Macarons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I made pumpkin pie spiced macarons... look...! I got feet!!! I was a bit worried and as you can see from the picture below, I had some issues with piping. It is not my strong suit... and after a blow out with the disposable bag I was using, well, I just put some blobs down on the parchment but those turned out rather well actually... (the small ones were actually piped...)

I filled mine with an Apple Butter Cream Cheese icing... they taste really good... nice crunch on the bite, chewy in the middle... As yummy as they are, I think I will have to defer to my favorite place to get them in Seattle... Honore Artisan Bakery, 1413 NW 70th StSeattle, WA 98117... they make much better Macaron's than I do... I love their lavander ones - they're filled with a lavander chocolate ganache...!

Vols-au-Vent.... say what?

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.


I had some camera issues.... um... who remembered to get new batteries...? *blushes* So no pictures of the process other than baking...

My larger Vols-au-Vent were filled with BBQ Beef and topped with shredded cheese...

My smaller ones... which were fab... were filled with Key Lime flavored no bake Cheesecake and served with Whipped cream and Lime Zest...

Fun challenge... my arms have never been so sore but I will happily make them again...