092610 Almond Macaroons

Just returning from France, there's only one recipe I must make immediately - Macaroons! The closest recipe to French Macaroons in Martha's cookie book is Almond Macaroons. These were very easy to make;unfortunately the recipe yields only 1 dozen. They're crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle with a rich almond flavor. They're not the airy french macaroons I enjoyed in Paris recently....but they're yummy anyways. The dough is runny so you have to work fast!

090610 Apricot Windows

These cookies are so pretty with the golden, buttery lattice across the bright apricot preserves! I love the crunch the cornmeal adds to the shortbread dough, and the apricot preserves add just the right amount of sweetness! The dough was a bit hard to spread in the pan...may be next time I'll chill the dough for a few minutes before trying to pat it into the cookie pan. I didn't have an 11x17 pan so I borrowed my Mom's 12x18, which worked out fine. One also has to squeeze the pastry bag pretty hard to get the dough going for the lattice stripes. Overall, the dough is difficult to work with but the end result is well worth it!!