Heavenly lemon macarons

Two years ago I made the first attempt to make macarons.  I was asked to make a beach picnic proof desert for the 10 wedding anniversary of our neighbours.  The result then was not at all bad, but for some reason all my trials to repeat that recipe failed catastrophically.  Ever since I have been surfing the web in search for THE no fail macarons recipe.  I was determined to include macarons in this Valentine marathon.

Why macarons?

Many many reasons make macarons the prefect sweet treat for me.

-  They can be a great present when you’re invited to visit friends.

-  Macarons are a very good alternative to celiac patients as they don’t contain flour or other gluten products

-  Macarons shells can be stored in the freezer.  So you make them batch wise and you always have a few at hand when spontaneity is required.  Even the stuffing can be quickly organised, then we all have a good marmalade in the fridge if needed.

-  They can be the finishing touch to that wonderful cake you’ve made.

-  …

Macarons: The recipe!

Credit where credit is due:  Shinee at Sweet and Savoury did a great job taking pictures of every step incl. a video to show us the folding technique.

I have chosen to add an extra security feature for my macarons: a silicon mat instead of parchment paper.

  

I will be making macarons on a weekly basis, I think!

So, if you will excuse me, this Lady needs her beauty sleep.  Tomorrow Valentine needs to be prepared   What are you up to?  Big plans; dinner, cinema, I’m playing bowling with a whole bunch of friends.  We don’t a special day actually to be romantic, we celebrate valentine every day!!

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Ingredients:

• 225g / 8 oz plain flour
• 110g / 4 oz butter
• 80g / 3 oz sugar
• 1 large egg
• Zest of two large organic lemons
• For the icing: 50g Powder sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, food colouring (I have chosen white and yellow. Just to challenge the traditional valentine red and pink)

Recipe:

Mix all dough ingredients together and knead them to a firm ball of dough.  Let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.  But it wouldn’t harm to leave it longer.

When the dough is ready, roll it out to about 5 to 7mm.  It’s not rocket science, it doesn’t matter if it is not to the millimetre exact  Prick out lovely valentiny shapes and put them on a lined out baking tray.

Bake the biscuits for about 10 min. until nicely golden brown.

Let them cool and finish them off by decorating them with the icing.

Now I am only left with the question: Storage?!?!?!????????

Years ago, my father gave me a traditional cookie jar for Christmas.  It was kind of my first item for my own household.  I guard this cookie jar with my life!  And I can proudly say, it does its job.  The biscuits stay fresh long enough for us to eat them  That’s is about 2 weeks.

Otherwise I would recommend tin boxes to store biscuits. I have collected a few over the year.  Unfortunately they are mostly decorated with Christmas features.

Do you have any storage tricks for your favourite biscuits?  Do you bake cookies at all?  I would love to grow my recipe collection

The post Valentine marathon: The easiest Lemon Biscuits in the world (2/4) appeared first on Comfy, Cosy, ... Living.

I’ve been married to my Valentine for 10 years this year!  I think that deserves a special Valentines treat, don’t you think?!  So be prepared for the sweetest week of the year.  I haven’t baked any cakes, muffins, biscuits etc. since Christmas, so it’s about time to catch up.

Peter, husband dearest, loves lemons.  And to be honest, I think lemons give deserts, cakes and everything sweet an extra dimension to the sweetness.  It lifts the taste!  That’s why I have chosen this year’s Valentine theme:

Don’t count on low carb and little calories, Ladies and Gentlemen!  This is what’s called in German “Hüftgold”, or literally translated “Hip gold”.  These sweeties go straight to the hips, I am sorry to say.   And before I start spilling the beans and let you in on a few top recipes, I wanted you to know that I use unsprayed organic lemons.  The cost a few cents more, but as I use the zests of the fruits, quality is a non-negotiable priority.  But I’m pretty sure plenty of you share this opinion.

Kick off for this sweet loving marathon:

Lemon white chocolate chip Muffins

I am not the recipe inventor, but I can smell a good recipe from miles away.  That’s why I have chosen this recipe as one of my Valentine favourites.  CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE

Most of the time, I tweak recipes as I tend to forget to put the odd ingredient on my shopping list.  But that wasn’t the case this time.  These muffins are the perfect afternoon surprise visitors saving sweets, because you will probably have 99% of the ingredients in your pantry.  And if not, there is plenty of space for variation.  Why not replace lemons for oranges, try a different yoghurt flavour, or stick to chocolate only and fill them with marmalade …  Be creative

Tasty isn’t it?!!!

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