Cherry Macarons

Your Valentine would love these bright Cherry Macarons.

The filling is made with both Morello and Maraschino cherries because the tartness of the former balances out the sweetness of the latter. Also in the filling is cream cheese, unsalted butter, a small amount of sugar and just 1/4 of a teaspoon of almond extract.

Almond flavoring is very similar to cherry and just a bit does wonders.

The result is a very cherry filling that's lightly sweet and the perfect partner for the crisp and chewy macaron shells.

Cherry Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
 Red food coloring

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. Add the coloring.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.
While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable.  Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Cherry Filling.


Cherry Filling
1/3 cup Morello cherries, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of the juice
*Note: I buy my Morello cherries at Trader Joe's
1/3 cup Maraschino cherries, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of the juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, heat the cherries and juice over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes until most of the juice has evaporated.

Cook the cherries until most of the juice has evaporated.

Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool. Then, transfer to a food processor and add the almond extract. Process until the cherries form a thick paste.

The cherry mixture after being put through a food processor.

Whip the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and whip again. Finally, add the cherry paste and whip until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag to fill the macarons.

Apple Pie Two Ways

My husband's birthday apple pie.

I had a catering job last Sunday on my husband's birthday. So as a peace offering, I asked him to name his dessert and I'd make it.

After a full week of thinking about it, he chose apple pie.

So here's the recipe for my husband's belated birthday treat, and a variation for making mini Dutch apple pies for a crowd.

I used to make individual hand pies for entertaining, but I find these pies made in cupcake papers much easier.


Happy Birthday Joe!

Mini Dutch apple pies are great for entertaining because they're easy to transport and serve.

Apple Pie Two Ways 
makes one 10-inch apple pie or 12 mini Dutch apple pies


Filling
4 large Golden Delicious Apples
3 large Granny Smith Apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup flour

For the filling, I like a mixture of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith Apples

Peel and slice apples. For a single pie make larger slices, for the mini Dutch apple pies, make a smaller dice. Toss apple slices with lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and flour. Set aside.

The apple filling for a large single pie. For mini Dutch apple pies, cut the apples into smaller pieces.

Crust
3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Your hands are the best tools for mixing the Crisco into the flour mixture. When it's mixed enough, it should resemble coarse crumbs.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Divide dough in half and roll out on a floured surface for the bottom and top crusts. Or, for mini Dutch pies, use a 4-inch round cutter to cut multiple bottom crusts.

When rolling out the dough, keep moving it on your board to prevent sticking. Also, keep rounding up the edges so that you end up with an even sized circle.

To Assemble
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Single Pie

Fold bottom crust in half and lay in pie plate. Fill with apple filling and cover with top crust. Seal edges around pie and crimp with fingers.

Poke holes to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for 20 minutes and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

A pie ready for it's top crust.

Ready for the oven.

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. Gently lay 4-inch round pieces of dough into papers. Fill each with about 2 tablespoons of filling. Set in the fridge to chill while making crumb topping.

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flour

In a bowl, combine oatmeal, cinnamon, flour and sugar. Using fingers, break butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Top each mini pie with crumb topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

A mini pie ready for it's crumb topping.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Here are the Red Velvet Cupcakes I just baked for a graduation party tomorrow.

Cupcakes are a smart choice for parties because they are easy to serve — no slicing and plating required!

And, they can be baked a day in advance. I won't frost them with cream cheese icing until right before the party. I'll post the final results tomorrow.

I like my recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes because the batter is nice and thick which makes it so much easier to put into the cupcake papers.  Filling cupcake papers can be torture! — Messy and frustrating!

With thick batters that thankfully don't drip like this recipe, I just use a large spoon.  For thinner cupcake batters, I've found that a pitcher with a sturdy spout works best.

The pitcher I like to use when filling cupcake papers with thinner cupcake batters.

But don't worry about that for this recipe. That's why I love it! It's delicious and a breeze to portion out.

Cupcakes that are ready to be baked.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add eggs, sour cream, food coloring and buttermilk. Mix well.

Add salt and baking soda. Mix well.

Add cocoa powder and flour and mix just until blended. Don't over mix.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes or until done.