If there is one dessert that gets made every fall in my house, it’s these oatmeal cream pies. They are also Aaron’s favorite. He even talks about them in his sleep (I wish I were kidding about that…)

These oatmeal cream pies aren’t trying to copy the original- those are a different experience altogether. These are a grown up version. The texture is more rustic, and the cream cheese filling pairs with the spices and tames the sweetness of the cookie. I don’t have anything against marshmallow fluff, but trust me, these are better.

Making these may feel a little counterintuitive, since they break all the normal cookie rules. Usually, I like to refrigerate the cookie dough to keep them from spreading too much, and to get a crispy edge with a chewy middle. Here, we are going for spreading and a homogenous texture, so these can be baked right away. I also normally bake cookies on parchment paper so the bottom gets a little crispy, but I prefer to bake these on a silpat so they stay soft.

If you really want to take these to the next level, put the finished and filled cookies on a sheet tray and freeze them. Then, transfer them to a freezer bag or another sealed container and keep them frozen until you want to eat them. Take out how many you need and bring them to room temperature before eating. This gives a change for the flavors to meld, and the cookie to reach the perfect soft consistency. It’s kind of like aging a macaron. Plus, I love a recipe that can be made ahead of time, especially around the holidays.

This recipe calls for quick oats, but if you want a more rustic texture, you can sub old-fashioned oats. If you want a thicker cookie, refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. If not want to make the dough in advance but still want thin cookies, bring the dough back to room temperature and flatten the dough balls slightly before baking.

Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (95 grams) all purpose flour (if you aren’t weighing your flour, spoon and level it)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar (light brown will work too)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups (125 grams) quick cooking oats

Recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with a silpats (I did these in 2 batches, but if you have 4 baking sheets and/or multiple ovens, you can do them all at the same time).
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed for about one minute, or until smooth.
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add the flour mixture and stir it in gently until it is mostly combines but some streaks remain.
• Add in the oats and stir to combine.
• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheets. You can also weigh them. Mine were 20 grams each (the batter weighs about 580 grams in total). They will spread quite a bit, so each cookie sheet can hold 7 cookies.
• Bake them for about 9-10 minutes, until the edges turn lightly golden.
• While they are still warm, use a large biscuit cutter to nudge the edges into a round shape (this is optional).
• Repeat the process with the next batch of dough.
• Let the cookies cool completely before filling. I recommend freezing them for easy assembly.

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Recipe and Assembly:

• With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and cream cheese.
• Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat on low to combine. Then turn the mixer to medium and beat for an additional minute.
• Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
• Match up the cookies by size.
• Using a small cookie scoop, place a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the center of one cookies, and place the other on top and press down slightly to sandwich them together. Since the frosting is not very stiff, freezing your cookies before doing this will help the frosting set up quicker and hold its shape.

Cookie recipe adapted from Cookie Madness

The post Oatmeal Cream Pies first appeared on The Cake Merchant.

If you’re ever tried making chocolate macarons, you may have ended up with shells that were wrinkled or too soft . The goal for this recipe was to get as much chocolate flavor into the shells as possible without disrupting the texture of the macaron. In order to achieve this, I had to adjust my sugar ratios just a bit. Because of the addition of cocoa powder, along with my reverse mixing method, it’s very important to get a stiff meringue before doing the macaronage.

I took a quick picture of the inside of the macaron. Once I figured out the correct oven temperature, I had a much easier time not getting hollows with this recipe. I don’t know if it has to do with the cocoa powder, the amount of practice I’ve had since posting my last few macaron recipes, or both. As always, I’m interested to get your feedback. 

It was actually the ganache that gave me the most trouble with this recipe. It’s important to get the correct ratio of heavy cream to chocolate, not just so it doesn’t ooze out the sides of the macaron, but so you don’t get that nasty grainy texture that so often happens (at least to me) when trying to make ganache.

I used to think that my ganache turned out grainy because I was over mixing it, but after watching this video, I realized it had to do with ratios. My go-to chocolate lately has been the Pound Plus bars at Trader Joe’s, because they’re pretty high quality for the price. I made ganache with both their 70% dark chocolate and milk chocolate bars, so my ganache recipe is based on that. Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your ratios based on the amount of cocoa butter in your chocolate.

Below, you can see the ganache on the left is smooth. The ganache on the right didn’t have enough cream and turned out grainy. Both tasted delicious, though.

I also recommend freezing your macaron shells before piping the filling. It helps the ganache set up faster and ends up being a lot less messy.

INGREDIENTS

• 60 grams (about 2 large) egg whites
• 75 grams almond flour
• 85 grams confectioner’s sugar
• 10 grams cocoa powder (Dutch process or natural)
• 55 grams granulated sugar
• Gel food coloring or flavor extracts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a half sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Fit a piping bag with an round piping tip (I used Ateco 804).
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add 60 grams of egg whites (if you think your bowl may have any grease residue, wipe down the bowl and whisk with vinegar before you begin so the oil doesn’t prevent the meringue from whipping up).
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder, and confectioner’s sugar.
5. Turn your mixer on to 4 and whip the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks (3-4 minutes).
6. Add the sugar 1/3 at a time while continuing to whip the egg whites.
7. Turn the mixer up to 6 and continue to whisk until stiff peaks are formed.
8. Using a spatula, take 1/3 of the meringue and place it in the bowl of dry ingredients and gently mix them together until they are combined. 
9. If there are still bits of dry ingredients remaining, add it a bit more meringue until the mixture is homogenous. 
10. Add another third of the meringue and fold it into the mixture, I do this by cutting down the middle of the bowl with my spatula and then continuing in a clockwise motion along the outside of the bowl. 
11. Continue doing this and turn the bowl each time until the meringue has been incorporated.
12. Add the last third of the meringue to the bowl and do the same thing, being gentle so the batter doesn’t get too runny.
13. When the mixture starts to look glossy, test the batter by lifting the spatula up over the bowl. The batter should come off the spatula in slow ribbons and incorporate back into the batter in about 20 seconds. If it comes off in clumps and doesn’t incorporate back into the batter, you will need to keep mixing. You can evaluate the batter consistency one stroke at a time. Keep in mind that the batter will continue to thin as you pipe it.
14. Once the batter is at the right consistency, transfer it your piping bag. You can make this process easier by folding the bag over a tall glass and then scooping the batter in.
15. Pipe the batter onto silicone mats (I use a silpat with a macaron stencil built in). When piping, hold the piping tip at a 90 degree angle about 1/4 of an inch above the mat and squeeze gently until the batter almost fills the circle (it will spread out a bit as it settles). Pull the piping tip off without pulling up, or you will get a tail on your macarons.
16. Bang the tray against the kitchen counter or the floor several times to knock out any air bubbles. If you still have visible air bubbles, you can pop them with a toothpick.
17. Leave them to dry (preferably in front of a fan) until they for a skin. The batter should not come off on your finger tips when you touch them. This will take about 15-20 minutes, but I have left them to dry for up to an hour on humid days.
18. While your macarons are drying, preheat your oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
19. Bake the macarons on the middle rack for 12-14 minutes. You can test to see if they are done by wiggling the top of the shell. If it doesn’t move, it’s done baking.
20. You can let the shells cool at room temperature or stick the whole sheet in the freezer to cool. Don’t peel the macarons off the mat until they are completely cool.
21. Pair macaron shells of similar sizes and fill with ganache (recipe below).
22. Let the macarons mature in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
23. Pull them out of the fridge and enjoy at room temperature.

FOR THE GANACHE:

• 2 ounces 70 percent dark chocolate, chopped
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl
2. Heat the heavy cream on the stove until it just begins to simmer
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes
4. Whisk together the hot cream and chocolate
5. Whisk in the butter until smooth
6. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before piping onto the macarons (I used a piping bag fitted with an Ateco 804 tip)

Notes:

• This recipe makes about 24 shells, or 12 sandwiched macarons. This is the smallest batch I could make in my mixer, but the recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
• For a milk chocolate ganache, you can use a 1:2.5 ratio of cream:chocolate. I used 1/4 cup of heavy cream mixed with 5 ounces of milk chocolate.
• 325 fahrenheit on the convection setting of my oven seemed to work the best for me. When I tried at 315, I got large air pockets in the top of the macarons.
• I tested these with Cacao Barry Extra Brute Dutch process and Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa powder.
• I use these macaron silpats, which have templates built in.
• If you’re looking for some ways to use leftover egg yolks, try fresh pasta, tiramisu, and these life changing sourdough chocolate chip cookies. 

The post Chocolate Macarons first appeared on The Cake Merchant.

Merry Christmas, all! I was originally only going to post these cookies on Instagram, but they were just too good not to post here. I’m not someone who usually gravitates to sugar cookies, but I just cannot stop eating these.

I’ve always been intimidated by royal icing. Not just making it, but the idea of cleaning multiple bowls and icing tips right before Christmas has prevented me from even bothering the last couple of years. This year, I really wanted to make sugar cookies for our family’s Christmas Eve get together, but I figured there had to be an easier way.

I got the idea to use white chocolate after eating a snowman cookie from Starbucks. The cookie itself was dry, but I did pick off all the white chocolate decoration on top and eat it. Decorating with candy melts was easier than I thought. I just melted them in the microwave in a bowl that was large enough to dip the entire cookie. Then I topped them with sprinkles. When I wanted some swirly decorations, I used the end of a spoon to drizzle the white chocolate onto the cookie. Keep in mind that if you want to add sprinkles, you need to work quickly, since candy melts harden really fast. Also, make sure you’re using candy melts and not pure white chocolate, since the latter will need to be tempered in order to work properly. I used Ghirardelli, and they tasted pretty good.

For the cookie recipe, I used King Arthur Flour’s Holiday Butter Cookies. I had originally tried to use regular shortbread, but I found that the addition of the extra egg yolk in the butter cookie recipe made them the perfect texture. Rather than refrigerating the dough before rolling it out like the original recipe suggests, I rolled it out right away between 2 sheets of parchment. Then I stuck the whole thing in the refrigerator for an hour and then cut them out and baked them. Using parchment paper instead of a floured surface allows you to roll the cookies out multiple times without them getting too tough, since they aren’t picking up the extra flour every time.

I hope you enjoy these cookies, and Happy Holidays!

The post Easy and Tasty White Chocolate Sugar Cookies first appeared on The Cake Merchant.