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Post by willow on Mar 18, 2008 15:02:53 GMT -5
I am making macarons again for Easter but wanted to try something a little different in addition to the standard chocolate.
What other types of flavoring have you used? I don't want to try anything exotic, but something somewhat different.
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Post by anneparis on Mar 18, 2008 16:29:34 GMT -5
Vanilla, raspberry, pistachio are the most common flavors. More original flavors : caramel, coconut, liquorice, lemon, and plenty others. I will post a macaron recipe on thursday on my blog.
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Post by willow on Mar 18, 2008 16:36:10 GMT -5
Merci Anne!
Can't wait to read it. I think I will try for flavors and colors that remind me of spring. Hopefully I'll have enough time to try a few different ones.
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Post by suzanne on Mar 18, 2008 19:36:38 GMT -5
Oh, I love the raspberry ones and they are so pretty too.
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 19, 2008 0:39:14 GMT -5
Anne, I'm looking forward to reading your recipe on Thursday! I can't wait to see what flavor it will be! Willow, great idea to make macarons for Easter! Why didn't I think of that?!
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Post by willow on Mar 19, 2008 8:58:16 GMT -5
I stopped at two grocery stores yesterday to pick up some supplies, and I was surprised! I first stopped at Whole Foods, and noticed some great things but at very high prices. A jar of Bonne Maman was almost 6.50! Rose water was $4 and the almond flour was $10 for a 1.5lbs. I only picked up a few items due to the crazy prices, and stopped in at the Caputo's Market (A Certi-Saver Store) by my house.
It was there I hit the jackpot! Ground almonds at $2.50 for .75Lb, Bonne Maman on sale for $3.50, and even some lemon curd for 2 dollars cheaper than at Whole Foods!
So I think my macarons will be hazlenut-chocolate, lemon, rose, and vanilla! Yummmyyyy!
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Post by geordy on Mar 19, 2008 9:26:06 GMT -5
And some pretty Easter colors!
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Post by anneparis on Mar 20, 2008 3:34:01 GMT -5
Recipe posted ! But as you can see, I have not been very creative : green macarons with chocolate ganache filling. Now that I have finally succeeded to make something that looks like real macarons, I will experiment more creative colors and fillings in the future ! I promise !
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 21, 2008 10:44:30 GMT -5
Thanks to Willow , I'm in the midst of macaron making today. I made the fillings yesterday, and will bake the shells today. They will be orange, lemon and pistachio (with fillings to match). I couldn't find a recipe for pistachio filling, so I tweaked a chocolate ganache recipe by substituting white chocolate, and puréeing pistachios into the cream before heating. It turned out surprisingly good! But the lemon is my favorite so far--I used the Lemon Cream recipe from Desserts by Pierre Herme . It's so smooth and creamy, with the perfect blend of tart and sweet. In this latest "research project", I came across quite a few recommendations to leave the eggs out for a day or two before using them to make the shells, so I'm trying that this time to see if it makes a difference.
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Post by Happygoin on Mar 21, 2008 11:12:13 GMT -5
What a curious thing about the eggs, Annette. Please let us know what your research finds.
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 24, 2008 0:37:08 GMT -5
Each batch of my macarons turned out completely different! I left the eggs out overnight so they were completely room temperature. I started with the pistachio, and the shells turned out perfectly shaped, shiny tops, little feet, all the right stuff...but they browned a tiny bit too much, so the pretty light green color turned muddy. But they taste wonderful! The lemon batch was next--used the same recipe for the shells, adding a bit of lemon zest and a few drops of lemon juice. They spread and turned out flat but shiny on top and they looked pretty (I watched the oven carefully and didn't let them brown). These taste like lemon merange pie! The orange batch stayed formed nicely, but didn't "grow" feet (made them the same as the lemon batch, with a little orange zest). Here's the curious thing: I lined them all together in rows on the same platter, sealed it up and popped in the fridge overnight (they're always best after a day)...but some of them turned soft! What happened to the crispy shell? The orange batch were completely soft and had a cake-like texture. The lemon still had some crackle to the shell, but were cakey underneath. The pistachio stayed just perfect! If it was a humidity problem, they'd have all gone soft. So I'm wondering if it has something to do with the filling? They weren't watery, so I'm kind of puzzled. Or could it have been the added zest? Or maybe they were slightly underbaked since I was worried about them browning too much and changing color? Up till now, I've only made chocolate so haven't had to worry about that. Have any of our other bakers had this problem before? I'd be interested to hear about it and what you think the solution is. Anyway, I didn't really notice a difference with using the room temperature eggs vs. cold eggs. So Happy, next time the mood strikes, seize the day! Don't feel as though you must put it off till your eggs are the right temperature. Willow, how did yours turn out?
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Post by Happygoin on Mar 24, 2008 6:48:18 GMT -5
Hi Annette, no matter what they looked like, as long as they tasted good, I'm sure they were gobbled up. Yes, refrigeration will change their texture noticably. I learned that the hard way too, years ago. I remember mine got all sticky. But they still tasted good . It is disappointing though.
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 24, 2008 15:01:26 GMT -5
Oh, it was the refrigeration?! Lesson learned!
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Post by willow on Mar 24, 2008 15:24:17 GMT -5
I learned a lesson with mine too...never use store-bought egg whites! For the lemon variety I had feet and pretty little domes, and I used lemon curd as a filling! They were delicious! But we were running out of eggs so I dipped into the store and decided to try the egg whites in a carton. They whipped up fine and looked pretty, but completely deflated and got too soft and chewy. Still good, especially with rose preserves and hazelnut and chocolate ganache...mmm
So next time "real" egg whites only!
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 24, 2008 22:33:56 GMT -5
Your flavors do sound yummy, Willow! I was thinking about using lemon curd blended with marscapone as one recipe I saw had done, but decided on another lemon filling recipe. Next time I'll save myself an hour and use a jar! The jar of Bonne Maman you referenced above was rose preserves?! I've never seen that flavor on shelves around here--you did hit the jackpot!
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Post by willow on Mar 25, 2008 9:49:34 GMT -5
Annette, the rose preserves were a Turkish brand, I can't think of the name right now, but I got it at our Caputo's store, which is an ethnic store. The lemon curd was Delicious and so simple when running around with other Easter prep!!
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Post by annettecinca on Mar 25, 2008 10:31:36 GMT -5
Thanks--I will definitely remember that next time!
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