We Have Lift Off!

I love making things (as you can tell from this blog), so when I come across something that I can't make, it bugs the heck out of me.  Macarons have been one of those things.  I have tried with several (count 5) failed attempts to make these cute little cookies, each time with no success.  The thing about macarons also is that they are so time consuming to make and the ingredients are fairly pricey.  A batch takes about three hours of elapsed time to make (at least for me) and a small bag of almond flour is 10 dollars, so each failed attempt is so frustrating.  Every time I make a batch I tell my husband I'm never making these again.

I took a day off yesterday and spend the entire day crafting with Avery.  We made lots of fun crafts, bows and barrettes, animal necklaces, and to end the day I decided to try my hand at making macarons one last time.  Finally, they turned out!  They still aren't perfect, the middle is slightly chewy and the tops are a browned and not completely smooth (almond flour was too course).   But I managed to have feet (those crumbly things on the side of the cookie) and taste pretty decent. I was so surprised they turned out I didn't know what to fill my macarons with.  I didn't even have ingredient to fill them because I was thinking it would be another throw out batch!

I'll have to post more later.  I was just super excited about my macarons that I had to share.  Here is the best macaron reference guide online: http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/04/macarons-101-french-meringue.html

Happy Labor Day!

Not Too Sweet Brown Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe

Summer always brings wonderful red ripe sweet strawberries. Ralph's had an awesome sale on strawberries.  Just 88 cents a pound!  This season the strawberries have been on sale at so many different markets I just had to take advantage of the great deals.  I bought strawberries to freeze for smoothies, eat fresh, and make jam.  Strawberry jam is so easy to make.  I have tried a few different recipes, some calling for pectin, or lemons.  I usually find that the recipes with lemon are too sour and some of the recipes add too much sugar.  I like using white sugar, but brown sugar adds a depth of flavor that I like. I came up with a recipe that uses a mixture of brown sugar and white sugar and is less sweet than normal jams.

Recipe below images.

Wash and hull 3 lbs of strawberries.

Cut strawberries into small pieces.  About half inch by half inch by one inch.

Place strawberries in large pot with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar.

Cook jam for about 20 to 30 minutes, until jam thickens.

Remove from heat and follow canning instructions that come with your mason jars.  If you are going to eat jam right away you do not need to heat seal the mason jars.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of brown sugar*

1/2 cup of white sugar*

3 lbs of fresh strawberries, hulled cut into small chunks

Directions

Combine the sugar and strawberries in a large pot and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.  Cook until the strawberries reduce and thicken.  Pour into canning jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately, or follow canning instructions from your mason jar.

*The usual ratio of sugar to strawberries is 1lb of strawberries to 1 cup of sugar.  So for this recipe you could use 3 cups of sugar.  I only used one cup total because I didn't want my jam too sweet.

Homemade Madeleine Cookies for Nautical Themed Baby Shower Favors

I throw a lot of nautical themed parties.  Not just because I love the look, but because its a versatile theme.  Here's a little secret: if you throw your parties with the same theme you not only save time but money and space also.  I save money and space because I have all the decorations for a nautical themed party (sea shells, lanterns, candles) so I don't have to fill my garage with decorations. I save time because I know exactly what's going to be on the menu and exactly what party favors I'm going to give.  For a nautical themed party I always give Madeleines out as the party favor.  They are great because they look like shells (nautical theme), relatively inexpensive, they taste great, and they don't become junk in someone's house (a must for favors that I give out).

I have the templates for the favors saved and always just change up the image and name on the label.  To make the favors look more professional I package them individually in plastic bags and adhere the label on top.

Basic Madeleine recipe below.

Home Made Madeleine (these are a tad on the too brown side).

Three eggs at room temperature.

Sifted flour.

Mix together

Fill greased pan

Remove from oven when edges start to brown.  Let cool on wire rack.

After Madeleines are cooled place in plastic baggies.

Custom labels I printed out .

To make the label look nice I staple on the back side and then use double sided tape to tape to the front so you do not see a staple in the front.

Place in a cute basket and favors are ready to go.

Basic Madeleine Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt the butter.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale in color.  Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Fold in, using a rubber spatula or whisk. Fold In one third of the four mixture. Slowly add flour until completely mixed.  Do not over mix.  Gently fold in melted butter.  Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least one hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the molds of two - 12 – large Madeleine with melted butter. 

Fill the batter into the pans 80% full.

Bake the Madeleines for about 8 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Do not overbake!

Remove the pans from the oven and place Madeleines on a wire rack to cool. 

Makes about 24 - 3 1/2 inch (8,.5 cm) Madeleines.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Recipe

Happy Valentine's Day!

Every Valentine's Day I make chocolate dipped strawberries for my husband.  The first time I made it my husband at the entire plate, and every Valentine's Day after that he would ask me "are you going to make chocolate dipped strawberries this year?"  Making chocolate dipped strawberries is one of those things that is simple I don't know why people would actually go out and buy them.  Strawberries are always on sale around here during Valentine's Day also.  I purchased a pound for 1.50 at Ralphs (Kroger in some parts of the country).  

To melt chocolate follow the instructions here: http://www.thecheesethief.com/2011/09/chocolate-covered-gummy-bears-recipe.html but do not add butter.  The basic instructions are for 1 lb of strawberries melt 6 oz of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 40 seconds.  Take out and stir with spatula for 30 seconds, reheat for 15 second intervals if chocolate is not melted enough.  

Two key things you want to do are:

1.  Wash the strawberries and thoroughly dry them.  You do not want any moisture on the strawberries.  Use a kitchen towel and go through each one to make sure they are completely dry.

2.  Let the strawberries sit at room temperature for about an hour or two.  This will help so you do not have to keep reheating your chocolate.

3.  DO NOT burn the chocolate.  Heat only as necessary.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have dry strawberries.  Moisture is the enemy of chocolate.

Melt chocolate in mug.

Stir until smooth.

Dip strawberry in wiggle back and forth gently a couple of times to get a good coat.

Pull strawberry up and place on parchment paper, foil or silicone baking sheet to cool.

Let cool in fridge for 15 min or on counter top for an hour.