I can’t believe it’s just a few more days until Christmas and eventually the New Year. Since I baked, I’ve always given baked goods as gifts to friends. Although some say it’s a good thing since I won’t have to think much about what I’m giving the person, I feel somewhat guilty because truth be told, I’m really bad at giving gifts and I would like to give them something that would last rather than something that would be consumed in a week.

This year, I’m trying to do both; giving them baked goods and material gifts. I’ve been hoping to make some goodies with peppermint but I couldn’t find any peppermint extract or those peppermint swirl candies around here. BOO. So instead of the original plan which was Peppermint Mocha (Fave holiday drink at Starbucks, which sucks since they don’t have it here in Switzerland >_>) Macarons, I’ve left out the peppermint and stuck with the mocha and coffee ganache combo. Yup, since my successful macarons in my previous post, I’ve had the courage and confidence to try them again. And this time turned out even better as all but one had almost perfect smooth tops and nice feet.

They were delicious. I especially loved the coffee ganache! Still a tad bit sweet especially since it’s white chocolate but still delicious. I made these for my friends here by the way, but I had a few extra since the box was full already xD.

Lastly, I’ll be going to NY and LA over my vacation next week, any particular recommendations? Excited to try out delicious food which I’ll be taking pictures of, of course! ;)

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Coffee Macarons
adapted from Trissalicious

100g egg whites (I popped mine in the microwave for 10 seconds instead of aging, still worked :o)
50g sugar
125g ground almonds
200g powdered sugar
2 tsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. coffee powder

1. In a bowl, beat egg whites for about a minute then gradually add sugar until stiff.
2. In another bowl, sift together almonds, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and coffee powder.
3. Pour the dry ingredients onto the egg whites and fold slowly to incorporate. Careful not to overmix. You can tell it’s good to go when you run your spatula in the middle and it would take about 5-6 seconds for the batter to come together. Or test with spoon and it’s still somewhat thick and flattens a tiny bit (it shouldn’t be runny and thin).
4. Pipe into rounds on lined baking pans. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. When you touch it, the batter shouldn’t stick.
5. Preheat oven to 150C.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on size. Let cool before peeling off the silpat/wax paper.

Coffee Ganache
this made more than needed but it’s oh so goood. lol

150g white chocolate
2 tbsp butter
100g cream
1 tsp. coffee

1. Place white chocolate and butter in a bowl.
2. Bring the cream to a boil and pour over white chocolate and butter.
3. Stir in coffee until smooth.
4. Chill until nearly hard.
5. Pipe or spoon onto macaron shells.