Using Up the Egg Whites

Time has been flying! I finally looked at my photo set and discovered that I never posted about some cookies I made a couple of weeks ago. Making two coconut cream pies had left me with quite a lot of egg whites. My favorite thing to do with egg whites is to make macrons. The crispy shell of the cookie shatters when you bite down, which is when you discover the chewy inside and the delicious filling.

I decided to make two flavors in one batch. The simple one was chocolate cookies and ganache filling. The second half was raspberry. I used some freeze dried raspberries to flavor them and raspberry jam for filling. Both are fairly traditional and not odd flavor combinations, but the chocolate goes well with the raspberry, so you could easily switch out the fillings and still have awesome macrons.

Since I didn't want all the seeds from the dried raspberries, I decided to grind them up with a little bit of powdered sugar and then put that through a fine mesh strainer. There are still tiny bits of raspberry in the cookie but no chunks that way. I forgot to add food coloring, so they are pale, pale pink. Pretty tasty, especially with the red jam as filling.

The part I often forget about is that you need to make the batter, pipe them onto the baking sheets, and then wait at least 30 minutes before you bake them. That helps create the little 'feet' and round smooth tops. My tops were not smooth and one batch had no feet, but they still were wonderful to eat.

Two Kinds of Macrons - Chocolate with Ganache and Raspberry with Raspberry Jam


Ingredients:
90 gr egg whites (about 3)
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
1/4 cup cocoa powder (Dutch process preferred) for the chocolate half of the batter
3 tablespoons freeze dried raspberries (or 2 tablespoons powdered raspberries)

Prepare the macrons: in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Divide meringue in half (in two bowls) if making two flavors from one batch as I did.

Place the half the almonds, half the powdered sugar and all of the cocoa in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to one bowl of meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes.

Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macrons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit.

Place 1/4 cup powdered sugar and all of the dried raspberries in the food processor and process until the raspberries are as fine as possible. Strain the mixture into a small bowl, discarding the pieces too large to go through a fine mesh strainer. (If using powdered raspberries, just add to the food processor and continue with recipe.) Place the strained mixture, half the almonds, and the remaining powdered sugar in the food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add this mixture to the second bowl of meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes.

Pipe this mixture the same way you piped the chocolate macrons. Let these sit out for 30 minutes too.

Preheat the oven to 280F and then bake macrons for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Remove from pan.

If you have trouble removing the baked macrons, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macrons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy.

Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. When ready, fill with ganache or jam.



Semisweet Chocolate Ganache Filling
Heat ¼ cup heavy cream in the microwave 1 minute on high power. Remove bowl from microwave and add 2 oz. of semisweet excellent quality chocolate that has been chopped finely. Stir with a small spatula, very gently, until chocolate melts and thoroughly combined. Avoid adding extra air.

Let cool 2-3 minutes, then put into a pastry bag and pipe about ½ tablespoon on half of the macarons on the flat side. Top with the other half of the macarons, rounded side up. Let the ganache firm up before serving.

Filling for Raspberry Macrons:
Fill them with best quality raspberry jam. Sandwich together as described above.

Even Better Sourdough Waffles and a Busy Week

Strawberry season is finally here! This year May has been the wettest and coldest on record, so the strawberries are later than usual, but the locally grown ones are sweet, juicy and oh so delicious. This week I paired them with freshly made, crisp and fragrant sourdough waffles for a breakfast to die for. Can you see how crisp these were?

I love waffles! Almost always if given a choice between pancakes and waffles, I'll choose waffles. I love that they have a crispy, crunchy exterior and soft interior when properly cooked. I love the golden color and their yeasty fragrance when you make them with sourdough starter or commercial yeast. I love the way the indents in the crust hold butter and/or syrup. Fortunately, Sweetie loves waffles, too.

One day this week I fed my starter and decided that I would also feed the "toss off" and make some waffles. The cup of discarded starter was mixed together with a soup make of 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and a little over 1/2 cup water, and 1 tablespoon sugar which had all been whisked until smooth. The new flour mixture provided new food for the little sourdough yeasties to eat and get happy.

About 4 hours later I added an additional 2 cups of flour (1 cup was whole wheat flour), 1/8 teaspoon instant dry yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then I whisked in 2 cups of milk and covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit out overnight to become an even better batter.

In the morning butter was melted and cooled, an egg was whisked and they were both added to the batter. To this point the process is very much like what I posted almost a year ago here. I guess there is something about the arrival of strawberry season that puts me into a waffle kind of mood!

The difference this time was that I had a leftover egg white to add. It warmed up while the melted butter was cooling, then I whisked the egg white in a clean bowl until it held a soft peak. The beaten egg white was then folded into the batter using a flexible spatula. Now the batter was ready to bake in the preheated waffle iron. The first one was a little short on the batter, but Sweetie enjoyed it anyway.

Not sure if the egg whites are responsible or not, but these were the crispiest waffles ever! They were addictive and we ate them with sliced fresh strawberries and a splash of maple syrup...no butter necessary with these beauties!

The busy week part began with the delightful visit from Flying Fingers and her hubby, was followed by a day where we set up a new storage structure and unloaded lumber and wainscot ting. Sweetie played tennis on Friday, but we also took down towel racks and shelving so that we can paint the bathroom.

We decided that the carpet in the vanity area of the bath is shot, so yesterday we removed the carpeting and installed new thresholds where carpeting is staying in the bedroom and hall. Let me tell you, removing the carpet tack strips was the hardest part for me. I'm a little sore today for all of that crowbar work.

Sweetie showed me how to prepare the threshold metal strip which keeps the remaining carpet edges in place. First you measure the door opening, then cut it to size with a hacksaw. Once cut you smooth the edges with a rasp and find the center point with a punch. Not shown is the hole he drilled with the drill press so that there was a screw hole near the end that had been cut. Once the threshold piece was screwed into place with two screws, he could cut the carpet with a utility knife. He then took out the screws and moved the metal threshold forward to cover the carpet edges, then screwed it down all across the threshold. This was repeated for the other doorway. All in a days work in getting ready to install new flooring in the bathroom.

I also spent some time in Home Depot looking at paint swatches since the walls will be getting a new coat of paint, and so will the trim. I've already decided to paint the trim a glossy bright white, which is what I'm doing throughout the house. I enjoy color so finding the perfect shade or shades of wall color is fun for me. Some possibles include a soft sage green, a pale greyed turquoise and a deep brassy green. I'm also looking at a soft sesame color similar to the hallway walls.

Saturday evening we were off to Healdsburg for a barbecue. I made dessert...with more strawberries. Will post about that soon.

XO Elle


NOTE: For those of you who can’t imagine having a single purpose item like a waffle iron, perhaps it helps that mine was from a garage sale and is eons old. It’s smallish and round and fits inside of a stew pot so it doesn't take up extra room in the cupboard. If it is still working when I die, my survivors will probably discard it, but for now it does the trick and produces nice circles of yummy, crispy waffles.

Amazing Overnight Waffles
adapted for sourdough starter and egg whites
from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe' Cookbook

Sponge:
1 cup sourdough starter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup water
Whisk together and let sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 2 hours

Batter:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
all of the sponge
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 egg white
Nonstick spray
Butter for the waffle iron
Sliced strawberry
Pure maple syrup – hard to resist on waffles
Songe: Whisk together all of the sponge ingredients and let sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 2 hours.

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl Add the sponge and whisk to combine. Add the milk and whisk until blended. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature (or put in the fridge if room temp. is over 70 degrees F.)

The next morning, preheat the waffle iron. Melt the 6 tablespoons butter and let cool a bit. Beat the egg is a small bowl (unnecessary if using egg substitute) then beat it into the batter along with the melted butter. Whisk the egg white until it forms soft peaks. Fold into the batter with a spatula.

Lightly spray the hot waffle iron with non stick spray, top and bottom plates, and then butter a piece of bread and use that to rub some butter on top and bottom plates.

Add just enough batter to cover the cooking surface…this varies by waffle iron…about 2/3 cup. Lower the top and cook until golden brown…it’s OK to check now and then. It takes about 2-3 minutes. You want it golden brown, but not dark brown.

Serve hot, right away, with strawberries, maple syrup, or toppings of your choice.

Note; If you have too many waffles for the number of people you are feeding, bake the leftover batter a little less than the ones you are eating, let cool on a baking rack, then freeze and store in the freezer tightly wrapped. Re-heat in the toaster.