looked at that Google page.  I think they would be a truly special treat for your tea.

[alliswell]

@santorini   Those Macarons you posted are beautiful!  Perfect for a gathering.  The title "Sweet Macarons" implies there might be a "Savory Macarons" version. 

[house_cat]

Thanks, everyone. I'm more intrigued than ever and can't wait to try them. I'm sure I'll need at least one batch of practice ones before my party. I wish you could all come by to help me eat the ugly ones, lol.  That's what I always tell DH when he wants a sample of something I've made for a party or to take somewhere... he says, "You have to start making more ugly ones."

[1920712]

@house_cat  Here's a recipe that my family enjoys. It's made with Angel Food cake mix and couldn't be easier:

1 Package  (16 ounces) angel food cake mix

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups (5 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut

Put rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put cake mix, water, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl.

Beat on low speed until smooth, 30 seconds. Then scrape bowl.

Increase speed of mixer to medium, beat 1 minute longer.

Fold in the coconut.

Drop by teaspoons onto baking sheet two inches apart on the

      baking sheet parchment paper.

Bake about 10-12 minutes until they are set and just

      beginning to brown.

Remove from oven and slide the parchment paper with the

      macaroons on top of a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the parchment paper and re-use it for the remainder

      of the batch. The macaroons could easily be colored.

You may want to do a trial batch to see if it's what you're looking for.

[house_cat]

@1920712 

Thank you for posting. That looks like a delightful recipe!