Tropical Storm Lee

Well it looks like Justin and I will be spending this Labor Day weekend indoors. Tropical storm Lee decided to put a damper on our weekend by sitting on top of New Orleans for a couple of days. Thankfully we haven't had too much flooding yet. We're just waiting for it all to pass at this point. Hopefully the power won't go out, but we're prepared for pretty much anything.

Of course I did what any normal person would do when faced with the impending doom of a tropical storm. I made M&M cookies. I had plenty of M&Ms on hand and a hungry husband. Normally my experiments in the realm of sugar cookies goes horribly awry. They end up too dry, too under-baked, or too sweet. This time I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Justin was also very pleased with them. He rarely enjoys sweets, but this time he ate 4 cookies before I had even put the second batch in the oven! (Please excuse the super saturated photo- we have no natural lighting at this time).

Tropical Storm M&M Cookies
Adapted from What's Gaby Cooking

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Half a bag of M&Ms

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl.
Cream together butter and both sugars. Next add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Turn mixer down to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture. Stir in the M&Ms.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Using a tablespoon scrape out the dough and form into balls. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Only put 6 balls per baking sheet because they will spread out a lot while baking.
Bake for 12-14 minutes. Take the cookies out when the edges are golden brown and the middle looks slightly undercooked. Leave them on the baking sheet for about 8-10 minutes until they have cooled slightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack or plate.

Step 2 and lemon cookies

Sorry for not updating this past week! I was studying for my medical boards all last week (Step 2 CK to be exact). I finally took it on Thursday and I'm so thrilled to be done. That means I can focus on more important things like baking.
Over the past week I've become obsessed with summer flavors. Lemon is one of my favorite ingredients to work with and I feel like it is the quintessential summer flavor. That's why I was so excited when I saw a recipe for toasted almond lemon meringue cookies! I decided that I had to make it when my friends were coming over last night to watch Mad Men. All in all it ended up tasting amazing. I had a few hiccups along the way, such as mistakengly using a super old pastry bag, from the 1970s, and having it explode all over myself and the kitchen. They might not have looked as pretty as I was going for, but they definitely tasted amazing. I loved the rich flavors of the toasted almonds paired with the zesty tang of the lemon.



Toasted Almond Lemon Meringue Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1/4 cup finely ground almonds
1 Tbsp cornstartch
2 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of lemon zest
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 F˚. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Grind 1/2 cup of almonds in a food processor. Measure out 1/4 cup and spread them out on a baking sheet. Put them in the oven for about 10 minutes. After you remove them from the oven put them in a small bowl and mix with the cornstarch. Set the mixture aside.
In an electric stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites on medium with the salt until they are frothy and peaks form.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually mix in the sugar. Add in the lemon juice. Continue to beat the mixture until it is glossy and can form stiff peaks.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and mix in the lemon zest and toasted almonds. Carefully fold them into the egg mixture.
Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a large tip and begin to make small circles on the baking sheet. You can also use a spoon if you don't have a pastry bag.
Sift the powdered sugar over the meringues and top with almonds.
Bake them in the oven for 50 minutes. After they are done baking, turn off the oven and leave the door cracked until they cool/are dry.