~*Macaroons*~

There is this fantastic ice cream place here in Columbus Jeni's. They make awesome ice cream sandwiches with two french macaroons as the outer cookies. They truly are mouth watering. I was craving something sweet (go figure) so I thought I'd try my hand at french macaroons. These perfect little clouds of almond bliss seemed like quite a daunting task so I decided to do a bit of research. Many blogs said that you should not try to make macaroons unless there were blue skies and absolutely no humidity outside . I am quite superstitious so decided to wait until the skies were blue, the birds were chirping, and my hair wasn't frizzing because of the humidity:) (rare day I know).

I was surprised at how simple these cookies were to make. The macaroon batter had a beautiful sheen with specks of almonds dispersed throughout. After they baked their consistency was perfect. They turned out light, airy, and slightly gooey in the middle. The inside had a nice air pocket that gave the cookie a nice crunch when bitten into. I purposely didn't grind my almonds super fine because I like the grainy look they give the cookie. The macaroons were perfect on their own, but the ones I have eaten in the past have always had a buttercream, or ice cream in the center so............... I decided to make a semi-sweet chocolate ganache to sandwich in the middle. So so so yummy, I can't even do it justice with words.

French Macaroons
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 large egg whites
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
* Preheat oven to 300. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.Grind whole almonds or buy pre-ground almond flour. It was cheaper to grind them myself so I just bought whole roasted almonds. Combine 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar with the 1 1/2 cups ground almonds. Beat egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add in the 3 tbs sugar while beating eggs on high until stiff peaks form. Slowly fold in almonds mixture. Place batter into a plastic freezer bag and cut one of the bottom corners to form a make-shift pastry bag. Squeeze batter out into hershey kiss sized dollops on the parchment paper. Let cookies stand for 20-30 mins before baking. Bake for 20-30 mins. Let cookies cool completely before sandwiching with ganache.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Ganache
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbs butter
*Melt chips and cream. Stir in butter and let melt. Let ganache slightly set for 20 minutes. Place 1/2 tsp on one macaroon and sandwich with another. Place on a plate and let finished macaroons set in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Mini Muffins with Lemon Glaze

I found this recipe for raspberry cream cheese muffins and thought they looked fantastic. Unfortunately they were full of gluten so I tweaked a few things so they are now GF Raspberry cream cheese mini muffins:) Like I was saying in the last post I am completely in love with the lemon glaze on the Buttermilk Lemon Cake. I thought it would be good on these lovely little muffins. You can leave them plain if you like, they don't need anything else on them really, but you only live once so why not....:)

These little nuggets of heaven are EXTREMELY moist! They have the airy lightness of angel food cake, with the buttery, crumbly mouth feel of a yellow cake. The surprising bursts of raspberry are tart yet sweet at the same time. The raspberry seeds and finely chopped walnuts add depth and a rustic feel, like something your great grandma would have baked back in the day.The lemon glaze compliments the raspberry sweetness well and adds to the "spring- time" feel of these little gems. I also recommend trying a cream cheese frosting if your not too big on lemon. The tang of cream cheese balances the sweetness of raspberries beautifully. Use liners when making these because it ensures a good presentation and keeps them from tipping over when you put them on a cake stand or serving platter. I didn't use them, but def will next time!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Mini Muffins:

1/3 Cup low fat cream cheese
1/3 Cup softened butter
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
2 Cups GF flour (1 cup Bobs Red Mill, 1 cup Gluten Free Pantry)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 Cup finely chopped walnuts

Beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in vanilla egg whites and egg and mix well. Combine all dry ingredients. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the cream cheese, butter, and sugar mixture. Fold in the raspberries and walnuts. Spoon batter into a lined mini muffin pan. Make sure not to fill all the way up to the top because they do spill over when baking . Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. You can also make these regular sized muffins, just remember to increase the baking time accordingly.

Buttermilk Lemon Cake

Sooooo I tried the cake and it turned out great. The cake is crumbly yet dense (in a good way) like a pound cake. It has tang from the buttermilk, velvety texture from the butter, and sweet lemony finish. The icing contrasts the sweetness of the cake with a zippy, intense lemon tartness In my opinion I think the icing is the best part! Hopefully you enjoy this because my family and I definitely did. It is perfect for a mothers day brunch:)

2 cups gluten free flour (I used Bobs Red Mill)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup low fat buttermilk
2 tbs lemon zest
2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
1 tbs lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

* Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans. Cream the butter and sugar very well 2-3 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time. Combine all the dry ingredients. Alternately add the dry ingredients into the butter, sugar, and eggs with the buttermilk. Add in the lemon zest and juice. Divide the cakes between the two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
* For the icing combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, zest and juice. Wait for the cakes to cool completely before icing them.

With the Spring weather here I gave been craving some spring like sweets. What better than something lemony. Buttermilk Lemon cake coming soon!!!!!! Hopefully it turns out as fantastic as I am hoping:)