Chocolate, walnut, & hazelnut macaroons

I'm on a mission. That mission is to find the best biscuit made with egg whites and no yolks. The problem is, I don't even know where to start. Sure, I can make macarons, macaroons, or tuiles but I'm after something more homely. Something more biscuit-y; something squishy and awesome.

There biscuits aren't quite there but they're pretty good. I mean, with chocolate, almonds, and hazelnuts you can't exactly go wrong. They're somewhat squishy but not biscuit-y enough for me. But that's okay because my hunt has only just started, and it wouldn't be much fun if my quest was over after the first attempt, would it?

So if any of you lovely people out there have recipes for biscuits that use egg whites but no egg yolks send them my way! I'm super keen to give whatever wonderful recipes you have a shot.

Chocolate, walnut, & hazelnut macaroons

(adapted from Biscuits and Macaroons by the Australian Women's Weekly)
makes about 20 biscuits

100g almond meal
100g hazelnut meal
2 egg whites
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon gluten free flour
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
90g (3 oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
60g (2 oz) white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Grease two oven trays and line them with baking paper.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add the sugar, beating until dissolved after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract, sifted flour, ground almonds & hazelnuts, and chopped chocolate in two batches.

Transfer the resulting batter into a piping bag and pipe evenly sized rounds about2.5cm (1 inch) in diameter on to the prepared trays. Bake for about 25 minutes, then cool on trays.

Once cool, melt the white chocolate, and spread over the bases of the macaroons. Place chocolate side down, on a tray lined with a fresh piece of baking paper and stand at room temperature to set. Once set, peel from the baking paper and store in an air tight container for up to a week.

Green apple sorbet

I first made green apple sorbet was about a year and a half ago and it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd just received a stand mixer and an ice cream bowl attachment and I was super excited about using it. I picked a recipe and started making it. Not knowing anything about making ice cream and sorbet I didn't realise just how smooth a puree needs to be to make creamy ice cream. I neither pureed the apples enough nor strained them. The result was a gritty sorbet with a weird, weird texture. Sure, it tasted good but how it felt in your mouth was all wrong.

One and a half years later, with fond memories of the taste of my ill-fated sorbet, I've given it another shot. This time I've come out successful, the texture of this sorbet is much nicer and the taste is wonderful.

There are a few things I liked about the original recipe that, unfortunately, didn't carry over into the second attempt. The first recipe used frozen apples rather than cooked and pureed, this meant that the sorbet was a vibrant green without the use of food colouring. I also liked how with the original recipe, you just chucked the apples in the freezer, pureed them once they were frozen, and then whacked them in the ice cream maker - none of this cooking and cooling business. But then, despite these things I liked the actual sorbet was the wrong texture so there's no use lamenting. It also went brown if you let it thaw out - eww.

Essentially this recipe is much better than my first attempt and I'm just being picky.

If you make this, don't freak out if your apple mixture is super bright green prior to it being frozen in the ice cream machine - it's perfectly normal. I didn't realise this when I was making mine and freaked out about the green monstrosity I was about to create. The mixture lightens up a lot as it freezes, resulting in a pleasing light green. I just used plain old liquid food colouring for mine but those of you with fancier food dyes then I could use those too.

I've only ever seen recipes for green apple sorbet but now I'm starting to to wonder how gala, fuji, pink lady, or even heirloom varieties of apples would go in sorbet. I think I could have a whole blog dedicated to apple sorbet if I felt so inclined - yum.

Green apple sorbet

(adpated from Decadence by Philip Johnson)
makes about 1.5 litres (6 cups)

750g (1.6lbs) granny smith apples, unpeeled, cored, and quartered
juice of 1/2 a lemon
250ml (1 cup) water
375g (1.5 heaped cups) caster sugar
3 teaspoons calvados, optional
1/8 teaspoon liquid green food colouring, optional

Place the apples, lemon juice, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook the apples until they are extremely soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the apples have cooled transfer them to a blender and blend until the mixture becomes a smooth puree. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Stir through the calvados and green food colouring, if using. Refrigerate the apple mixture until cold.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacture's instructions.

Once adequately frozen, transfer the sorbet to a container, cover tightly, and place in the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours.

Lemon madeleines with rhubarb and strawberry jam

Are madeleines still madeleines if they're not shaped like shells? Or are they one of those things whose name is determined by their shape and not by the ingredients used to create them? My source of all knowledge (that is, wikipedia) describes madeleines as "very small sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape", if wikipedia is too be believed then a cake using the madeleine batter without the shell shape wouldn't be a madeleine at all. Do you think this is the case? Would it be wrong to call my square little cakes madeleines and, if so, what should they be called instead?

Naming conventions aside, these little lovelies do taste like madeleines. They're quite soft and light. Out of all these recipes I've tried so far this one is probably my favourite. Flavour-wise, they're just plain old lemon which when paired with delicious jam is perfectly acceptable.

I paired my madeleines with rhubarb and strawberry jam. Rhubarb and strawberry is a much appreciated combination, and for a good reason. It never fails to deliver a nice punch of flavour. Jam is so simple to make that it surprises me that more people don't do it. Maybe there's some kind of myth that it's a complex process which requires special equipment and that if you don't get it right you'll end up ruining everything and wasting all your delicious ingredients? Or maybe people do make jam and just don't tell me about it because they know I'll eat it all? I'm actually leaning towards the latter!

Lemon madeleines with rhubarb and strawberry jam

Lemon madeleines

(from Chelsea Bakes)
makes 24 madeleines

100g (2/3 cup) plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
100g (1/2 cup) butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
130g (1 cup) icing sugar
melted butter, extra
icing sugar, extra

Using the extra melted butter, grease two 12 hole madeleine tins. Preheat the oven to 160°C (350°F)

In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, lemon zest, and juice on high speed until light and pale; about 5 minutes. Gradually add the icing sugar and beat for a further 5 minutes, or until thick.

Turn off the mixer and gently fold the sifted flour into the egg mixture until smooth and no lumps remain. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag pitted with a 1cm (1/2 inch) tip. Pipe the mixture into the madeleine tins, filling each hole about 2/3 full.

Bake the madeleines for 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool for 1-2 minutes. Loosen the biscuits with a knife and then invert on to a wire rack. Cool completely then sprinkle with icing sugar just prior to serving

Rhubarb and strawberry jam

(adapted from One More Bite
makes approximately 800ml)

300g rhubarb
360g strawberries
2 lemons
300g white sugar
100g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wash the rhubarb, then trim off the poisonous leaves and discard them. Chop the rhubarb into 1-2.5cm (1/3-1 inch) pieces. Hull the strawberries, and cut them into similar sized pieces as the rhubarb. Leave some whole, if desired.

Peel the lemons using a vegetable peeler, then squeeze the lemons into a bowl lined with muslin. Bundle up if muslin so that it contains the seeds of the lemons and the juice is left in the bowl.

Place the fruit, sugars, lemon juice, lemon rind, nutmeg, and bundle of lemon seeds in a heavy-based saucepan and stir to combine.

Increase the heat. When the mixture begins to boil and froth, turn the heat down and cook the jam over lower heat for 30-40 minutes. Place a plate in the freezer for testing the consistency later on, or alternatively use a thermometer.

Whilst the jam is cooking, wash your jars thoroughly in hot soapy water and dry upside down on a rack, or in a 100°C (210°F) oven.

To test the jam; drop a spoonful on a cold plate, wait for 30 seconds, then run your finger through it. If the jam stays split down the middle, it's ready. If you are using a thermometer, the jam will be ready when the temperature reaches 104°C (219°F).

Ladle the jam into your pre-washed jars, filling approximately 1.5cm (1/2 inch) from the top. Place the lids on. At this point, you can either turn the jars upside down and leave them until them until the seals pop, or pasteurise them by wrapping the jars in cloth and placing them in a saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes. If you pasteurise the jars by boiling, make sure the water level is always a couple of centimetres (or about an inch) higher than the top of the jars. Leave then to cool in the water then store in the cupboard until required.

Chocolate, walnut, & oat biscuits

It is so hot right now. It's so hot that after three hours of sitting at room temperature the chocolate on these biscuits has not solidified. When I go to pick one up and end up with melted chocolate all over my hands, not that that's a bad thing, it's just is messy.

In heat like this I'm mad to have the oven on to begin with, especially in a house that lacks all forms of air-conditioning. I don't even own a fan. However, I'm not one to resist a craving for chocolate chip biscuits. There are times when not having chocolate chip biscuits is worse than heatstroke.

Apparently I'm never allowed to make these again as, according to J, they are "too delicious" and it's "impossible not to eat the whole batch". If that's not a seal of approval, I don't know what is. It's safe to say what these biscuits lack in beauty they more than amply make up for in taste.

Chocolate, walnut, & oat biscuits

(from Tartine by E. M. Prueitt & C. Robertson)
makes about twenty-four 6 cm (2 1/2 inch) biscuits

170g (6 oz) bitter-sweet chocolate
145g (1 cup) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
85g (1 cup) traditional rolled oats
115g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
175g (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) sugar
2 teaspoons treacle
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
60g (1/2 cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped

Coarsely chop the chocolate into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) pieces using a serrated knife. Place chopped chocolate in a bowl and chill in the freezer until required.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and oats.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed until light and creamy. Slowly add the sugar and beat on medium speed until light in the mixture is fluffy and light in colour. Stop the mixer and scrape down the slides as required. Add the treacle and beat until well combined. Add the egg and combine well. Beat in the milk, vanilla, and salt, then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until well incorporated. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, then fold in the chocolate and walnuts using a spatula.

Turn the dough out on to a surface covered in baking paper. Shape it into a log about 4cm (1 1/2 inches) in diameter. Wrap the log in baking paper or cling wrap and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two flat trays with baking paper.

Remove the dough from the freezer and slice it into 1/3cm (1/4 inch) rounds and arrange on the lined baking trays about 4cm (1 1/4 inches) apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly browned but the centres remain pale. Cool on trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Walnut & cinnamon slices

Biscuits, biscuits, biscuits. How I love to snack on you. When I should probably make myself a healthy, tasty lunch, you fill the void and allow me to keep on doing whatever it is I'm doing. How hard it is to get through a working day when I know I had you all ready to come with me to work but I stupidly let you on the bench. It's saddening knowing that you're sitting at home, all wrapped up and ready.

Obviously I made biscuits the other day, and then I meant to take them to work but I forgot them and it was all very sad. Well, not that sad really because I just ate them when I got home.

These biscuits are really quite nice, the flavours are quite simple and the nuts add a lovely texture. You could any nuts you choose for this recipe and if I were to make them again I should incorporate in some macadamias. I think that would be sublime.

Because these biscuits are simple, they go wonderfully with tea or coffee. Though it could be argued that I think almost everything is enhanced by a cup of something considering just how regularly I use the words "goes well with tea/coffee" both here on this blog and in real life. That being said, don't stop yourself enjoying with with hot chocolate or a plain ol' glass of milk. In fact, these biscuits are perfectly good without any kind of drink.

This is the first recipe I've made from Tartine, a book I acquired recently after many months of simply forgetting to purchase it. I'm very glad it's finally on my book shelf and I think in the next coming months it's going to get quite a work out. I'm excited, I hope you're excited too.

Walnut & cinnamon slices

(from Tartine by E. M. Prueitt & C. Robertson)
Makes about 36 biscuits

255g (1 3/4 cups) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
150g (5 1/2 oz) butter, at room temperature
130g (2/3 cup) sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
85g (3/4 cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped

Sugar coating

2 egg yolks
30ml (2 tablespoons) heavy cream
200g (1 cup) sugar

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda into a mixing bowl, then set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until it is blended and creamy but not too aerated. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and salt. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture, still beating on medium speed. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Beat until a dough forms. Switch off the mixer and stir the walnuts through.

Turn the down on to a baking tray lined the baking paper. Form into a rectangle about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Line a tray with baking paper.

Unwrap the rectangle of dough and, using a sharp knife, slice lengthwise into 5cm (2 inch) wide rectangular logs. To make the sugar coating, whisk the egg yolks and cream together in a small bowl. Spread the sugar on a baking tray. Brush the logs well but sparingly with the egg wash. One at a time, dredge the longs in the sugar, coating evenly on all sides. Cut crosswise into 1/4 cm (1/8 inch) - 1/2cm (1/4 inch) thick slices. Arrange the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the biscuits until the edges are golden but the centres remain pale, about 7 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and let cool.