Jolly Holiday Figure Recipes

JOLLY HOLIDAY RASPBERRY ROSE MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300° and have ready a large (18") pastry bag, fitted with a plain tip. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 1 1/2" object (cookie cutter if you have one - since I didn't, I found that the lid to a prescription bottle was the right size and used that) to trace out two guide-circles about 1/2-inch apart on the parchment paper, then trace a large (about a 3-inch circle) toward the bottom of the two smaller circles, connecting them into a Mickey head shape. Continue to make Mickey shapes at least 1" apart on the parchment paper until it is filled, then flip the parchment paper over, ink side down, on your baking sheet.
• Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar in a large bowl and set aside. Most all of it should go through the sifter, but even the slightly larger chunks that remain on top can be thrown in on top of the sifted ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, granulated sugar, and salt. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, then increase your speed to medium-high for another 3 minutes, before increasing all the way to full speed for a final 3 minutes. This is much easier using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (I set my KitchenAid speed to 4, then 7, then 8, using my kitchen timer to remind myself to increase the speed every three minutes) but can be done using a hand mixer if that is what you have access to.
• At this point, turn the mixer off and add the food coloring and vanilla extract. Whip it for a final minute or two to fully incorporate the color and flavoring, until the meringue is nice and dry and stiff with a large clump of meringue in the center of your whisk when you lift it up. If your meringue isn't stiff enough to form a large clump of meringue on your whisk, keep whisking on high speed for another minute or two until it does.
• Now dump the sifted almonds & powdered sugar into the meringue all at once and fold/stir them in with a rubber spatula. As you fold the almonds and sugar into the meringue, it will start to deflate a bit, which is what you want. You might even need to rub or smear some of the batter against the side of the bowl to knock some of the air out of it. Count your strokes if this is your first time making macarons and you will see that after about 25 turns the macaron batter will still be a bit lumpy and stiff. After another 15 strokes (so now you are up to 40) you will notice that the meringue and almond/sugar mixture has combined quite a bit and is just about right. You want a "lava-like" consistency where the batter will "flow" back in on itself slowly when you lift a spoonful of batter out and then drop it back in on top of the batter. After about 20 seconds or so, it should mostly melt back into the majority of the batter. If the batter doesn't incorporate back into itself, it's undermixed and you want to give it a few more stirs, then try again. If you overmix the batter, it will be TOO runny and you won't be able to pipe it into circles because it will ooze continuously. Once you get to about 40 strokes, go one stroke at a time (even though you may end up around 60 strokes - it all kind of depends on your folding/stirring technique, which don't matter as much as reaching the right consistency). Eventually you will get a feel for just the right consistency and you won't need to count strokes. But remember, don't worry too much about getting it just right. Even if you are a few strokes off the perfect consistency, your macarons will bake up and taste wonderful, even if they aren't perfect! Essentially, the batter should be thick enough to mound up on itself, but fluid enough to melt back down after 20 seconds or so.
• Transfer the macaron batter to a piping bag (or a gallon-size Ziploc bag with one corner snipped off) and pipe the batter into 1 1/2" circles onto the parchment paper, using the pre-traced circles as your guides and starting on the inside of each circle and working to the edge, stopping just shy of the borders of the circle, since the batter will continue to spread just a bit.
• Rap the baking sheet with the piped macarons against the counter 3 or 4 times, turning it 90 degrees each time, to knock out any large air bubbles that might cause the macarons to crack while baking. Let them sit on the counter at room temperature for 30 minutes to develop a "skin".
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bake the macarons for 18 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool. You should be able to peel the parchment paper away from the macarons without them sticking.
• Once the macarons are completely cool, assemble them by dolloping a bit of raspberry rose cream on the back on one macaron shell and arranging a few raspberries in the cream. Then top with another macaron shell and serve. Because the cream has a tendency to soak into the macaron after a few hours (unlike buttercream) you don't want to assemble these macarons too far in advance.
• In a medium saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar, salt, and 1 tablespoon of water. Heat over medium-high heat for 7-9 minutes, until the berries release their juice and are bubbling.
• Pour the raspberry mixture into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and press the raspberries up against the sides of the strainer to release as much juice as possible. Return the juice to the pan along with 1 tablespoon of the seeds that remain in the strainer.
• In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of water and stir. Slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the raspberry juice while stirring and cooking over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring until the jam begins to thicken a bit. Remove from heat and stir in the rose water. Pour into a clean bowl and allow it to cool completely, then refrigerate until well-chilled.
• In a medium bowl, beat the cream on high speed with a hand mixer until medium peaks begin to form. Do not overmix. Add the powdered sugar, and mix again, just until incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add the raspberry rose jam and mix until combined, then refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the macarons.

JOLLY HOLIDAY FIGURE

Steps:

• Before you begin this recipe, please take a class from a professional on working with sugar. This is a skill that professional pastry chefs develop after years of experience. Working with sugar will burn your fingers so know before you start that your fingers will develop burn blisters. Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until the sugar reaches 320 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks or the sugar may recrystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean. Pour the cooked sugar onto 3 or 4 silicone baking mats. If you want to color and/or flavor the sugar with food colors and/or flavored oils, this is the time to do so. Add a few drops of color to the sugar. Mix with a wooden skewer. To get started, push the sugar from the sides toward the center. This process takes a little while. Try to keep the sugar divided by color. Use the mat to push the firm sugar around the edges toward the center. Use a folding motion to accomplish that task. The next step is to pick up the sugar with your hands. Place each color under the heat of the sugar lamp. Pull the sugar until it becomes glossy and the color is evenly distributed. You will need to pull the colors simultaneously. Keep them under the sugar lamp but keep an eye on them. The lamp can melt the sugar so it is important keep rotating it and folding it onto itself.
• You will need to repeat the following steps for each color. Try to do this somewhat simultaneously to keep the sugar from melting under the lamp. Pull the sugar to incorporate air.
• Cut pieces of sugar and form into shapes. Make 2 arms. Use a sugar pump to blow sugar inside. Put sugar around the pump. Anchor by heating the metal and wrapping the sugar around the hot tube. Fold the sugar onto itself to be sure it is the same temperature and same consistency everywhere. Add the larger sugar to the pump. Carefully fill with air while shaping. You need to work slowly and consistently, always holding the sugar piece in your hand to continually give it shape. Use a blow torch to melt the edges slightly and stick them together. You?ve made the shoes, pants, body, arms, head. If necessary, make a belt to hide the seam where the shirt and pants meet. Position the arms in different ways to give him some action. Make a base. Stick the shoes to the base. Stick the pants into the shoes. Adhere the body to the pants. Add the arms. Make his head. You can paint his facial features or make them from sugar. Add a hat. Put a candy cane in 1 hand and a lollipop in the other hand. Use the base of the presentation to display the other candies you have made.