101 Dalmatians Macarons - Run #25

I'm a Disney lover.

Time and time again, I've gushed about how it reminds me of my childhood and popping VHS tapes of Disney classics in my VCR.

101 Dalmatians and Cookies n Cream macarons only made sense. I crushed up some REAL Oreo cookies and added them to the meringue and reserved the cream center for the filling. Luckily for me, OREO released limited edition red-filled cookies and the red of the buttercream signifies the collars the puppies wear.

I adored these! I made them for a family party and I watched my niece sneak to the table to grab another one once she finished the one she had before. I'm glad she liked them!

U Can Has Cheeseburger - Run #24

These macarons were absolutely made on accident. I used a new recipe and I did leave the vanilla macarons in the oven a few seconds too long resulting in a now "toasted" vanilla shell. I looked for a filling that would somewhat hide the added on toastiness, and lo and behold, there was a chocolate cappuccino spread in the pantry. I also had little tubes of cookie icing on hand and viola!

Cute, yes?

Okay, I am admitting again that these were not my favorite in flavor (haha), but they are one of my favorites looks wise. I'm so shallow.

Hope you like them!

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

It's been about a month since I've posted on here...I'm sorry! Christmas and New Years and Keat's birthday totally kicked my boo-tay. I'm not certain if I've even fully recovered!

In the meanwhile, I have created a new Instagram and Twitter dedicated to my Mahal to the Macs posts.  I will no longer post macaron posts on my @joanneisafoodie handles.  So please feel free to follow me on these new ones!

Instagram: @mahaltothemacs

Facebook: Mahal to the Macs

Twitter: @mahaltothemacs

I will be completely honest with you...you are probably going to see more action on those platforms way before I post anything on this blog.  I've really become a micro-blogger...not really into writing long-winded posts.  More impromptu, en minute...ya feel?

Salted Caramel Macs for my cousin in Texas

Thank you to everyone who have left me comments and even inquired if I took orders.  I'm limiting myself to close friends and family for now.  If you're a stranger, get to know me, follow me, let's be friends.  I'd rather serve those who I know on a personal level because they are more forgiving.  Ha!

Seriously!  I'm still too scared to serve people I don't know yet. That's one hurdle I must leap over before I start up any new endeavor that concerns the public.

I'm working on it!

Matter of a fact, I'm having my first "workshop" in a couple of weeks.  It's my first one and I'm nervous as hell.  I'm only having 3 "students"...and those "students" are my friends.  I need to practice first before asking perfect strangers to join in.

I hope everyone's 2013 is great thus far!  If you have any questions, you may email me at mahaltothemacs (at) gmail (dot) com or even better, message me on Facebook.  Until next time, take care!

xoxo,
Jo

Kona Coffee Macarons - Run #23

I miss Hawaii.

Before heading home to SF in October, Keat and I stopped by Ala Moana Center to do a little shopping.  I spotted the Honolulu Cookie Co. kiosk in the food court and I made a b-line straight for it.  My favorite out of all of the varieties is the Kona Coffee White Chocolate shortbread cookie.  If you've never had one before, you should really check into it.  Their signature shape is a pineapple - though there is no pineapple in the cookie.  The "leaf" part is left bare, while the "fruit" part is dipped in white chocolate.

They are amazing.

So here is another attempt of creating a Hawaiian-inspired macaron.  I've already made a cute speckled yellow mac with Dole Passionfruit jelly, tried recreating Liliha's Chantilly frosting (and failed), filled my Pink October macs with Honolulu Coffee Co. strawberry guava jam, and made an ultra blue Mauna Loa Chocolate Kiss Mac.  2 for 4 - wah!  Don't get me wrong, the Liliha failure, turned out to be a ftw in the end!  

Honestly, I was not overly happy with these.  I think I should have ground the coffee finer because there were chunks of coffee bean in the mac shell that kind of ruined the experience.  Or next time, I'll brew the Kona coffee in cream and use that to make white chocolate ganache.  The ganache in this one was too runny.  I think I rushed this one...so it's all my fault.

Yes, this is truly a learning experience, isn't it?

3 for 5.

Any suggestions for the next Hawaiian-inspired mac?

11/13/2012 - Kona Coffee Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache

Mrs. Potts Macarons - Run #22

Something just hit me.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991.

I was 7.

Really?!  Considering I'm almost 29 years old, that's a long time ago.  To this day, I blast the Disney channel on Pandora and 100% of the time, at least one song is heard from Beauty and the Beast....and 100% of the time, you can find me singing along.  Like I said before, don't even get me started!  I adored this era in Disney Animation.  The Little Mermaid.  Aladdin.  All in a few years.  The songs accompanying the movies were amazing as well.  Come on, Celine, Luther, Peabo.

"Beauty and the Beast" sang by Angela Lansbury is so memorable because her voice is so unique and distinguishable.  Speaking of voices, who else was floored when they found out the voice of Lumiere was provided by Jerry Orbach - the actor who played Baby's father in Dirty Dancing?  I was!

But I digress...

Belle in her gorgeous golden gown and the Beast looking handsome in his blue coat dancing in that amazing ballroom is one of my favorite Disney scenes ever.  Romantic and beautiful.

I made a macaron in honor of Mrs. Potts - while the colors came out a bit too muted, I was pleased - especially after my husband said his coworkers wanted to order macs from me after they tasted this one.  The flavor?

Tea, of course!

My cousin worked at a tea shop in San Francisco, and she hooked me up with was awesome Earl Grey tea.  For the filling, I created a curd with the leftover egg yolks and added a generous amount of honey.

11/7/2012 - "Mrs. Potts Macarons" - Earl Grey Creme Shells with Honey Buttercream

Hello Kitty Macarons - Run #21

I was 16 when I first met my Manang Yolly and Manong Jeff. They were a young married couple from Maui who rented the extra room in our home. They worked at the RC with mom, so she knew they were good people.

I count Manang Yolly and Manong Jeff as a couple whom Keat and I look up to. They met as teenagers and are now a blissfully wedded couple with two smart and beautiful children - one of whom I am godmother to.  They are both so down to earth, kind, generous, loving, and most of all extraordinarily wonderful parents to their kids.  Bonus:  Manong Jeff likes guns.  Keat likes guns.  Get the picture?  If there is ever a zombie apocalypse, I know where I'll run to.  

But I digress...

Fast forward about 12 years and they are about to celebrate their youngest's 5th birthday. Chloe is the epitome of a girly girl. Pink, check. Hello Kitty, check. Crown, check. Manang Yolly throws the greatest shindigs for her kids, and I knew I was going to make macs for the party whether she asked me to or not! It would be an honor and a pleasure...

I made plain shells but colored one batch pink. I used edible inked markers to individually draw Hello Kitty's face on the white ones. I then made a fresh strawberry buttercream and voila!

Hello Kitty macarons!

But today, they were Chloe Kitty macarons.

Happy 5th birthday, Chloe!

11/1/12 - "Chloe Kitty Macarons" - Hello Kitty Shells with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

World Series Champions Macarons - Run #20

It goes without saying that the San Francisco Giants kicked major boo-tay in the 2012 World Series.

Can you believe it's already been a month since the win? 

Like I said in my WS post, I made these macarons before Game 4 even started.  I already had that feeling that magic was happening that night.  Thank goodness they did win because I would have totally been moded otherwise!  These were such fun to make and I can't wait to make more celebratory macarons in the future!

SF 49ers, SF Bulls, Golden State Warriors - let's go! 

(...and here's me crossing my fingers for the SJ Sharks!)

10/28/12 - "World Series Champions" - SF Giants-Inspired Shells with Burnt Caramel Buttercream

#fearthebeard - #rallyenchiladas - #yeswecain - #vogelstrong - #gogiants - #yougetthepicture