Cupcakes are out... Macarons are in!

I follow a lady on Instagram named Picky Palate and she has this awesome blog with different recipes she has made. One of her recipes was for Cookies and Cream Double Stuf Macarons. This recipe has been burning a hole in my pocket to try out. But I had to order a food scale so I could make accurate measurements in grams. Some of my macarons came out a tad cracked and I had to bake them a little longer than I thought, so there was some trial and error with my batch. I also couldn't find chocolate wafers at my grocery store, so I used BelVita Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits, that were actually delicious. Below is the recipe and pictures of my process. These macarons were really good and I'm glad I tried my hand at making them. I hope my next batch of Macarons turn out even better!

Macaron Ingredients

95 grams egg whites (about 3 large eggs)
45 grams chocolate wafers, crushed
65 grams almond meal/flour (used Red Mill)
200 grams powdered sugar
25 grams granulated sugar

1. Preheat over to 280 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I printed this macaron template to use under my parchment paper as a guide. Just remember to remove the template before baking!
2. Weigh all of the above ingredients on a food scale.
3. Beat egg whites and granulated sugar in a stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium until stiff peaks form. (about 5 minutes) Set aside.
4. Mix almond flour, chocolate wafers, and powdered sugar together in a bowl. Sift until all dry ingredients have passed through. Gently fold in egg whites until combined.
5. Place batter in a large pastry bag, I used a large freezer bag, with large round tip attached. Pipe rounds on top of template.
**6. Give your baking sheet a good 3 hard taps on your counter top before putting macarons in the oven. This will get rid of any extra air in your batter and will prevent cracks from forming on the tops of your cookies.
7. Bake macaroons for 22-25 minutes. Mine were completed at 23 minutes. Macarons should have a shiny shell and "feet" around the edges. Let them cool completely before using a spatula to lift them away from the parchment paper. Pair "like" sized macarons together to fill.

Oreo Buttercream Filling

1 stick of softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 crushed Oreo cookies

1. Beat butter and powdered sugar together in stand mixer until creamy and smooth. Add crushed Oreos and beat until combined.
2. Place in another piping bag with large round tip attached.
3. Pipe a dollop of frosting on a macaron and top with the frosting center of an oreo with another dollop of frosting before topping the other macaron on top. (See picture.)

Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits I Crushed

Almond Meal/Flour

Almond Meal/Flour on Food Scale (picture taken after I weighed 65 grams)

 Egg Whites with Stiff Peaks

 Dry Ingredients Combined, Being Sifted, Sifted Completely, Egg Whites Folded In

Macaron Template Used Under Parchment Paper

Batter in Piping (Freezer) Bag, Piped on top of Template

 

 Baked Macarons with "Feet"

 Oreo Center Removed from Cookie

Dollop of Oreo Buttercream, Oreo Frosting Center, Dollop of Oreo Buttercream Macaron Sandwich

 Cookies and Cream Double Stuf Macaron

Enjoy!
Brittney  

Almond Butter Chocolate Cups

My sweet, paleo, super healthy food friend, Susanna, recently posted that she made these Almond Butter Chocolate Cups. They looked absolutely to die for! So of course I had to make some... and of course they were to die for (and super easy to make)!

Ingredients:

Nut Butter Layer
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
2 pinches sea salt

Chocolate Layer
6 tbsp. coconut oil
6 tbsp. cocoa powder (unsweetened)
3 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
a pinch or 2 of sea salt
*extra sea salt for sprinkling on top is optional*

1. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper liners.
2. In a small pan, melt coconut oil for the nut butter layer completely. Remove from heat and add the almond butter, sweetener and salt. Mix until smooth.
3. Place 2 tsp. of nut butter mixture in each paper liner. Place in freezer to set for 10 min.
4. Next, make the chocolate layer by melting the coconut oil in a separate small pan. Remove from heat and add the cocoa, sweetener, vanilla and sea salt. Mix until smooth.
5. Remove pan from the freezer and place 3 tsp. of the chocolate mixture in each paper liner. Place in freezer to set for 10 min.
6. Reheat the nut butter mixture. Remove the pan from the freezer and add 2 tsp. to the top of each chocolate layer. *optional: Sprinkle sea salt on top of each cup if desired
7. Place in the freezer to set completely for 30 minutes.
**Store in the fridge so the cups do not get too soft.

 Almond Butter Chocolate Cup Ingredients

 Nut Butter Mixture

Chocolate Layer

Completed Cup - yummy!

Enjoy!
Brittney

Mother's Day Baked Oatmeal

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all of you mommies were spoiled and felt the love from your little ones this Sunday. You deserve it! Even though my husband offered to make me breakfast, I really wanted something other than sausage and pancakes. So I made us all Baked Oatmeal with Lemon and Blueberries - and it was de-wicious (as my 2 year old would say)!

We had a lovely morning just hanging out after breakfast and then my husband and I strapped the boys into our double jogging stroller and went on a 5k run. I had gotten a pink Garmin running watch for Mother's Day and I was excited to try it out - not too excited that half our run was straight uphill though!

I hope you get to try out this oatmeal and have a wonderful week.

Baked Oatmeal with Lemon and Blueberries

*oatmeal can be made the night before and placed in the refrigerator overnight

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix oats, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest together in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, egg, and sugar together.
4. Grease an 8 in. square baking dish.
5. Place 1/2 of the oatmeal mixture on the bottom of the greased dish. Top with 1 cup blueberries.
6. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top of the blueberries. Top with remaining cup of blueberries.
7. Pour in the milk mixture and sprinkle a dash of nutmeg on top.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

 Baked Oatmeal

 Perfect Mother's Day breakfast

New running watch from my two sweet boys!

Enjoy!
Brittney

Carmelita... oh yes please... Bars!

Now I have attended a few events this past week where I have made "Carmelita Bars". They were a huge hit! Now they aren't exactly "healthy" per say, but they do have oatmeal in them! Here are the ingredients and recipe. It's an easy put together dessert/treat/snack that is sure to win you some 'Brownie Points' with those who try them.

We are going to another event this Saturday... so those of you who will be there, you will be getting these Carmelita Bars so I don't have to eat them all (you know who you are)!

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
32 caramels, unwrapped

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8"x 8" pan.
2. Combine caramels and heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan over low heat until melted, set aside.
3. Mix oatmeal, flour, baking soda, butter, brown sugar together.
4. Pat half of the oatmeal mix to the bottom of the greased pan. Bake for 10 min.
5. Once oatmeal mix comes out of the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top, pour the caramel mixture on top, and crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture on top of the melted caramel.
6. Bake for 20 min.

*Allow Carmelita Bars to cool completely (can be placed in the fridge to speed things up!) before cutting

All my ingredients

 Oatmeal Mixture

 Completed Oatmeal Mixture

 Caramel Mixture Melted

Oatmeal mixture bottom raw and baked on top/Oatmeal+chocolate chips+caramel finished bars on the bottom

Yes, please!

Enjoy!
Brittney