Westchester Supper Club

From Christine:

I adapted grandmas and combined it with this one: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/12/09/nut-crescents/

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1¼ cup walnuts, toasted
1½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar *
1 teaspoon vanilla

*1 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar for coating. (Traditionally uses granulated)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor (I used the Ninja) combine ½ cup flour with walnuts, and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Make sure there are very few chunks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour-nut mixture and the remaining 1 cup flour and the salt; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and ½ cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla (here’s where I would add the lemon). Slowly add the remaining flour/nut mixture in divided doses.

4. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a 3-inch log. Using your fingers, shape log into a crescent. Repeat with remaining dough, placing crescents about 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Freeze or refrigerate until crescents are very firm, about 30 minutes (IMPORTANT)

5. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden, 16 to 18 minutes. If rolling in powdered sugar, cool first. Granulated sugar can be sprinkled immediately.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lauren’s Latest

Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

* We forgot to take a picture of Dana’s cookies….so this is the pic from the blog!

recipe from Sage Recipes

Yield:  About 35

Ingredients:

For the Macarons

• 6 ounces blanched almonds
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Red food coloring
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Red sanding sugar

For the Filling

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 2sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pulse the almonds with 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar in food processor until finely ground. Add in the remaining confectioner’s sugar, pulse to combine, and set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until they form a dense foam, about 1 minute. While continuously whisking, add in the salt and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Add in a few drops of food coloring and the extract, fold in with a rubber spatula until incorporated. Fold in the almond mixture in 3 equal batches. Be careful not to over mix the batter. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip. Pipe the batter into 1 1/2 inch circles spacing them 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar and let stand at room temperature, uncovered for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Bake macarons for about 12-15 minutes, until firm to the touch, but not browned or golden. Let cool completely on baking sheet.
4. For the filling, beat the confectioner’s sugar and butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla and salt and beat until just combined. Using a small spatula, spread about 1 teaspoon of filling on the bottom of half the macarons. Place the other half of the macarons, bottom side down, on top of the filling. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.