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I used to live in Utah not so long ago. And for the first 6 (of my 7) years of my residence there, I thought I hated Utah, because I could not handle all of the snow every winter.
In retrospect, the school years weren’t so awful. I lived pretty close to campus, so the walk on the freshly shoveled sidewalks really wasn’t so bad if you wore the right shoes. And let’s face it… I always had the option to skip class if the weather was just that bad.
But the years that I worked at Enterprise………. I don’t even have the words for my utter loathing of Utah wintertime during that time. We’re talking tears, raging emotional fits, and downright temper-tantrums.
Why? Oh, because when you work at Enterprise (and I’m sure a great many other places) in Utah during the wintertime, there is no such thing as being warm or dry. It’s a never ending, day-after-day cycle of trudging out in the snow for customer after customer from 7am to 6pm. And there’s no such thing as driving to work and staying put for the day– you’re the first ones out on the roads, on the highway, going through twisty neighborhoods in poorly equipped cars during ice, snow, hail, and whatever else the sky throws at you. Forget the post-office, Enterprise employees will work through anything!
Anyway. There I was. Thinking that I hated Utah so much and dreaming of home in the South.
And then I had my baby and quit my job.
And all of a sudden wintertime turned into cuddles in bed until well after snowplows had come through, waiting until my car was good and warm and defrosted before hopping in, cozy hot chocolate dates with my working friends at Starbucks during their lunch breaks, and watching the snow fall from my window with a movie on in the background.
Pure bliss.
So it turns out that I don’t really hate Utah winters that much after all (although I still much prefer our milder Southern winters). Apparently I just hate having a full-time, outside-of-the-house job. Which makes meso grateful that I get to stay home and work. And that preschool doesn’t start until 9am. And that my daughter still cuddles with me in bed as we watch the falling snow and listen to the Frozen soundtrack…
I’m trying to keep those grateful thoughts in mind as this endless-frigging-winterrefuses to end. But seriously… It is March, right?! Tell me I’m not alone in thinking that thishas to be the longest winter EVER??
But instead of getting angry, I’ve decided to be productive: it’s time to post endless Spring-time desserts! Starting with MACAROONS! Is there a more epic spring-time dessert ingredient than coconut? If there is, I don’t know it.
….meh, okay. Maybe lemon. Lemon is pretty epic (and I’ve got loads of it coming your way soon).
But besides lemon– is there anything better than coconut to usher in some (hopefully) warmer weather?!
Macaroons are INSANELY easy to make and even easier to devour. I like mine dipped in chocolate and sprinkled on pistachios and almonds (because… you know… I have taste buds, sooooo…), but that’s totally optional if you’re looking for a simpler route. These are mixed and baked in under 30, and cooled and ready to eat in less than an hour.
They are the slightest bit golden brown crunchy on the outside and chewy delicious on the inside. If you’ve never made macaroons, don’t wait a second longer! Show winter who’s boss and grab a bag of coconut on your next trip to the store.
Products I used in the making…
Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Yield: 12 (4-inch) or 24 (2-inch)
Ingredients
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
14 ounce bag shredded sweetened coconut
2 egg whites
1 cup melted chocolate for dipping or drizzling
1 cup chopped nuts or sprinkles to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
In a large bowl, pour most* of the can of sweetened condensed milk in the bowl. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the coconut and mix well.
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently mix the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Use a cookie scoop (with a release) to portion out mounds of the mixture onto the lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking around 20 minutes to prevent burning. Let cool completely before dipping in chocolate or serving.
Notes
*The original recipe calls for using 10.5 ounces of the sweetened condensed milk. I just poured the can "quickly" without scraping the sides or bottom, and it was a perfect amount.
A macaron is a meringue-based sandwich cookie that is tinted with food coloring.A macaroon is a drop cookie made with shredded coconut. The preparation for these two cookies is also very different. Macarons require multiple steps and painstaking precision, while a batch of coconut macaroons is very easy to prepare.
French macarons are softer with chewy shells and more subtly sweet taste, giving you more of that distinct almond flavour. Whereas Italian macarons are more crisp, even powdery at times and have a more pronounced sweet taste. A trained eye may even be able to tell the difference simply by looking at them.
Unlike most bakery treats, macarons are not made with all-purpose wheat flour, which even a home cook can pick up at the supermarket for less than 50 cents a pound. Instead, they're made with almond flour, which costs more than nine times as much—and that's at Costco.
Salted caramel is probably the most popular macaron flavor. The filling is sweet, due to the caramel. The pinch of salt add this slight punch that will wake up your taste buds.
Macaroon is an English derivation of the french word "Macaron". The most popular story of this treat is an American twist of french macaron. Thanks to Indian imports in the 1800s, coconut became a hot item for bakers. It was quickly used to reinvent the original macaron recipe.
Proper Scottish Macaroons are a potato fondant, dipped in chocolate and coated in coconut. The potato part is quite random but as potatoes are mostly water (about 80%, according to my fact-checking Google search), they actually make a pretty perfect fondant base, alongside of tonne of icing sugar.
In the following sections, we'll explore why parchment paper is ideal compared to other materials used for baking and maybe discover an alternative you may not have considered. Baking parchment is an exceptional option when making macarons in your oven as it is silicone treated giving it non-stick properties.
A macaron is a sandwich-like cookie that's filled with jam, ganache, or buttercream.A macaroon is a drop cookie made using shredded coconut. The preparation for each of these cookies is incredibly different, even though they start out with many of the same ingredients.
Macarons can help you stay within your recommended daily calorie intake if they're eaten in moderation. A single macaron may contain less than 90 calories, and snacking on only a couple of these treats at a time shouldn't add to your waistline.
If your macaron batter is overmixed this will also cause your shells to crack. To recap: if your shells keep cracking, the four main things you can try are - mix the batter less, dry the shells for longer before baking, and bake the macaron shells at a lower temperature, undecorated, for longer.
Macarons are the French adaptation of the Italian macaroon, and according to Food Network, they were first created in France after the King's Italian wife brought over a chef from Italy. Therefore they can be traced back to the same origin: that Italian maccarone “cake or biscuit.”
Why do so many people mispronounce the French confection called “macaron” as “macaroon”? Probably because there are two cookies with almost identical names, and very similar ingredients. If you don't speak French, the two words look very similar.
There's bound to be confusion about macaroons vs. macarons when there are two cookies with such similar names, but the truth is macarons (pronounced "mack-ah-ROHN") and macaroons (pronounced "mack-ah-ROON") couldn't be more distinctive looking and tasting.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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