>J’aime des macarons

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I made perfect macarons today. Thanks to Helene Dujardin.

I sat on the kitchen floor, with my nose pressed against the oven window, and watched the macarons bake from start to finish. I silently celebrated when their tops crusted over and their little pieds formed (perfectly aligned with their shells). I must say, watching macarons bake is much more enjoyable than watching paint dry. Not to mention, much more rewarding.

Pumpkin spice macarons

adapted from Helene Dujardin, slightly modified

90 gr egg whites (removed from shells and aged in fridge, 4-5 days)

40 gr granulated sugar

200 gr confectioner’s sugar

110 gr almond meal

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

• Sift together confectioner’s sugar, almond meal and pumpkin spice – set aside
• Fit mixer with the whisk attachment
• Beat egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy
• Slowly add granulated sugar
• Increase speed to medium-high and whip mixture until it forms stiff, glossy peaks (do not over beat your meringue or it will become too dry)
• Slowly fold almond mixture into meringue – folding no more than 50 times

To bake:

• Line baking sheet with parchment paper
• Fit pastry bag with a #12 Wilton tip – fill with batter
• Pipe small rounds onto the baking sheet
• Let the macarons sit out for 30-60 minutes before baking

Bake at 300 for 8-10 minutes

Of course, I recommend you head over to Helene’s blog and follow her instructions, as they are more detailed than mine. Not to mention, she’s been making macarons for years.

                                        

Pumpkin spice ganache

2 TBS pumpkin puree

1 TBS almond milk

2 TBS unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar

3 TBS dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

• On the stove, heat pumpkin puree, almond milk, cinnamon and pumpkin spice to a medium-warm temperature – allow to cool for 10 minutes
• Whisk butter in bowl, then slowly incorporate pumpkin mixture
• Add confectioner’s sugar 1/2 c. at a time
• Slowly stir in dark chocolate (remember, this must be melted AND cooled)

Notes: You may pipe, or spread, ganache onto macarons – but I prefer piping. I also dipped a paintbrush into a thick espresso mixture (2 tsp instant espresso + 1 tsp water) and painted the tops of several macarons. The espresso compliments the chocolate and pumpkin spice well.

>Vegan pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

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Because everyone likes cinnamon rolls.

Vegan pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

1/4 c. lukewarm water
1 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1/3 c. cane sugar
2 TBS agave nectar
2 TBS canola oil
1/4 c. almond milk
1/2 c. pumpkin puree (you could also use sweet potato puree)
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2-2 1/2 c. unbleached flour

For filling

1/4 c. Earth Balance
1 TBS cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 c. brown sugar

The amounts I used are approximate. If you want more sugar, add more sugar. More cinnamon? Have at it. 

• Combine water and yeast in small bowl – stir lightly and let sit until foamy (roughly 10 minutes)
• In a separate bowl, sift together both flours and salt – set aside
• In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, agave nectar and oil – set aside
• On stove, bring almond milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and cinnamon to a medium-warm temperature, stirring constantly (do not allow mixture to boil)
• At this point, you should have four separate bowls
• In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin mixture with the sugar mixture and whisk for 1-2 minutes
• Incorporate yeast mixture and continue to whisk
• Slowly pour in the bowl of sifted flour (roughly 1/2 c. at a time) mixing thoroughly with a spatula after each addition – once you’ve  poured in 2 c. you will need to use your hands (if you’re a sissy and don’t want to ruin your nails, use a mixer. Better yet, get out of the kitchen.)
• If your dough is still sticky after all of the flour has been incorporated, add additional flour 1/4 c. at a time

To knead and rise:

• Once the dough is finished, coat a large mixing bowl with 1/2 tsp of oil
• Knead dough with hands for 2-3 minutes
• Place dough in bowl, cover with a damp cloth and place in a dry, warm area of your home (on top of fridge)
• Allow dough do rise for 60 minutes, then remove from bowl, knead for 1-2 minutes, cover and allow to rise for another 30 minutes
• After rising, remove dough from bowl and knead lightly (<1 minute)
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and allow to rise for an additional 15 minutes

I’m going to warn you: it took 5 minutes and all 112 lbs of my body to roll out this stubborn dough. Rolling dough should be a WOD.

To roll, fill and bake:

• Roll dough into a rectangular shape (approximately 15X6) on the flat, floured surface where you allowed it to rise
• Spread dough with Earth Balance
• Layer cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar
• Roll dough tightly (vertically)
• Cut rolls 1″ thick and place on a lightly greased, circular baking pan

Bake at 375 for 13-15 minutes

Recipe yields 15 rolls because the horizontal measurement is 15″ – adjust length to your desire

                                        

Cinnamon roll glaze

2 c. confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp almond milk

1/4 tsp almond extract

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk
• Drizzle over rolls just before eating

You’re welcome.

>Whoopies

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I wouldn’t usually condone sleeping past 9am, but when it’s raining and the radiator is clanking (a sound I’m learning to love), sometimes it’s necessary. I slept until 11:27am today. 11:27 in the am. And, as if sleeping in wasn’t bad enough, I didn’t get out of my pajamas until I absolutely had to. Even then it was a struggle trying to convince my mature self that my immature self would look like a fool wandering around in a union suit, a scarf and boots. Fortunately, my mature self reigned supreme. But as soon as I came home, I settled right back into my union suit.

The worst part about wearing a union suit is the whole bathroom situation. My bladder woke me from sleep at 6am and it took what felt like forever to navigate through my dimly-lit flat; even longer to unbutton the top of my suit. So long, in fact that, at 22 years of age, I almost peed myself. Sad part is, I probably would have been ok with going back to sleep in a urine-soaked one-piece. But thankfully, I made it just in time (that seems to be happening with a lot of things these days). And stop picturing me sitting on the toilet, topless, with my suit down to my ankles. Because that’s just weird, guys.

Vegan pumpkin whoopie pies

3/4 c. non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum brand)
3/4 c. cane sugar
1/2 tsp unsulphured molasses
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Ener-G egg
2 TBS oil (I used coconut oil)
1/4 c. pumpkin puree

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. unbleached flour

• Combine non-dairy milk and vinegar, set aside for 5-10 minutes – this is your buttermilk
• In separate bowl, sift together cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour – set aside
• In separate bowl, cream together shortening, sugar and molasses
• Add vanilla, Ener-G egg, oil and pumpkin puree
• Slowly incorporate buttermilk, in thirds
• Create a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in wet mixture – mix until completely incorporated

To bake:

• Line baking sheet with parchment paper
• Fit pastry bag with a #12 Wilton tip
• Fill pastry bag with batter
• Pipe circles 2″ in diameter onto baking sheet (hold tip in place, almost touching the bottom of the sheet – squeeze bag for 5 seconds)

Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes

Of course, you don’t have to use a pastry bag to pipe the batter – it just guarantees perfect, circular shells.

I’ll admit, even after I placed the first batch of whoopie pie shells into the oven, I thought this recipe was going to be a total flop. I added flour to the rest of the batter, until it was firm and dough-like, then rolled the dough onto a baking sheet. Shockingly, the whoopie pie shells turned out perfect. And the cookies? Well, they didn’t turn out so bad. Edible, but certainly not worth writing home about.

                                        

Vegan cinnamon cream cheese frosting

4 oz Tofutti cream cheese
1/2 c. non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum brand)
1 1/4 c. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon

• Cream together cream cheese and shortening
• Add confectioner’s sugar – whisk well 
• Mix in vanilla and cinnamon

                                        

I won’t judge you if you eat half of the bowl of icing. You won’t need it all, anyway. And it’s so good you could smear it on moldy, rotted cheese and it’d taste like a little slice of heaven. Do you understand? HEAVEN.

>Pumpkin! Pumpkin!

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Remember those pumpkin cookies I promised so long ago? They’re here. And just for the record, I am technically posting this on 1 October (as promised), because everyone knows the new day doesn’t actually begin until after you fall asleep. Oh, and don’t expect anything else from me for a while at least a few days, because my day went a little something like this:

9:25am: wake-up call
9:26am: voicemail notification – Oh, someone wants a batch of cupcakes. For today.
9:27am: pulled self out of bed, went to kitchen and immediately began baking
9:28am – 12:30pm: baked and iced cupcakes, delivered (somewhere in there I had coffee and toast. And I may or may not have taken a shower.)
12:31pm – 3pm: ran (mostly) baking-related errands
3:01pm – 12:13am: baked: 3 birthday cakes (one currently in oven), crème brûlée, sugar cookies and pumpkin cookies (somewhere in there I had leftover egg-whites scrambled with vegan sausage. And toast. I like toast, a helluva lot more than the average person.)

If there is such a thing as baking too much, I definitely did it today. I don’t ever want to bake that much again. Well, at least not until Ladycakes is the name of my bakery, not my blog. Listen to me, I am such a whiney, little bitch. Poor me, I get to spend the entire day doing my favorite thing in the entire world. But I don’t care because I’m going to whine about it and wallow in self-pity. But really, this is merely a combination of sleep deprivation and hormones. The winey will be gone after a full-night’s rest. The bitch, well.. I can’t make any promises.

Vegan pumpkin spice cookies

1/2 c. non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum brand)
1/2 c. cane sugar
1/4 tsp unsulphured molasses
2 TBS agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Ener-G egg
1/4 c. + 1 TBS pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 pinch of ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. rolled oats (optional)
1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped (optional)

For cookies fit for a carnivore, use:

1 stick of butter (room temperature) in place of shortening

1 egg (room temperature) in place of Ener-G egg

1/3 c. cane sugar and 1/2 c. brown sugar, no agave or molasses

Use 1 1/2 c. flour, plus 1 TBS

* Instead of using cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, you can use 1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

• Combine sugar and molasses – this is your brown sugar
• Cream together brown sugar and shortening
• Add Ener-G egg (follow directions on box) – mix well
• Add vanilla, agave and pumpkin
• Mix in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger
• Add salt, baking soda and baking powder
• Mix in flour 1/2 c. at a time
• Add oats and chocolate

To bake:

• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper
• Use cookie scoop to form cookies
• Place cookie sheet in refrigerator 5 minutes prior to placing in the oven

Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes

                                        

I still have to shower, because I neglected all things hygiene-related today. Except for brushing my teeth; I’ve brushed them twice, so far. Did you hear that? I think there’s a claw-foot tub filled with bubbles, and a glass of wine, calling my name. Actually, I wrote that 30 minutes ago. I’m taking a 2 minute shower and hitting the sheets.

PS – how sweet is that little message from my dad? He wrote it a few sheets back on my to-do list pad while he was in town, and I just recently discovered it. My dad pwns.

>It’s (almost) pumpkin season

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I never used to have a favorite season. By the time one was coming to an end, I was ready for the next, and it continued that way for the first 20 years of my life. However, baking with the seasons has made me favor one particular season above all the others: Fall. You see, I have this magnificent oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe that not even I can resist. And although eating just one will make me sick for days, it’s worth even the worst of all stomach aches. I’m opposed to making them before the leaves change colors, but mark my word, the first time I spot even one yellow leaf, they will be made.

To tide me over until then, I’ve decided to make vegan pumpkin spice muffins. And I’m going to be very clear: if you’re looking for a sweet, crumbly muffin, chock-full of fat and refined sugar, this is not the muffin for you. This muffin is dense, naturally sweetened and surprisingly healthy.

Vegan pumpkin spice muffins

1/2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. rolled oats
2/3 c. oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 c. organic pumpkin (you could also do half-pumpkin, half-applesauce)
1/3 c. agave nectar
1 TBS canola oil
1 2/3 c. hot water
3 tea bags (I used black tea)

• Soak tea bags in hot water
• Combine dry ingredients in a bowl
• Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour in hot tea, mix
• Add the remaining ingredients, mix well

Bake at 375 for 22 minutes

                                        

Since the University of Colorado has decided to royally eff me, I’ve been looking around for motivation to start my bakery. And how scrumptious are these bad boys?

When we go back East in December, I’m taking a trip to Vulcan just to drool over them in person. The $10,000 price tag on the oven is frightening, but the fact that it’s capable of making dozens, upon dozens, of cookies at one time, I’d say it’s a pretty good investment. I’ll take two.