A full moon + an empty condo + a week to myself.  Mike left on Monday for a trip to Vancouver; a trip which culminated with a weekend stay on an island just north of Nanaimo at an oyster farm.  Of course I, the oyster lover, was absolutely jealous and remained jealous with every Instagram post and picture message that Mike sent.  On the plus side, with Mike away, I had ample time to watch all the movies and TV shows of my choosing, eat all the takeaway sushi and cherry blasters my stomach could handle and bake with the entire kitchen surface all to myself.

Mike gets back Sunday evening, and though he has left me alone for Easter dinner, Shereen has taken me in.  I shall be the orphan who shows up for dinner with a box of macarons.

M A C A R O N S

When the Easter macaron flavour brainstorm started, I had a whole list of ideas.  However, when the time came to bake, I wanted nothing more than milk chocolate.  Easter is the one time of year I get to indulge and pig out on family size bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs; my favourite!  This batch of cookies was nothing complicated.  With a few drops of blue colouring + a sprinkling of cocoa powder + milk chocolate you have robin’s egg inspired macarons ready for Easter dinner.

…cookies/shells recipe…
**once the shells have been piped, sprinkle cocoa powder onto the surface of each 

…ganache…
170g of milk chocolate
1/4 + 1/8c whipping cream

in a sauce pan add whipping cream and bring to a simmer on low-med heat
while the cream is heating, in a double boiler, begin to melt the milk chocolate
when the cream has reached a simmer, add it to the chocolate | remove from heat and stir until combined and smooth
pour mixture into a shallow dish | let ganache cool to room temp
cover with plastic wrap directly touching the ganache surface | place in the fridge for 2hrs [until mix thickens] to overnight
when ready, pull the ganache from the fridge and let sit for 15-20 mins
transfer to a pipping bag and start filling your macarons [work quickly, as the ganache will start to melt]

Fingers crossed that Mike surprises me with a box of oysters.

Happy Easter!