Comments on: Saving the holidays, one macaroon at a time

By: Molly

Molly — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:19:05 +0000

Irina, I can't say for sure, but I'm inclined to think that the humidity is at fault. I know that meringue-based baked goods can be very finicky about that kind of thing. That said, though, I have never tried baking or cooking with matzo meal, and I'm not sure how it would work here. (Although, like you, somehow I doubt it's the problem.)

By: Irina

Irina — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:32:44 +0000

I made these macaroons today and they turned out DELICIOUS but for some reason the crust is not crisp at all… This is fine by me as they are great anyway but I'm wondering where I went wrong. I did use matzo meal instead of regular flour, but the recipe only calls for two tablespoons of flour, so I doubt this could have made a difference. Is it the humidity in the air, perhaps, with the rainy weather outside and the other cooking I did after the macaroons were ready?

By: Molly

Molly — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:34:00 +0000

Emmeya, that sounds <>terrifying<>. I'm so glad you could seek refuge in some good, spicy Thai food, the perfect anti-cheese ball weapon! [Shudder.]

By: Emmeya

Emmeya — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:30:00 +0000

My friend’s brother owns an excellent Thai restauarant where I live and he made wonderful Thai food for us on New Year’s Eve, and the appetizers were appropriately exotic. But this one woman brought a port wine cheese ball, and I don’t think I saw her eat anything else! My eyes were glued to it, it was horrifying, all crusted in almonds slivers that were dyed red from the cheese. Ah. Cheese balls.

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 04:30:00 +0000

[Oh MY. I have gotten heinously behind in replying to comments! Mea culpa, dear readers. Please forgive.]Nic, until I tasted Tom Douglas's version, I thought I was solidly of the dense-macaroon camp. But the wondrous lightness of these, coupled with their delicate chew, is enough to plant me firmly on the fence. Looks like I'll be alternating recipes--now dense, now light--from now on. Could be worse, eh?Monkey Gland, I understand completely. You can never go wrong with chocolate, and anyway, who doesn't love a bad boy? I mean, really.Shauna, thank you! I'm not sure how these would work with unsweetened coconut, but you'll most likely need to add more sugar. With a little tweaking and your magic touch, you should come out with something delicious...Tara, these macaroons deliver on rich coconut flavor without all the lead-in-the-stomach results. Sounds like they're tailor-made for you! The sweets table calls...Oh Emmeya, that was <>nothing<>! My dear, you must see a cheeseball <>in person<>, and then you can truly squeal. [Shudder.]Dave, I'll have to look up that Cook's Illustrated recipe. Christopher Kimball usually hits the nail right on the head. Thanks for the tip!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 14:32:00 +0000

My wife has a version that’s going in our cookie box gifts this year that uses some unsweetened, grated coconut and some sweetened. It’s from Cooks’ Illustrated. They are wonderful! These too look decadent.

By: Emmeya

Emmeya — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 16:56:00 +0000

That was a mean trick, making me look at that cheeseball!! I felt better once I scrolled down and saw the chickpeas and greens, though!

By: tara

tara — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 16:38:00 +0000

I’m one who loves making rich desserts, but rarely can actually eat very much of them. So this etheral alternative to the favourite dense macaroon may be my undoing this holiday season … I won’t have my “oh no, I can’t, too rich” excuse to get away from the sweets table!

By: Shauna

Shauna — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 14:37:00 +0000

They look fabulous, as always. I’m going to try them with a bit of unsweetened coconut flakes: those chemicals sounds glutenized to me. That’s only a technicality, though. They look simply luscious, my dear.

By: Monkey Gland

Monkey Gland — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 09:22:00 +0000

to be honest I’d probably go with you dense chocolate bad boys!