Finally I am able to offer you the lovely vintage apron scans I promised weeks ago.  You can click on the photo below and download the zip file.

See I tried and tried to upload them as a pdf and when I was about to give up completely Ben says “Why don’t you just save them in a zip file and upload that.”  HUH??? What in the world was he talking about??? But he leans over my shoulder for what seemed like 12 seconds or so and VOILA! Zip files of the magazine pages so many of you wanted.  You can then save them – they are in pdf form and most of us have Adobe Reader.  But if not, you can follow the link and download it for free. If you will remember there were no patterns in the magazine but those of you who sew, hopefully can make one for yourself.

Also, I am really trying to decide which way to go on my shoppe ideas.  So stand by.  First order of business is to get the pie book out!

One more Apron Thing ~ I will be posting a giveaway tomorrow.  So check back!

We had a wonderful 4th of July and in the next day or so I will post some pictures or direct you to my daughters’ blogs and flickrs to see them.  But here is a little peek:

Rachel did a beautiful job didn’t she?

See you all tomorrow!

Welcome to this week’s challenge recipes!  All the same rules apply. You have until 8a.m. CST to get your recipes from the last challenge posted.  I am a little early with these but we have a slightly busy weekend ahead!  As I am sure you do too.  Have a LOVELY 4th of July.  Be safe.  Eat too much.  Take a nap.

If you have a sec click on the Madsen Cycles link in my right side bar and help me enter to win that VERY cool bike! You can read all about the contest when you get to their website.  Heck, you may want to throw your name in the hat as well.

Oh…and one more thing.  BIG Vintage GiveAway will be announced Monday…so stay tuned! This giveaway has nothing to do with the Friday Baking – its a just because giveaway!

First up the savory recipe.  Thanks to Rachel I can tell you these are some fine pretzels. Why don’t you mosey over and take a look at her blog while you are at it?  Great photos and some awesome recipes.

Soft Pretzels

Makes 12

* 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1/4 ounce)
* 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 cup warm water
* 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* Vegetable oil, for baking sheets
* 3 tablespoons baking soda
* 1 tablespoon pretzel salt
* Assorted mustards, for serving

Directions

1. Mix yeast, coarse salt, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix flour and cayenne in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Slowly pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, stirring to combine. Using your hands, gather dough together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until it is no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
4. Cut dough into 12 pieces, and roll each into an 18-inch rope. Form a U shape with 1 rope, and twist ends together twice. Fold twisted portion backward along center of U shape to form a circle, then gently press ends of rope onto dough to seal. Transfer to an oiled baking sheet, and repeat. Let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add baking soda. Boil pretzels in batches until puffed and slightly shiny, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to wire racks to drain. Return to baking sheet, sprinkle with pretzel salt, and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Pretzels will keep, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 12 hours. Rewarm in a 250-degree oven if desired, and serve with mustards.

Now for your yummy sweet recipe…German Chocolate Cake.  I picked this because I am constantly amazed at the peeps who only ever use cake mixes.  Don’t get me wrong…cake mixes are GREAT and I do use them.  I have about 3001 Bundt cake recipes that use cake mix.  Plus cookie recipes and cake pops.  But you really should have a repertoire of good from scratch cake recipes for special occasions.

This is usually the cake we make for Husband’s birthday. It just maybe his favorite.

* 4 ounces Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, melted and cooled
* 2 1/3 cup cake flour
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2/3 cup butter, room temperature
* 1 cup buttermilk, divided
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 eggs
* Coconut pecan frosting and filling, below

Grease two 9-inch layer cake pans and line bottoms with waxed paper. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter; add flour mixture, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened; beat at medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes, scraping bowl from time to time. Add melted chocolate, eggs, and remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk. Beat 1 minute longer. Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely on racks. Frost with coconut pecan frosting, below.

Coconut Pecan Frosting and Filling

* 3/4 cup evaporated milk
*1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
* 1 1/3 cups Baker’s Angel Flake coconut (3-ounce can)
* 1 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, sugars, butter, and vanilla. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat (mixture might appear a bit curdled). Quickly stir a small amount of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolks; return egg yolk mixture to the hot mixture in saucepan and blend well. Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to spreading consistency, beating occasionally.

NOTE: The original recipe called for 1/2 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar for the frosting.  HOWEVER, Rachel found the frosting gets too hard if you use brown sugar.

I am deep in thought this morning.  Thinking of potatoes.  Yep potatoes.  And wondering if I will EVER learn to make consistently good (nevermind great) potato salad.  It seems that and baked beans are the only two things I am responsible for at our Fourth of July shindig.  I would be happy for any of you to leave me your recipe in the comments or better yet email it to me.

Yes, I realize I said a couple of weeks ago that I would be discussing our plans for our Independence Day gathering in detail.  I didn’t intend to NOT do it.  But good grief the last week has been less like a whirlwind and more like a storm!  Husband came home Thursday night (YAY) and in seemingly good health until he woke up Friday morning with some sort of eye “explosion”.  It was red and the eyeball membrane (I don’t know what else to call it) was swollen with fluid underneath it (makes me a bit queasy to type this).  Husband remembered something flying in his face on the bus ride from Sfax to Tunis the day before but thought whatever had hit him in the eye (seemingly dust particles or sand) had been rubbed out since his eye didn’t bother him on Thursday.  But Friday morning…different story.  The day rocked on and finally he asked me to get a flashlight and my reading glasses and see what I could find.  I saw what I thought was a speck of black something or other and a very fluid filled place on his eyeball.  He has me get a q-tip ’cause he thinks I can fix pretty much anything, and yeah, I did get the speck but the fluid…still there.  At this point I convince him that a doctor visit is just about mandatory.  I start calling.  Friday afternoon is no time to try and find a doctor.  Seriously.  My final call was to a friend who is an RN at our usual hospital and though she was off work, she made a call for us and out the door we went to the ER.   We were quickly ushered in to an exam room where we were not quickly seen.  But at least we didn’t catch something waiting in the outer waiting room. The doctor was pretty concerned about the laceration (YIKES – I think that means CUT) on Husband’s eyeball.  He didn’t really want to do anything but call an ophthalmologist and get us out of the ER.  So he gave him two prescriptions per the ophthalmologist’s orders (by phone) with instructions to see the ophthalmologist on Saturday and we headed to the pharmacy.  And then the next pharmacy.  And the next.  And the next.  And the next.  I finally got one of the drops filled, the other…not to be had.  Thankfully the one I could get was the antibiotic.  The other was for pain and I had already decided I thought I had enough Lortab at home left over from his last kidney stone to knock him out if necessary.  Now the fun began.  Directions for the antibiotic drops: One drop in affected eye every thirty minutes for the next 4 hours and then every hour thereafter until seen by opthomologist on Saturday afternoon.  HUH? Say what?  That sounds a bit much don’t you think?  The kicker: Husband really and truly cannot put drops in his own eye.  Never has been able to.  So we get home, he goes to bed because he is absolutely spent.  Between the jet lag and the eye problem, he’s got to get some rest.  The “every 30 minutes” thing was to be over at 11pm and then the “every hour” thing started.  So I stayed up, and woke him up every 30 minutes and put a drop in his eye.  I looked up the ophthalmologist’s number on the Internet and called his answering service.  I explained to them the reason for my call.  I couldn’t get one of the prescriptions filled.  The answering service said they would have Dr. Lewis call me right back.  I almost didn’t get the phone hung up before it rang.  It was Dr. Lewis.  WOW.  So we talk about the fact that the drop I couldn’t get wasn’t crucial, but would have been nice for pain.  I told him Husband was sleeping well.  He says “Well, you have my cell phone now on your caller ID so call me if you need me.  But for sure call me in the morning and we will set a time for me to meet you at my office and see him.”  WOW again.  I explained to him that we already had an appt on Saturday morning to get Ben’s brace off  (remember the fracture when I was supposed to be helping with my brother?) and he said to just call when we were through.  Then I set my cell phone alarm for 12 am, 1 am, 2 am, 3 am, 4 am.  WHAT? I am only allowed 5 alarms???? Crap.  Okay.  Fine.  I set the alarm clock on his bedside shelf for 5 am.  Like a good girl, I woke up with each alarm (sometimes I didnt really sleep between them) and nudged him and put a drop in his eye.  I just stayed up after the 5 am drop.  This was now Saturday morning. About 7 I started waking people up and getting ready to head to Ben’s appt and then to the eye dr.  Dr. Lewis met us and was pleased that the cut seemed to be healing and he wanted to see Husband on Monday.  GREAT! We will already be in The City for two other appts on Monday!  VERY convenient.  So Sunday…I didn’t do a thing except vegetate! Monday rolled around and off we go.  Husband and I both had physicals that morning – you know, cholesterol and all that stuff, eye dr, then my yearly “woman” appt.  LOVED the new dr we saw for the physicals.  He was great.  He’s my brother’s dr.  And yeah, that’s what prompted all this…when your younger (much younger) brother has triple by-pass, you think maybe you might want to check on things.  I have to go back for another EKG in 5 weeks.  I am anxious to get all the blood work results for both of us.  Then on Monday night our oldest brought his little man Sam to spend the week with us.  To say we have been busy is such an understatement!  Now the 4th is upon us!  But we will be ready!

OH and don’t forget tomorrow new recipes will be up for Friday Baking with NotQuiteJuneCleaver!

NOW for the apron giveaway! Check out The Secret Stitch Club’s ALL THINGS LIME recipe and giveaway! Here’s a sneak peek:

Now get over there and enter to win!!!

I guess this is all for today.  See you tomorrow with new recipes!

Erika from  High Mountain Creations !  Congrats!

We are rocking right along now aren’t we?  Week four of the new (and hopefully improved) Friday Baking with  NotQuiteJuneCleaver.  Lots to talk about this morning, but first, “THANK YOU” to all who are participating in this little event.  As always comments for the “RedNeck Macaron/Challah” week ends this morning at 8 a.m. CST.  Your new challenge recipes are YUMMY so… HAPPY BAKING!

In honor of Independence Day our theme this week is Red, White and Blue.  One ingredient in each of the three recipes ~ one savory, one sweet and the Bonus Recipe will be either Red, White or Blue. And since July is National Blueberry Month your first recipe is for one amazing Fresh Blueberry Pie!

Recipe One: Fresh Blueberry Pie

If this recipe were any easier, it would have come in a box!  Simple ingredients, simple directions, AMAZING pie!  And before you ask…Rachel took these photos and I know I am biased but aren’t they beautiful? I am so excited that she and my older daughter are doing all the photos for our cookbook project…which by the way is going slower than I would like…but you expected that by now, right?  But it is coming together!  Without further delay here is your recipe for Fresh Blueberry Pie

• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• juice and grated zest from 1/2 medium lemon
• 5 cups fresh or frozen thawed blueberries, rinsed well
• pastry for 2-crust pie (my favorite recipe, you can cut it in half or freeze the extra for later)
  
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces

Preparation:In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon juice and grated rind, and blueberries. Roll out half of the pastry; line an 9-inch pie pan and trim edges. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and dot with small pieces of butter. Roll out remaining pastry to about 1/8 inch thick. Cover pie; trim, turn edge under and crimp. Cut a few vents in top of crust to allow steam to escape (didn’t think about it in time or I would have used one of my pie birds). Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. For best slicing results, let the pie cool before slicing.  We couldn’t wait!

Recipe Two: Stuffed Tomatoes

This is a recipe I have not made before this week.  I have tomatoes EVERYWHERE!  And this sounds so good! I love stuffed bell peppers so why not tomatoes?  I can tell you right now there are members of my family who will remain nameless :cough: Hannah and Husband :cough: who wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole and would likely get “the look” on their faces if I suggested it.  However, I think they sound YUMMY!  So I made them before Husband arrived home.  Plus, I wanted to be sure they were as good as they sounded.  I cut the recipe by 2/3s  since likely Rachel and I would be the only partakers. And we LOVED these.  They are definitely a “make again” recipe!  Just had no idea baked tomatoes would takes so good.

• 6 large tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped (I used about 1/2 a jalapeno and a few tsp diced chillies…much more mild)
  
• 3 cups cooked rice (great way to use leftover rice)
  
• 6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, crumbled
• salt and pepper, to taste
• soft buttered bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese ( I used Mozzarella and it was terrific)

Cut off top of tomatoes and scrape pulp out of inside, leaving a firm shell. Add pulp to skillet with the bell pepper, onion and jalapeno pepper. Cook covered over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add rice and bacon and season to taste. Stuff this back into the tomatoes and sprinkle with bread crumbs and shredded cheese. Place tomatoes in a casserole or baking dish with about 1/4 cup of water to keep them from sticking. Cook in oven at 425° for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.
Serves 6.

Now for your Bonus Recipe!

This is absolutely the most simple bread recipe IN THE WORLD!  And represents the WHITE in this weeks theme.

My French Baguettes

* 2 cups very warm water
* 1 package dry yeast (Rapid Rise)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 4 cups flour

Run the water in your faucet until it gets very warm. Many people worry that water that is too warm will kill the yeast and keep it from rising, but in his book The Complete New Book of Breads, Bernard Clayton, Jr. said that with today’s fast-rising yeast, the water temperature can be between 120 and 130 degrees. The warmer the water is, the faster the dough will rise. Pour 1/4 cup of water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Mix and let the mixture set while you measure and mix the flour and salt into the bowl for your mixer if you have a mixer with a dough hook and a large bowl if you plan to hand knead.  Make a well in the flour and pour the water and yeast mixture in the hole. Slowly pour another 1 3/4 cup of warm water into the flour and mix well. With a dough hook, knead the dough for ten minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should feel damp and slightly firm, but not sticky. If it’s sticky, add a little more flour and continue kneading.  If hand kneading put a little flour on your counter or cutting board. Pick up one side of the dough and push it into the other side with the heels of your hand. Rotate the dough and repeat the action. Continue rotating and pushing the dough with your hands for ten minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until it doubles in size. Press the dough down and divide it into two pieces. With your hands, make two long, smooth loaves about two inches thick and about twelve inches long. Place the loaves on a greased pan and let them rise again for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450°. When the loaves have doubled in size, make three or four diagonal slashes with a sharp knife. About five minutes before the loaves are ready to cook, put about 1/2 cup of water in a pan on the lowest rack of your oven. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 25 or 30 minutes.

If Husband is making this bread he uses an egg wash and spritzes the loaves with water every 10 minutes during baking and they ARE CRUSTY.  I usually just bake it.  I don’t mind the softer crust.

This is simple enough to do several times a week.  Which I don’t…but always plan to!

After last Thursday’s “heavy” post I thought I would give you a break!  I am feeling rather giddy today as Husband is on his way home!  He called from Paris at 5:30 and he was about to board the plane for Atlanta.  If all goes as scheduled, I will see him step thru that gate at 9 tonight.  A month is a very long time when he is gone, and OH SO short when he is home.

Don’t forget tomorrow is Friday Baking Day…closing comments for this challenge, new recipes added!  And you will LOVE the new recipes! As you can tell I am in a bit of a rush today…things to do!  But I have tomorrow’s post ready and waiting…and then remember the drawing for June will be on the last day of the month! Hey, why don’t you invite your friends to join us for Friday Baking fun?!

AND it is full steam ahead on International Overall Day this coming November.  The interest is there, people are making contact and there is a flickr group started!  I will post more about all the overall happenings next week. I am gathering more pictures to share and hopefully will have some fun stuff to share then.

Until tomorrow I will leave you with another photo to enjoy!

I really don’t have time to make a post today.  Husband is headed home and I have work to do and preparations to make.  But I will leave you this for your view pleasure.

Courtesy of Rachel

In amongst all my weeding, picking veggies and watering, I whipped up this flower pot tree:

I got the idea here. Now how I ended up there is still a mystery.  I was surfing and thought HOW CUTE IS THAT!  I wasn’t looking for a project but again with the serendipity!  The only slightly difficult part was getting the pipe down far enough.  Thankfully my oldest son was here and helped me with that part.  I think it is very whimsical.

Have a great “whatsleftofyour” weekend!

Hello again! Just a couple of things before we get started this morning.  First, you still have until 8 a.m. CST to get your recipes posted for the Brioche, Cream Puffs or Focaccia.  Second, a big hug and thank you to everyone who left me a sweet, supportive comment yesterday.  I don’t want anyone to get the impression my feelings were hurt over anything that was said before.  I was mostly “laying my cards on the table” and coming to the defense of anyone who takes the time and effort to keep a blog and has met with the same or probably worse behavior.  Nonetheless, THANK YOU for being so kind and I do appreciate the time you spend here.

Now without further ado, here are your new recipes. Comments will be closed on the recipes posted on June 12th for the week of June 12-19 at 8 a.m. CST this morning (can you believe I am a little ahead!? Me either!). Thanks to those who participated! I hope you enjoy the next two recipes PLUS a Bonus Recipe! As last week, one is sweet, one is savory.  If you have any questions that cannot be answered by reading the Friday Baking page, email me or leave a note.  Happy Baking Everyone!

Recipe One:

Rachel’s Redneck Macarons

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 3/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1/4 cup unsalted  butter at room temp
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift both flours, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, at medium speed, beat the butter and powdered sugar until smooth and lightened slightly in color (about 1 minute).  Stope the mixer and scrape the sides.  Add the vanilla and mix until blended.  On low speed add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated and smooth.

For each cookie, roll a level teaspoon in to a smooth ball.  pLace the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheet spacing them two inches apart.  Use a fork and gently flatten the cookies into a 1 1/4″ disk.  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and the cookie bottoms are slight browned – about 30 minutes.  The tops of the cookies should not color.  Repeat with the second pan.  Cool on the pan 10 minutes and them using a wide spatula, gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling: In a medium bowl use a wooden spoon to stir the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth.  Stir in chips.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up and using a thin spreader, smooth a rounded teaspoon of filling gently and evenly over each one.  Place the remaining cookie halves right side up on the filling and press VERY gently.

What a sandwich cookie!! The name just popped out of Rachel’s mouth when we asked her what they were.  The do resemble the lovely and delectable French Macarons which is your Bonus Recipe for this week!

Recipe Two:

Challah

5 cups unbleached white bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 TBSP yeast
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream ( I almost always use homemade yogurt)
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup butter softened
1 egg beaten for glaze

Warm the milk/yogurt together to 90 degrees. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Put the yeast in the well and add the warm milk/yogurt mixture. Mix to disolve with your fingers. Add the beaten egg and butter. Mix to form a dough. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until soft and shiny. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl covered with oiled plastic wrap, in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface, punch down and form into a ball. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece into a rope about 10 ” x 1 “. You may have to work slowly with a little rest in between so as not to stretch the dough to quickly.

To make the dough into a braid, press the four ropes together on one end, giving them a little twist and tuck for neatness.

Counting from your left, fold strand 1 over strand 2, 3 over 1 and 4 under 1 and 4 over 3. Repeat until you reach the end. As you work the strands will probably lengthen. Nip and tuck the second end in the same way you did the first. Place finished loaf on a greased baking sheet, cover wtih oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oven to 400.

Brush loaf with the second beaten egg and bake in the center of the oven for 35-45 minutes

Cool on wire rack.

This bread but lovely served with any meal. We spread with honey butter. Delicious! If there is left overs it makes great toast or sandwiches, or even French Toast!

Bonus Recipe: French Macarons

(this is a previous post from back in Jan ‘08 – there is a short update at then end after we ate REAL Parisian Macarons)

Not the “pour one can of sweetened condensed milk over 5 cups of coconut, stir and drop by tsp onto cookie sheet” macaroons. The REAL macaroons. The macaroons like people stand in line for in Paris. Now I won’t lead you to believe that I would know if my macaroons were as good or even close to the same as THOSE macaroons. But I will say this…if THOSE macaroons are better than MY macaroons well, no wonder people stand in line for them. These were delectable! Hey! Ladurée has been making macaroons since 1862 and I have been making them since…Sunday morning so why not compare????

Now a small confession: I almost croaked from eating them. Yep, severely allergic to almonds – only the KEY ingredient in macaroons. I think if I had just eaten a baked and filled one, slowly savoring every bite, I might not have had to pop two Benadryl and take a sleep in the middle of having dinner guests. But nooooo, I had to lick the bowl after we had them in the oven. Look, they were amazing, okay? Truly the best cookie or cake as Ladurée calls them. This is from their website:

The story of the Macaroon

These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are the most famous creation of Ladurée.

The story of the Ladurée macaroon starts with Pierre Desfontaines, distant cousin of Louis Ernest Ladurée, who at the beginning of the 20th century first thought of taking two macaroon shells and joining them with a delicious ganache filling. The way of making them has never changed since that time.

These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are made every morning in Ladurée’s “laboratory”. The pastry chefs measure out very precisely the required amounts of almonds, eggs and sugar, before adding one final ingredient, a pinch of unique “know-how”, essential to the making of such a delicacy.

Once cooked and filled, the macaroons are put to one side for 2 days before going on sale, the time it takes to achieve a perfect balance between texture and flavour.

Macaroons come in two sizes: the mini-macaroon or “gerbet” and full-size macaroons.

With each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to this its most famous creation by creating a new flavour.
The existing range of macaroons is always the starting point when a new one is created, as the variety of colours is as important as the range of flavours and a vital part of their appeal.

I don’t really know how they wait two days to eat them but whatever.  There aren’t any more here!  Below is the recipe I used with a few pictures of the process.  A tutorial if you like.  In the next week or so I am going to make some using pecans instead of almonds and just see if it works and what the differences are.  I want so much to enjoy these cookies periodically but don’t want the whole allergic reaction, pop benadryl, become comatose for 2-5 hours, feel like I have been hit by a truck for 12-18 hours, all the while making 15-20 trips to “the little girls’ room” .  So I must improvise.  Then again maybe moderation would help.  So do you think a town of 2889 is ready for a Macaron Shoppe??? Me neither.   Until they are I will keep just making them for my friends and family.  Though at $2 each in the few US bakeries I could find that made them…it might be something to think about!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 sticks (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ( I used vanilla bean paste and it was yummy!)

Macaroons
• 1-3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or other flavoring or combination (again I used vanilla bean paste – I love the pretty brown flecks)
• 1-1/2 cups (4 ounces) sliced almonds, finely ground, or almond flour
• the whites of 3 large eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 recipe Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Sift confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Whisk in ground almonds; set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy; add salt. Gradually add granulated sugar 1 teaspoon at a time, until the whites reach medium-soft peaks. Transfer to a large bowl.

Sprinkle half of the sugar-almond mixture over the egg-white mixture. Using a large rubber spatula fold until just incorporated. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and remaining sugar-almond mixture, folding until just incorporated. Firmly tap the bottom of the bowl on a counter or work surface to eliminate any air pockets.

Transfer mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (I didnt have a tip this size so I just use the coupler without a tip…worked fine – or so Rachel said! ). Pipe mixture into 1 1/2  – 2 inch circles on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until macaroons feel slightly firm to the touch and can be gently lifted off the parchment (the bottoms will be dry), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer parchment and macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely.

Carefully remove macaroons from parchment. Spread Swiss Meringue buttercream on the flat sides of the half of macaroons; sandwich with the other halves, keeping flat sides down.

Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes, before serving. Filled cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (This is comical isn’t it? The recipe made about  48 halves or 24 filled cookies so, I have no idea how long they will last in the frig!)

Isn’t this a beautiful cookie????

And I was right…they weren’t nearly as hard to make as one would imagine.   Family consensus – they were lovely, delicious, oh so good but Cream Wafers are still the favorite.

When we were in Paris we did eat Macarons…and honestly…liked ours better.