July/August Recipe

For the month of July/August, we will be making French Macarons! I know this might seem scary to some of you, and some may have no idea what a french macaron is. Trust me though, I've never made them, but I've found if you follow a specific technique, the recipe doesn't really matter. I've added an inspirational photo and links to a few good websites for you to do your homework. I also made this a July/August recipe because I know it will take some time to figure out (and it's almost halfway through the month of July). Post questions in the comments section of this post, and as a collective we can share our thoughts and trials with each other. Feel free to post anytime within the month(s), no need to wait until the end.

Happy Macaroon Baking! 

Photo credit: Melanger, Lemon Macarons with Lemon Curd 

Resources:
David Lebovits: Making French Macarons
Serious Eats: Introduction to French Macarons
Tartelette: Recipe Index for amazing Macarons
Not So Humble Pie: Macaron Troubleshooting
Melanger: Making Macaron Tips

Stone Fruit Cobbler

I decided to make an apricot, peach, blueberry cobbler for the June recipe. Mostly apricot and blueberry, but I couldn't resist adding one little peach I needed to use. The sugar dough from Stove is really good and quite versatile. I used it to make the crust of a tart as well. I'll definitely keep this recipe in my favorites pile!

Thanks again Sarah and Eric for picking a fantastic recipe! To see more of my post, please visit the Lovely Lady Baker site.

Happy Baking!

This weekend my husband and I hosted a 45th wedding anniversary party for his parents. For dessert I used the sugar dough recipe as the base for strawberry shortcakes. I appologize for no pictures (We had 11 RSVP and 29 showed up!!! So we were a bit busy!). However, they were a great hit. Agreeing with Dana, how could a dessert recipe calling for a pound of butter not be delicious!

I patted the dough out on a cookie sheet, sprinkled it with coarse raw sugar and baked it all in one piece. While it was still warm, I cut it into squares with a pizza cutter.

To serve the shortcakes I had a variety of fruit ~ strawberries, blueberries, and spiced peaches ~ in separate bowls and whipped cream. Guests could build their own to their liking.

Thank you, Sarah, for a great recipe this month!