This past summer, I pained myself through batch after batch of failed macarons.  To my knowledge, I was doing nothing out of the ordinary and was devastated when I pulled from the oven one cracked baking sheet after the next.  As I attempted to troubleshoot my problems away on YouTube, I started to convince myself of all sorts of things; I was over mixing, under mixing, my egg whites weren’t aged long enough…etc.  Had I lost my touch [not that I really had the touch to begin with] ?!  Would I able to ever make a decent batch again?

With my confidence shot and Mike’s hopes for my success high, this weekend I attempted my first batch of the post summer season.  They were miles better than my previous flops.  Mike’s theory, as it had been since failed batch #1, was that the humidity in the summer air killed my macarons.  Perhaps he was right.  However, before I share this win,  I wanted to share one of my salvaged batches; all thanks to a blow torch!

These macarons were originally made for our summer send off weekend at the lake; so naturally I made them s’more flavoured.  Instead of a ganache or  buttercream filling, sandwiched between the cookies were marshmallows.

M A R S H M A L L O W S
[adapted from the Bouchon Bakery recipe]

• 1/2C powdered sugar
• 1/2C corn starch
• 4 sheets / 9.6g gelatine sheets
• 1/4C + 2Tbsp [87g] egg whites
• 1C + 2Tbsp [225g] granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2Tbsp light corn syrup
• nonstick spray/oil
• thermometer
• mixer
• baking sheet/pan
• sheet of acetate
• milk chocolate cut into small pieces
• hand torch

For the rest of the instructions click here
**skip the step involving lemon zest + yellow food colour
**when spreading the marshmallow on the tray aim to flatten it to 1/4″.  I couldn’t quite get it that thin so I flattened it to 1/2″ and when dried, I sliced each piece in half to achieve the 1/4″.  
**when the marshmallows are dried and powdered, with a circle cutter the size of your macaron shell [about 1.5″] dipped in the powdered sugar/cornstarch mix cut out circles
**with a smaller circle cutter or with your fingers  cut out a who through the centre of each marshmallow circle

macaron recipe
this batch came out soft and lumpy

To assemble, layer the marshmallow atop one macaron shell and place a piece of chocolate into the centre hole
with a torch, slightly melt the marshmallow and the chocolate and sandwich with the pairing macaron 
once assembled, torch the top + bottom + 1 side of the macaron 

I think the charred lumps and bumps made the macarons look more s’more-y!

…meanwhile

With Christmas dinner upon us, I was in the mood for a FBS snack on the not-so-fried side.  And as usual, thanks to Mike, I got exactly what I wanted; chips + dip + dip + dip!  All my fave dips in 1 bowl.

R E F R I E D  B E A N S | dip 1

• 2C dried black beans
• 3 cloves garlic | peeled
• 1 shallot | peeled + thinly sliced
• 3Tbsp olive oil
• 1Tbsp salt + pepper

soak beans overnight, and drain
place into a stock pot, add enough water to cover by 2inches | cook on med-high heat until tender then drain
in another stock pot, on high heat, add oil + onion + shallot | cook for 1min and add beans
fry until a slight colour develops [occasionally stirring] adding salt + pepper to taste
beans will start to soften and become a mash | once fully mashed, set aside

G U A C A M O L E | dip 2

• 3 ripe avocados | diced
• 1 shallot | thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic | thinly diced
• 2 limes squeezed for juice
• 2Tbsp cilantro | roughly chopped
• 1/2Tbsp salt + pepper

place all ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork until smooth and chunky
add more salt + pepper to taste as needed

S A L S A | dip 3

• 16 grape tomatoes | halved
• 1/2 shallot | thinly sliced
• 1/2 jalapeño | thinly sliced
• 1/2 clove garlic | thinly diced
• 1/2Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lime squeezed for juice
• 2Tbsp Valentina hot sauce

add all ingredients in a bowl + mix
let sit for 1hr allowing the flavours to combine

in a medium-large sized serving bowl, with a spatula, pour the bean dip into 1 side of the bowl and the guacamole into the other
spread the salsa on top of both dips 
garnish with a large sprig of cilantro and serve

P I T A  C H I P S

• bag of whole wheat pita bread rounds
• 2Tbsp olive oil
• salt
• cayenne pepper

cut rounds into triangles and toss with olive oil to lightly coat
lay onto baking sheet ensuring no pieces are touching or overlapping 
sprinkle salt + cayenne to lightly cover each chip
bake in over @ 350ºF until slightly brown and fully crisp

Happy December everyone! I’m saving calories for Christmas dinner.

Yay Christmas!!!