Piña Colada Macarons

July 10: National Piña Colada Day

“If you like piña coladas…and are not much into health foods,” then you’ll love piña colada macarons! We flavored basic macaron shells with desiccated coconut and coconut extract and then tempered its sweetness with pineapple cream cheese for a perfect piña colada cocktail cookie. “Escape” and indulge in this great summertime snack. These macarons are a terrific tropical treat for a non-alcoholic National Piña Colada Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita)

For the macarons (Italian meringue method)

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• ½ teaspoon coconut extract

For the filling

• Pineapple cream cheese spread (we used Kraft Philadelphia brand)

Directions

In a food processor, grind together the almond flour/meal, powdered sugar and desiccated coconut. Sift to remove any lumps. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Pour the simple syrup into the beaten egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Stir in the almond flour/meal-sugar-coconut mix until the consistency “flows like magma.”

Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs.  Spread the pineapple cream cheese on one of the macarons and sandwich with another. Refrigerate to set the filling. Serve chilled like the cocktail itself.

Notes

• See the lyrics of and listen to “Escape (The Piña Colada Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes on YouTube.
• We bought the desiccated coconut from the About Australia online store.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries

July 4: American Independence Day

Happy birthday, America! People are especially patriotic today and traditionally celebrate the country’s independence by watching parades and fireworks; stimulating the economy by shopping at the sales; or spending time, relaxing and feeding our faces (of course!) with family and friends. On this national holiday, we usually grill burgers and hot dogs or barbecue spare ribs, steaks or chicken. Sometimes we also prepare a patriotic parfait or American flag cake. Today we tried a simple sweet treat featuring red strawberries, white chocolate and blue sanding sugar for a cute red-white-and-blue dessert as a festive Fourth of July food!

Recipe

(Inspired by Internet photos)

Ingredients

• strawberries
• white chocolate or vanilla candy wafers
• blue sanding sugar

Directions

Wash and dry the strawberries.  Melt the white chocolate or vanilla candy wafers in the microwave as directed on the package. Stir until smooth.

Dip each strawberry two-thirds with the melted chocolate or vanilla candy. Place on waxed paper to set slightly. Before the coating hardens, generously dip the bottom third of the strawberry into the blue sanding sugar. Place on waxed paper to set completely or display in mini-paper cupcake/muffin cups.

Notes

• Strawberries should be at room temperature for dipping or they will “sweat” after cooling.
• White chocolate or vanilla candy wafers may also be melted in a double boiler.
• It is best to prepare the red-white-and-blue strawberries on the day of the meal or as close to serving as possible for freshness. The strawberries tend to leak some juices and the coating melts in higher temperatures. Refrigerate to solidify the coating as necessary.
• Search our blog for more festive Fourth of July foods.

Chocolate Wafers

July 3: National Chocolate Wafer Day

Purchasing packaged cookies is definitely easier than making them at home. But sometimes it is hard to find Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers at the store, especially when we need to crush them into crumbs to make a deep, dark pie crust. So we end up baking them, which is fine because they are fresher and free of preservatives. Chocolate wafers are a bit bitter, so we spice them up with “south of the border” seasonings, such as vainilla, cinnamon and, if you dare, a dash of chili pepper! Chocolate wafers are versatile for making pie crusts, for assembling ice cream or cookie sandwiches and for snacking on their own. Make them Mexican-style for a fabulous fiesta flavor on National Chocolate Wafer Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food Network and Gourmet)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup cocoa powder (Dutch process/alkalized)
• ¾ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Mexican vainilla)
• 2 egg whites
• cinnamon-sugar (optional)
• chili pepper (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour and salt. In a mixer, cream the butter with the brown and white sugars.

Add the vanilla. Mix in the egg whites. Gradually add the cocoa mixture and blend well.

On waxed paper, place the cookie dough. Put another piece of waxed paper on top. Flatten into a disc and roll out to no more than ¼-inch thick. Place on a flat pan and refrigerate for several hours to firm up the dough. Remove from the refrigerator and peel away the top waxed paper.

Use a 2-inch round or fluted cutter to cut out shapes. Transfer the cookie rounds to a lightly greased waxed paper on top of a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining scrap dough. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes to firm up the unbaked wafers. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until slightly puffed up in the middle. Remove from the oven.

Transfer the wafers to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar and chili pepper (optional) on top of the wafers. Shake off excess spices and crumbs. Store wafers in an airtight container.

Notes

• The cookie dough must be chilled and firm before baking the cut rounds to ensure that the  chocolate wafers cool to a crisp.