Peppermint Chocolate Macarons

These little babies will steal the show at any holiday party! And I know what you're gonna say, but Jenna, macarons are a bitch to make, and I'll never be able to do it! I will agree, that sometimes she's a little persnickety, but if you treat her right, she'll treat you right. So let's get into how to make that happen! 

This recipe makes 24-30 small macarons. 

For the Macaron Shells: *This is by weight, and yes, you HAVE to weigh it
1 part egg whites - 64 grams (2 egg whites for me)
1.5 part almond flour - 96 grams (64 from egg whites x 1.5)
0.8 part granulated sugar - 51 grams
1.5 part powdered sugar - 96 grams
Green food coloring
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 or 2 drops of peppermint extract (this shit is STRONG, and you will add more into the buttercream, so caution here)

**White chocolate optional for decorations. 

1. Prepare two cookie sheets with a silicon  mat or parchment paper with circles (or in this case Christmas trees) marked out in pencil (if you do this, obviously flip the parchment over so that you aren't piping into pencil marks). Also prepare a piping bag with large round tip (or just put a whole in the tip of the bag).

2. In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, start mixing egg whites. Don't mix them on too high of a speed (no higher than 6 on a kitchenaid). While this starts out, move to the next step.

3. Sift together almond flour, powdered sugar in a bowl. *I just put my bowl on my food scale and poured through my sifter until the right weight because I'm lazy.* Put aside until the egg whites are finished.

4. After the egg whites have started to foam up, add cream of tartar. *this is just to help stabilize the merengue, so you can leave it out if you want.

5. Start adding in the granulated sugar to the foamy egg whites a bit at a time. Let mixer keep whipping until you get to stiff peaks, like you see in the picture.

6. Take the bowl off of the stand mixer- we are going by hand for the rest of this. Pour in about half of your dry ingredients into the egg whites, the drops of peppermint extract, and the green food coloring. You'd think you have to be gentle here because it's egg whites and you don't want to lose all that air. Nah. You can mix the shit of out of this; it's okay.

7. Pour the second half of dry ingredients in and keep mixing. Here you can be a bit more gentle. You want to keep mixing until it looks glossy and it ribbons back on itself. You're looking for the batter to incorporate back into itself within about 15-20 seconds. When I think I'm done, I always do a few more stirs to make sure.

8. Once ready, pour batter into the piping bag and pipe out circle macarons or you can try your hand at the tree. As you can see below, I just did little circles close together 1-2-3-1 down the line. 

9. Make sure to bang the tray on the counter several times to get the air bubbles out and allow to cure for about 30 minutes or so (this time can vary wildly- you're looking for the surface to be matte instead of shiny, and when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your finger.

10. Once you pipe, this is a great time to preheat the oven to 350F. BEFORE you put them in the oven, drop to 325F. I would only bake one sheet at a time. I tried double once. It doesn't work out well. Anyway, bake for 10-12 minutes. If you can lightly touch it and the macaron doesn't move on it's base, it should be done.

11. Once cool to the touch, melt white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at 15 second intervals until smooth. Place in a piping bag and cut a SMALL hole at the tip. Pipe any designs you want on the trees (you can decorate just one or both sides) and allow to cool completely before filling with the buttercream. 

For the buttercream:

5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 c powdered sugar
1/8 c cocoa powder
A few drops of peppermint extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt (to taste)

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, put in butter. Slowly add powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the butter.

2. Add peppermint extract, vanilla, and salt into the mix. Check for taste and consistency- if it feels too thick, add a splash of milk or heavy cream. 

Assembly: 

1. Put the buttercream in a piping bag and cut the tip off. 

2. Try to match up the macaron sizes beforehand so that you know which trees will fit as closely together as possible. 

3. Pipe buttercream onto one macaron shell and sandwich them together. 

4. Store in an air-tight container (on the counter or in the fridge is fine- they'll last longer in the fridge though). 

Cranberry White Chocolate Mousse Parfait

I've been in a little rut with baking lately, and really this isn't even baking (just some cooking), but it felt good to get into the kitchen and make something that feels festive and easy! These individual desserts start with a graham cracker crumb, cranberry compote infused with rosemary, and a decadent white chocolate mousse to top it off. 

This recipe makes 6-7 ramekins (or whatever glassware you choose to make it in). In fact, I think the more different glasses or tea cups you use, the better! This is also a pretty easy recipe that has a few different parts, AKA it's perfect to do with some helping hands (even if those helping hands aren't very kitchen savvy). 

For the cranberry compote:

12 oz fresh cranberries (reserve a few for the garnish later)

1 orange, juice and zest

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 c granulated sugar

1. Ready 6-7 glasses, jars, ramekins, tea cups, whatever you like. I just put them on a baking sheet so they're easier to transfer to the fridge later for chilling. 

2. Now let's start with the cranberry compote because it will need to cool a bit before assembly. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

3. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes until the cranberries have burst and the compote thickens.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool before assembly (I popped it in the fridge to speed up this process). 

For the graham cracker crust:

1 sleeve (8 crackers) of graham crackers, crushed

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of salt 

1. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl until it resembles wet sand.

2. Gently press into the ramekins/jars to create a crust. I used the back of a measuring cup to push it down. Set aside for later. 

For the white chocolate mousse:

2 c heavy whipping cream

1 c white chocolate chips (or chopped)

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1. In a small heat-proof bowl, combine white chocolate, salt, and 1/2 c of the heavy whipping cream. 

2. Melt in the microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring after each 15 seconds until white chocolate is fully melted (you don't want to over-heat this, so you know, gentle touches). 

3. It will look like it's not going to come together, but it will. Whisk until fully combined, and add the vanilla extract. Set aside until the mixture comes to room temperature. 

4. While that's cooling, pop the bowl of your stand mixer into the freezer to chill. 

5. Once the chocolate is cooled, set it aside and grab the bowl from the freezer. Add in the remaining 1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream and whip on high until you reach stiff peaks. 

6. Slowly stream in the white chocolate mixture until combined. 

Assembly:

1. Grab the prepared glasses with graham cracker crust and equally divide the cranberry compote among them. Smooth into a layer (this is where a clear glass is fun because you can see the layers). 

2. Top each glass with the white chocolate mousse. Pop into the fridge for several hours to firm up (at least three hours, but you can definitely make this a day beforehand as well and leave it to set up overnight). 

Garnish:

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/4 c water

10 (ish) cranberries (reserved from earlier)

Extra granulated sugar for dusting

1. While you patiently wait for the mousse to be ready, you can make the garnish. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water until dissolved. 

2. Throw the cranberries in and cook for a minute or two. Pull them out and throw them into a small bowl of granulated sugar just to coat (they're VERY sticky).

 3. Allow to cool and harden completely. I'd hold off on topping until you're about to serve so the cranberries don't bleed everywhere. 

4. Also add some white chocolate shavings and a small sprig of rosemary if you want. I know, I know, no one is going to eat the rosemary sprig, but come at me. It's cute and festive. I do what I want. 

5. Also, also, save that cranberry simple syrup for some delicious cocktails! 

Apple Cider Bundt Cake

You know those apple cider donuts that are coated in crunchy cinnamon sugar? Yeah, same vibe in a bundt cake. I don't really feel like I need to say more about this to get you on board. You're sold. Let's move on!

For the cake batter:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c granulated sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

6 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Granny Smith apples

2 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 c plain yogurt (Greek or regular, or even sour cream)

1/4 c apple cider 

1. Prepare bundt pan with goop and preheat oven to 325F.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together. 

3. While those are creaming, in a separate bowl, grate the two apples on a box grater and set aside. 

4. In the stand mixer, add in the eggs one at a time, incorporating fully before adding the next one. 

5. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and spices). Pour 1/3 of the dry mix into the butter mixture. 

6. Add in the yogurt. 

7. Add second third of the dry ingredients. 

8. Add the apple cider. 

9. Finish with the last of the dry ingredients. 

10. Fold in the grated apple. 

11. Pour (I use this term loosely- she thick) batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

12. Allow to cool slightly before turning out of the pan. 

For the coating:

1/8 c unsalted butter, melted

1/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.

2. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire cake with butter (I would recommend doing this in sections because that butter will soak into the cake, and we need it for sticking the sugar to). 

3. Dust with the cinnamon sugar. 

4. Allow to cool completely before eating. Might I suggest with a cup of coffee or some warm apple cider. Yeeees, it's all coming together my friends. Enjoy!