Tag: sandwich cookie

Ayyyye Churro Macarona!

Can you believe that when I met him TD had never had a churro?  You think you know someone and BAM a little fact like that slips out.

On the one hand, I’ll admit it was pretty ethnocentric of me to believe that the churro was as ubiquitous in other parts of the country as it is in Southern California.  On the other hand, we’re talking about a man who lists the Choco Taco as a favorite dessert. Explains a lot doesn’t it?

Whether or not churros are a part of your cultural landscape, you can’t deny the allure of cinnamon and sugar together.  Add in a cinnamon infused cream cheese filling and you’ve got yourself an easy win.

Churro Macarons

cinnamon shells with cinnamon cream cheese filling and a dusting of cinnamon sugar on top

for the shells, makes 18-20 shells for 9-10 finished cookies

 Ingredients

  • 60 grams almond meal
  • 100 grams confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 50 grams egg whites
  • 20 grams granulated sugar

Note: I did not use food coloring in these guys because the little flecks on cinnamon were too pretty to cover up.

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 315 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.  I like to draw the circles with Sharpie on a couple of pieces of parchment as a stencil. In order to use them multiple times I lay another piece of parchment over the top.
  • Weigh and measure out all of your ingredients.  When I’m making multiple batches I actually weigh out the almond flour, sugar and any other dry ingredients into separate zip-lock baggies and label them.
  • In a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse together almond meal, cinnamon and confectioner’s sugar.  Give it a few pulses then sift into a medium bowl.  Set aside.
  • In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or an electric hand mixer), add the egg whites.  Beat on medium low until frothy.
  • Increase the speed and slowly add the granulated sugar and pinch of salt.
  • Beat eggs until they form soft peaks.
  • Working in three batches, add first portion of almond meal mixture to the egg-whites.  Gently fold until just combined.  Repeat with the additional two portions of meal folding to combine while using as few folds as possible.
  • To test if the batter is ready to pipe, scoop about 1/4 tsp onto a flat surface.  The batter should act like lava and spread enough to lose its peak but not its shape.  I usually do this test several times starting at the point where everything is just combined.  If you under-mix the batter you can always give it a few more folds.  However, you are out of luck if you over mix.  So, err on the side of multiple tests.
  • When the batter is ready, pour it into your piping bag.  To be honest, I don’t bother with a tip, I just snip the bag about an inch or so from the tip.
  • Pipe your shells onto the parchment-lined baking sheets.
  • Allow to sit for 10-60 minutes or until the shells appear dry.  I have found this process is heavily dependent on the weather.  The more moisture in the air, the longer they need to sit.
  • Working with one sheet at a time, bake for about 20 minutes.  To test, gently grab one corner of the parchment and attempt to peel it from the shell.  A clean peel means the shells are done.  If they are sticky, back in the oven for another 5 minutes and test again.
  • Let the shells cool but once cool, carefully remove from the parchment.  I have found that you don’t want to let the cooled shells sit on the parchment.

for the filling

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces cream cheese (I like to use a lower fat version to keep the filling from being too heavy)
  • 1 C confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon (more to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Optional: 4 TBS or so of cinnamon sugar for dusting (4TBS granulated sugar + 1 /2 tsp cinnamon)

Directions

  1. Beat the cream cheese with an electric hand-mixer until smooth.
  2. Add- in remaining ingredients and beat until combined.
  3. Once the sandwich cookies are filled, dip the finished cookie in a shallow dish of cinnamon and sugar.  The surface tension should be enough to keep some of the fine granules stuck to the cookie.

 

Alfa who?

Guess what we’re making?

[note–the pot above is utilized only as the bottom of the jerry-rigged  double boiler and for making dulce de leche where its contents do not interact with the food–I promise I’m not poisoning people with teflon].

It’s been a while since I had fun with dulce de leche.  And, I was thinking about my friend Melissa who moved to Argentina.  Another friend of mine was just there and it got me wondering why haven’t I been?  Why not just hop on a plane?  There are multiple daily flights out of LAX on LANS.  I could be there before sundown tomorrow.

And then reality set in.  There is that thing I spend most of my time doing called work.  And there is that dishwasher that needs to be replaced.  And those Kitchen Gods who are insistent on being fed.  So, I settled on missing Melissa and making alfajores.

As if the dulce de leche filling wasn’t enough to motivate me to give these a whirl, I’ve long been intriugued with the idea of swapping out traditional flour with cornstarch.  I’ve done some experimenting with shortbread recipes, to mixed results.  So, this was an excuse to experiment.

Unlike my shortbread attempts, this was a success.  Just barely sweet, the cookies were tender and crisp.  I managed to coax exactly two dozen little round cookies out of the dough.

.

Alfajores are often rolled in ground coconut as a finishing touch.  As coincidence would have it, the other recipe I made the day I made these also included coconut as a main ingredient.  Not wanting to over coconut the recipients of my treats, I left off the coconut here.

Alfajores

from Chow.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon pisco or brandy
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup dulce de leche at room temperature.  For recipes goes here and here
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

  1. Place the cornstarch, measured flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk briefly to combine; set aside.
  2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl once with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, pisco or brandy, and vanilla and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually add the reserved flour mixture and mix until just incorporated with no visible white pockets, about 30 seconds.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a smooth disk, and wrap it tightly. Place in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
  4. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a lightly floured work surface or, between two sheets of parckment. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness (the dough will crack but can be easily patched back together). Stamp out 24 rounds using a plain or fluted 2-inch round cutter, rerolling the dough as necessary until all of it is gone.
  6. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, 12 per sheet and at least 1/2 inch apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time until the cookies are firm and pale golden on the bottom, about 12 to 14 minutes. (The cookies will remain pale on top.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. Flip half of the cookies upside down and gently spread about 2 teaspoons of the dulce de leche on each. Place a second cookie on top and gently press to create a sandwich. Dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.