French Macaroons Recipe + Tips

They are colorful, small, and pretty to look at...  french macaroons.
Over the summer I got a little (or really) bored and decided to attempt to master the art of making macaroons and it turns out it is seriously difficult, way harder than I ever had expected.
So if you ever want to attempt to make macarons, here is how to make them and helpful tips along the way.

Credit: Creative Commons

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
      -sift powder sugar and regular sugar to remove chunks and cause less "bubbles" in mixture 
3/4 cup almond flour
      -to easily and cost efficiently make almond flour, don't buy a bag of almond flower. Simply buy a bag of almonds and blend them in a food processor and sift them through a sifter to remove any large almond chunks that could damage your batter  
2 large egg whites
     -room temperature 


Directions:

Sift confectioners' sugar and almond flour until fully combined.
       - don't let there be any "bubbles" in the mixture 
Whisk whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Add sugar while adding speed to medium and mix until soft peaks form.
       - now you can add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture if you please
 Increase speed to high, and whisk until stiff peaks form.
       - if you shake the whisk the mixture should not move or fall off the mixer
 Slowly add the egg whites into the flour and powdered sugar mixture and fold until it's all together.          -add one fourth of the mixture at a time to the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture and fold them together with a rubber spatula for best results. 
       - be sure to not under mix it and not over mix it about fifty to sixty strokes is just about perfect.
       - it should be lava like; not too liquid like  

Put the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch  tip
     -you can use a large ziploc bag instead and cut the corner out of it 
Pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.
     -YOU MUST LINE THE COOKIE SHEET WITH WAX PAPER 
     - drag the tip to the edge to ensure your forming round macaroons 
     -tap the bottom of the cookie sheet to let all air out of mixture
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 
     -let the cookies rest until a "shell" forms over it so when you touch the cookie the batter does not go onto your finger that is for about 20 mins 

Credit: Creative Commons

Bake 1 sheet at a time and rotate halfway through for 15 minutes

Sandwich 2 macarons with  filling
     -you can put anything in the middle that you choose 
Store in the fridge or serve immediately.
     -you can also freeze them and they will keep for up to three months

The Nutcracker

What are you doing Thanksgiving Weekend after you stuff your face with food and spend time with your family? Need an idea of something you can do that is really fun, different, local, professionally done and beautiful?

GO SEE THE NUTCRACKER!

                                                                                    Photo Credit: CBT  

The Children's Ballet Theatre of Michigan presents the Nutcracker at the Wharton Center every year, during Thanksgiving weekend. This year the show begins Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28, at 7:30 pm, November 29 at 2:00 pm and November 30th at 10:30 am. Tickets are going fast and one show is already sold out! Thousands people see the performance every year, it's a hit!

                                                                                       

 Photo Credit: Dave Machette 

The company is comprised of dancers ages eight through eighteen; selected through audition to ensure our productions are top notch. Though is is a performance done by adolescents, it is the most well done and professional show in the area. I am performing in it for the third time, this year. I can tell you from experience that this is not your average youth ballet performance.

      Photo Credit: David Grist 

The Nutcracker Ballet is a story of a young girl named Clara, who gets a nutcracker from her uncle. The doll comes to life and entertains the guests at her family's Christmas party. After the party Clara falls into a deep sleep and awakens to find herself in the middle of a battle between the Rat King and the Nutcracker. The soldiers and the rats battle each other while the Nutcracker and the Rat King do the same. The Nutcrackers army of soldiers kills the rat king. Then Clara and her Guardian Angel travel to the Kingdom of Snow and to the Land of Sweets where she is welcomed by many different countries through dancing. Once she arrives at home again, she tells her family of her adventure, but it was just a dream-- or was it?

                                                                                   Photo Credit: David Grist                                                

My roles this year are: towns person, soldier, snow princess, waltz, and Spanish. So to prepare for the performance us dancers put in A LOT of work. Roles are divided up between deserving dancers and we rehearse about 14 hours per weekend and practice around 7 hours during the school week. Next week we begin tech week, in preparation for our show. During tech week,  we are at the Wharton every day from 4pm to 10pm and that adds about another 20+ hours of rehearsals before the show begins. CRAZY!!

It is the coolest experience to be able to perform in the Wharton Center!!! Broadway shows and famous people perform there all the time so it is amazing to think that our show is worthy of performing there also. While at the Wharton, each dancer gets a dressing room to share with one to twenty other people depending on their placement in the company. The dressing rooms we use are also used by our idols and it is inspiring to know that. This year, the show performing the day before us is “So You Think You Can Dance Tour”. The stage is huge and the facility is beautiful. It is such a honor to be able to perform there.

For a sneak peek of the show, please visit this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWY4JZnfMu8