I think it is safe to say that it is cold outside now. Like, officially cold. Yesterday started out particularly gloomy, with a rain so heavy that our puppy was too scared to go for his morning walk. Luckily, we were able to force him out, which resulted in this adorable post dry-off photo. |
Now, I feel that Starbucks and American Thanksgiving (because Canadian Thanksgiving is a nonsense reason to give us a long weekend) have convinced the general public that the smells to associate with cold weather is pumpkin spice. Having grown up in a Jewish home, I never actually smelled pumpkin pie spice until I moved to Toronto and the Pumpkin Spice Latte became a thing. You see, my people don't make lots of pumpkin-flavoured treats. For us, autumn means the Jewish New Year [Rosh Hashanah], during which it is customary to eat apples dipped in honey in order to celebrate the coming of a sweet new year. So for me, no smell is more autumny or cold weathery than baked apples. So with this chilly weekend leaving me indoors, the thought struck to make some warm, delicious apple pie. Problem is - I already plan to make an apple pie later this week to actually celebrate Rosh Hashanah. So, to get my home smelling like a Jewish house in autumn, I decided to get creative and make... Apple Pie Macarons Now, before any confused Members of the Tribe start telling me that macarons are a strictly passover delicacy, I tell you not to worry! The gross little coconut balls that we all trick ourselves into loving on passover are Macaroons, whereas I am making the French Macarons, which are essentially almond meringues. Since that is cleared up, let's get baking. What You Need: - 3/4 cup finely ground almonds * - 1 cup icing sugar - 2 large egg whites, aged, at room temperature ** - Pinch cream of tartar - 1/4 cup white sugar * I buy ground almonds, ground them again in a food processor, and then sift them. This sounds time consuming (and it is) but it is very worth it ** Separate your egg whites and cover them with plastic wrap; let them sit on your counter for 24-48 hours (they will not go bad, I promise) Before we go any further, let me give some tips for making great macarons: 1) Let your eggs age - they will result in fluffier, yummier cookies 2) Make sure the bowl that you put your egg whites in is very dry and grease-free; grease will prevent your egg whites from getting stiff 3) RELAX -- I know macarons seem daunting, but they are actually fairly easy to make if you aren't too stressed What To Do: Sift together your icing sugar and ground almonds twice to ensure that there are absolutely no lumps. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip up your egg whites until they are frothy. At this point, add in your cream of tartar and whisk on high until soft peaks form. While still mixing on high speed, slowly add in your white sugar. Before too long, your egg whites should have stiff peaks and look like this: Sift your almond and icing sugar over top your egg whites. |
Fold everything together with your spatula. You will know everything is well incorporated when you can lift your spatula, and the batter looks like a ribbon as it drips off. It is now time to pipe out your macarons. If you are smarter than me, you will outline perfect circles on your parchment paper-lined baking sheet. I chose to freehand it. it turned out sort of well. The trick for me was to cut a small hole in my piping bag and gently lift the bag away after piping my circle (this way I can prevent dripping all over my pan) Lightly tap your baking pan to remove air bubbles. Lightly sprinkle your macarons with cinnamon. In order to achieve the "feet" or raised bits of your macarons, you want to let them sit for 15 minutes, or until you can touch the tops of them and they feel dry. While waiting for this to happen, bring your oven up to 375 F. Right before putting your macarons in the oven, turn the temperature down to 325 F. Bake for 5 minutes, then flip the pan around, and bake for 5 more minutes. Note: there is nothing more exciting for a baker than opening up your oven half way through baking and seeing the "feet" appear on macarons. Allow your macarons to cool while you prepare your apple pie filling. For the filling, I have to admit that I bought a salted caramel filling from William-Sonoma. It was there, it was on sale, and I suck at making caramel. As for the apples, I combined the flavours that I generally put inside my pies. On Medium Heat, stir together 1 chopped apple, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/4 cup white sugar. Keep this all on heat until the apple has softened; remove from the heat and cool. Now assemble your macarons! Pipe a circle of caramel on one macaron and fill with some apples. Make sure that your caramel is higher than the apples so that a second macaron can sit on top. Top with a second macaron, and repeat with all of your beautiful little cookies! Now, I don't like to toot my own horn, but holy crap: toot! These were delicious, and tasted just like apple pie! Please try to make these yourself, because there are definitely none left to share. Happy cold weather, everyone! |