FBS12: a spot of tea + a dash of christmas

Anxiety was building once Halloween ended and as American Thanksgiving neared. My tree wasn’t up and the only signs of holiday in our condo were the rolls of wrapping paper I pulled out from the closet and the box of early gifts I purchased throughout the year. Those who are familiar with my overly eager Christmas punctuality know that my tree is up earlier than later to ensure that I get every second out of the holidays. Fortunately, my anxiety ended just before our American neighbours broke bread over turkey and candied yams; I got my tree up and decorated!

This faux tree has been with Mike + me now for over 5 years. It’s travelled from Winnipeg to Toronto and will likely hang around for the remainder of our condo Christmases. Each year in the guise of a gift in Mike’s stocking, I gift our tree with a new whimsical, usually food related, ornament. Last year it was pizza and the year before it was a hamburger. And though I try to limit my new ornaments to 1 [the one in Mike’s stocking], I often skip up a couple more before and after the holidays.

Amongst the newest of my ornaments are 2 felted critters from West Elm; a little piggy and a penguin – both handmade + fair-trade from Nepal.

With my tree decorated and gifts wrapped, the final piece of my holiday puzzle were the baked goods. Last Christmas, I gave out boxes of, perhaps the best looking macarons I have ever baked. However, as mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been going through a bit of a macaron slump. None of my batches were working out and with Christmas in less than a month, anxiety episode #2 was setting in.

Whenever Mike makes fresh pasta, I am left with containers of egg whites. Not wanting to let the egg whites from his last dinner of noodles go to waste, I decided I’d try another batch of macarons. And to my surprise, they turned out pretty good!

Sticking to the flavours in my pantry, I attempted Earl Grey macarons infused with a tea I picked up from our last trip to the UK.

E A R L G R E Y M A C A R O N S

macaron recipe

filling

6Tbsp chilled Earl Grey milk
- 1/2Tbsp loose Earl Grey tea leaves
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
8Tbsp [4oz] butter | cube + @ room temp.
3 1/2C icing sugar

to prep the Earl Grey milk, in a small sauce pot combine heavy cream + loose tea leaves over low-med heat; occasionally stirring
remove pot from heat once milk scalds
let sit for 5 mins | occasionally stirring to prevent a skin from forming
strain into a bowl separating the leaves from the milk + ensuring to squeeze out all the liquid from the tea
pour into a bowl and let sit in the fridge to cool

in a mixer [with a whisk attachment] on medium speed, begin whipping the softened butter
gradually add in the icing sugar about 1/2C at a time
continue whipping until combined
gradually add in 6Tbsp of Earl Grey milk
continue whipping until fully combined and fluffy
scoop buttercream into a pipping bag and start filling your macarons