Minor Celebrity-dom and Other Joys

The office contest has come and gone. There were many goodies to choose from, some awesome, others...scary. I have to shake my fist at a coworker of mine. Most of us were bringing disposable containers for our foods for easy clean-up. You see, it's a 1/2 mile walk from the car to my office, minimum. This lady brings her cake on a pedestal, then procedes to adorn it with rasberries and powdered sugar. She was about to adorn it with a floral arrangement before she was chased back to work. *grumble* Naturally, she beat out my Tres Leches Cake (which, by the way, really needs some work). Her flourless chocolate cake was good, I'm just pissed I didn't think of plating. *fumes like a sore loser to self*

That being said, my macaroons turned out much better. They actually won 1st place in the cookie category. I couldn't freakin believe it! So there you have it, simple recipes can win out against those hoity-toity blanched almond ones. I won a lovely apron featuring art from my work's children's charity art project.

Oh so cute for getting goo on.

Aside from the awesomness of stomping out like 10 other cooks in the office, I got the joy of some minor fan-dom today. One of my coworkers came and asked for the recipe...much joy abounds. Hopefully she will be my newest bleader. We shall see.

The Easiest Recipes in the Universe. Sort of

Don't you hate it when someone says "Oh,_____ is so EASY to make!" Well, I do. It makes me feel like a complete moron after I screw it up. It seems like every recipe in the universe has an "easy" version. It is really quite irritating to a budding cook. Most of those recipes really aren't "easy", the just require fewer ingredients, or rely more heavily on processed or pre-fabbed components. Boo. Don't get me wrong, I am not so hard core as to take on a professional version (I saw one recipe calling for blanched almond slices!); however, I abhor the pretentiousness of those who call all their recipes "easy". So, in the spirit of not calling a recipe easy, I found a simplified Macaroon recipe that requires only 4 ingredients, but produces large delight. Behold, the macaroon...

All the above ingredients: 1 bag o' coconut flakes, 1 can condensed milk, vanilla, almond extract.

Non-imitation almond if you are hardcore. Imitation almond extract if you are cheap and cooking for the office.

You dump the coconut (which is neither cocoa or a nut, but I digress) into a large bowl, pour in the can of sweetened milk. Then add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Then, VERY carefully measure out 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract. OR, if you are like me, accidentally pour in 1/2 the bottle because it is so thin that it overflowed the measuring spoon and got everywhere before I could blink twice. Mix well.

If you have the time, put the mix in the fridge for a couple of hours and it is easier to form into little balls. If not, just squish them into teaspooned balls on a cookie sheet that has been covered with foil and well greased. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes, or until the smoke detector goes off. Get them off the pan and onto wax paper IMMEDIATELY after coming out of the oven or they will stick like glue. I melted chocolate and dripped on for drama. Enjoy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. These came out chewy. I don't know if they are supposed to be firm or chewy, but they have been well received. Keep your fingers crossed to see if I win the cookie division of the contest.

"Not Easy" but Simplified Macaroons