18
Macaroons
Spago Pastry Chef Sherry Yard and her team bake hundreds and
hundreds of these for the annual Passover Seder at Spago Beverly
Hills. Feel free to use different shades of food coloring, dividing the
mixture up into batches if you like before adding the color. You can
serve the macaroons as is or, if you like, sandwich them in pairs with
a dab of raspberry jam or another jam as the filling.
Makes about 3 dozen
INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound confectioner’s sugar, about 1 7/8 cups
1/4 pound almond meal, about 1 cup
1/2 cup egg whites, about 4 large egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar, about 1/4 cup
5 drops red food coloring
METHOD
1
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2
Meanwhile, sift together the confectioner’s sugar and almond meal
directly into a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
3
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream
of tartar and continue beating until they form soft peaks when
the beaters are lifted out. Continue beating while pouring in the
granulated sugar in a steady stream; then, add the food coloring
and continue beating until fully blended, about 30 seconds.
4
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with the round tip. Pipe
the mixture into 1-inch rounds on a parchment paper-lined baking
sheet. Put the sheet in the oven and bake for 5 minutes; rotate the
sheet 180 degrees and bake for 7 minutes more, until the macaroons
are firm.
5
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the macaroons cool
before transferring to an airtight container.
Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck
17
Sugar Dough
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds or two 9-inch tart shells
INGREDIENTS
2 1/3 cups cake or pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
2 egg yolks
1 or 2 tablespoons heavy cream
METHOD
1
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the
flour and sugar. Add the butter and process until the texture
resembles fine meal.
2
In a small bowl, whisk together the yolks and 1 tablespoon of the
cream. Scrape into the machine and process until a ball begins to
form, using the additional tablespoon of cream, if necessary. Remove
the dough from the machine, and on a lightly floured surface, press
down into a circle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least
1 hour.
3
Use as needed.
Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck
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