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| Yewande Komolafe |
Wherever they came from, macaroons for Passover spread all over Europe. By the end of the 19th century, especially here in North America, coconut replaced the almond purely because the almond version was fragile and hard to transport. Saveur’s recipe is from a Nigerian-American pastry chef named Yewande Komolafe. You may never have heard her name but you have almost surely heard of Momofuku Milk Bar, Chef David Chang’s adventurous bakery that’s up to 6 locations in the City, including the latest one that opened last week at Madison Square Market in Madison Square Park. Pastry Chef Komolafe ‘staged’ in France and the macaroon recipe was given to her by a French boulanger . The cookie is intensely flavored, with a crunchy exterior and chew-y amaretto-flavored interior. But what amazes me—the non-baker—is
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| Roan, Zoe and Blythe bake while their Mom looks on. |
how incredibly easy and fun they are to make. You don’t even need a mixer, using your hands to knead all the ingredients together. Just don’t over mix and you’ll end up with a perfect cookie. I had a whole kitchen crew make them. As you can see, siblings Blythe, Roan and Zoe loved making macaroons and did a great job with them. Off we went to Easter lunch, armed with our cookies. Here is the recipe:
½ cup superfine sugar
½ tsp. salt
4 tbsp. amaretto liqueur
1 cup powdered sugar
Add in the liqueur and gently work it into the paste to form a smooth dough.
Coat each ball completely with powdered sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a 1-inch space between each macaroon. Pinch together the sides of each macaroon with your fingers and thumb, leaving a finger-indented well in the center like a little volcano. Let the macaroons sit out for 20 minutes to dry out. Bake until golden brown, about 10–12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container.
Note: Almond paste is similar to marzipan but contains less sugar and no fillers. (Some versions of almond paste do contain cream or eggs; to make this recipe vegan, ensure that your almond paste contains no eggs or dairy.) Marzipan will not work for this recipe.
Andrew made us some and they were delicious.
I hope I can wait until they are baked.. even the raw dough looks amazing! Thank you Monte!
Dear Ana, I thought of you when I was posting this. You will love these! All best, Monte