There are two things I love about winter. Well, there are more than two things but only two of them a relevant to this post! Those two things are as follows:
1. Its cold enough that I can cook whatever I like, whenever I like, for as long as I like
2. I can wear my onesie!
Now, for the uninitiated, a onesie is possibly the most amazing item of sleepwear ever invented. It’s jim jams with feet! Last year, the Ginger Ninja, Helen the Melon and I all bought onesies to keep us toasty through winter. Because everyone laughed at us, we thought we would celebrate our warmth and amazing foresight together at our own exclusive Onesie Party. And thus, the Annual Onesie Party was born.
For our party this year, joined by the Lawyer (onesie-less im afraid), we decided that we would attempt to make macarons. Surely some of the awesomeness of our onesies would rub off on these notoriously difficult biscuits? Unfortunately not. While they were passable, they were not quite a success.
We were not blessed with amazing piping skills…
But they looked alright on the tray…
But when cooked they didn’t really have that crisp outer layer and melt in your mouth center. More of a crinkly, paper thin outer layer and a gooey but mostly hollow centre. And, lets face it, they look a little like baby hamburgers. Or is that just me?
They looked ok, but still not a success.
And, after a full day onesie-ing, catching up with friends and cooking, I was knackered and needed a rest
I will post the recipe below and maybe you will have more luck with it. However, the quest for macaron perfection WILL continue until I succeed! Do you have any tips for me my lovelies? I would love to hear from you!
Pink Macaroon Recipe (Yes, its written “Macaroon” in the book) – From Australian Women’s Weekly Cookies Cookbook
Ingredients
3 egg whites
2 tblspoons caster sugar
pink food colouring
1 1/4 cups (200g) icing sugar
1 cup (120g) almond meal
100g chocolate
2 tblspoon thickened cream
Method
1. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form
2. A sugar and food colouring and beat until sugar dissolves
3. Fold in sifted icing sugar and almond meal
4. Pipe mixture onto greased and lined trays
5. Bake at 150 degrees celsius for 20 mins
6. Cool on a wire rack
7. Melt the chocolate and stir in the cream
8. Sandwich macaroons with ganache
bahaha that last pic of you passed out on the floor absolutely cracked me up!
haha thanks suze 😀 it was a tiring day!
I too used to love the onesie, until I had to use the loo…then you pretty much have to get naked and for me, the bathroom is a chilly place
But hooray for cooking in Winter – having the oven and stove on is a good thing, but in Summer, it’s a killer.
I, unlike most, think macarons just aren’t worth the effort, they aren’t as tasty to me as say a chocolate brownie or even a pavlova. But good effort, they look awesome.
Aha I totally agree!! Give me a good fudgey brownie any day! But, after discovering the magic of the macaron in Paris, I felt I should attempt this culinary everest. I think I may have only progressed as far as base camp though 😛
And you’re right about the difficulties with the construction of the onesie, I think it needs a convenient flap… as unlady-like as that sounds!
When I left my last job, I was an awful maroon snuggie as a joke farewell gift. I wish they’d given me a onesie instead!
You’ve done a great job to reach the macaron base camp — I still haven’t planned my macaron expedition to the stage of buying supplies ;-).
(minithemeezer on vogue)
Oops, “given” an awful snuggie! (I think I need a gin and tonic and a good lie down)
Ah where is your ‘like’ button??
hehe I would have settled for a snuggie! But the onesie keeps all of you warm rather than just the front. Don’t worry, there is still enough of the Australian winter left to justify your onesie purchase!
Oh! I want to ‘like’ your ‘like’!! 😀