Macaroon Tree Food

SUGAR-DUSTED MACAROON TREES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly combine coconut, granulated sugar, egg whites, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl using your hands or a wooden spoon. Form 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time into 2-inch-tall trees with your hands, using your fingertips to make pointed tops. Transfer each tree to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart.
• Bake until edges are golden and trees are firm, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet on a wire rack at least 15 minutes. Cookies can be made up to 1 day ahead; dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

MACARONS

Steps:

• Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour together.
• Using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites on low speed until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, and then whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should be glossy and thick.
• Fold half of the almond mixture into the egg whites and then add the rest. Fold the mixture 15 to 20 times; the batter will be thick and fall slowly when dripped from the spatula.
• Pipe 1-inch circles onto baking sheets lined with silicon mats or parchment paper. Let rest until a skin forms on top and is dry to the touch, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. If you are baking two sheets at a time, the bottom and top sheets should be rotated to prevent over browning on the bottom. If only baking one sheet at a time, bake on the bottom rack first for 5 minutes with an empty sheet on top. After 5 minutes, rotate the sheet and move the bottom sheet to the top and the top sheet to the bottom.
• You will know the macarons are done when you can touch them and the top of the macaron is set does not slide around under your finger. The macarons must be set before you take them out of the oven. If the macaron tops slide, put them back in the oven on the middle rack for another 2 minutes.
• Let them cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then take them off. Fill as desired with your favorite chocolate ganache, jams, or whatever creative fillings you can think of!

MACAROON TREE

Steps:

• Melt white chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave. Wrap Styrofoam cone with aluminum foil. Working on a foil lined baking sheet, attach macaroons to the cone using the melted white chocolate. Once all macaroons are attached, drizzle the tree with melted white chocolate. Sprinkle with white sanding sugar and decorate with red hot candies. Place tree in refrigerator to set.
• Place tree in on a red ramekin in center of the round. Decorate round with white sugar. Add star cookie or ornament on top, optional. Place in refrigerator to set.
• Once set, remove from refrigerator and place tree on stand.

FRENCH MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats. Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.
• Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.
• Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes.
• Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold.
• Add the food coloring and extract (see below). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
• Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).
• Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling (see below).
• Almond-Raspberry:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops neon pink gel food coloring; flavor with almond extract. Fill with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need about 3/4 cup).
• Mint-White Chocolate:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops mint green gel food coloring; flavor with mint extract. For the filling, microwave 3 ounces chopped white chocolate, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 tablespoon butter in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and 1 drop mint green gel food coloring.
• Blueberry Cheesecake:
• Tint the batter with 3 drops royal blue gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 4 ounces softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons blueberry jam.
• Lavender-Honey:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops violet gel food coloring; flavor with almond or vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.
• Pineapple:
• Tint the batter with 2 drops lemon yellow gel food coloring; flavor with vanilla extract. For the filling, press 3/4 cup pineapple jam through a sieve, discarding any large pieces.