Petit fours recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

3 egg whites

GLAZE:

2 pounds confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons orange extract

FROSTING:

6 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons shortening

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Gel, liquid or paste food coloring

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in
vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately
with milk, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft
peaks form; gently fold into batter.

2. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a
toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing
from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Cut a thin slice off each side of cake. Cut cake into 1-1/4-in. squares. Place 1/2 in.
apart on a rack in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pan.

4. In a large bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Beat on low speed just until blended; beat
on high until smooth. Apply glaze evenly over tops and sides of cake squares, allowing
excess to drip off. Let dry. Repeat if necessary to thoroughly coat squares. Let dry
completely.

5. For frosting, in a small bowl, cream the butter, shortening and vanilla. Beat in
confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place 1/2 cup each
in two bowls; tint one pink and one green.

6. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert #104 tip. Fill with pink
frosting; pipe a rosebud on each petit four. Insert #3 round tip into another pastry or
plastic bag; fill with green frosting. Pipe a leaf under each rose. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen (3
cups frosting).

Basic French Macarons

INGREDIENTS
1. 2/3 cup almond meal or ground almonds
2. 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3. 3 large egg whites, room temperature and preferably aged up to 3 days
4. 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 280F, and position 2 racks in the lower section of the
oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have time,
 draw 1-inch circles on the back of each sheet, spacing the circles at least 1/2-
inch apart.
2. If your almond meal is very coarse, grind it with the powdered sugar in a
food processor until fine. Sift the almond meal-powdered sugar mixture twice
through a mesh sieve.
3. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer), and
begin to beat on medium-high. When the eggs are frothy, gradually add
granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue to
beat the egg white mixture until glossy and stiff peaks form when you lift the
beaters. Gently stir in the vanilla extract. Be careful to not overbeat the
meringue (e.g., the meringue takes on a clumpy texture).
4. Add half of the sifted almond mixture, and gently fold it into the meringue
using a flexible silicone spatula. Lift from the bottom, up around the sides, and
toward the middle, being careful to not overagitate the meringue and lose too
much air. Once the almond mixture is predominantly incorporated, add the
second half and repeat the folding motion.
5. When the almond mixture is just incorporated, you will need to transform
the batter into the appropriate texture. Using the flat of the spatula, "punch"
down into the center of the batter, then scrape more batter from the sides to
the center, and punch again. You will need to repeat this 10-15 times (or
more, depending on your arm strength and the beginning texture of your
batter) until the batter slowly and continuously drips back into the bowl when
you scoop it up with the spatula. Think of the consistency of molten lava. For
the best results, punch the batter a few times, check the consistency, then
punch a few more times, etc. Do not make the batter too runny or the
macarons won't rise as they should, and you could end up with oil stains on
the surface.
6. Pour batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 0.4-inch tip. In a pinch, you can
also use a gallon-size Ziploc bag: just snip a teeny bit from one of the bottom
corners. Twist and clip the top of the bag to avoid overflow. On your prepared
baking sheets, pipe out 1-inch rounds in the circles you drew (remember to
draw the circles on the back side of your parchment to avoid ink or pencil
stains on your macarons!).
7. Holding the baking sheet in both hands, rap each baking sheet firmly on
the counter two or three times. This smooths out the tops and helps form the
"pied" or frilly foot on the bottoms of the macarons. Allow the piped macarons
to dry, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes. The macarons should form a very
thin, smooth crust where, if you tap it lightly with your finger, the batter will
not stick to your finger. If after 15 minutes, the batter is still sticky, let it dry
longer. This may take up to an hour on humid days.
8. Place both baking sheets in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. After the
first 2 minutes, open the oven to allow any excess humidity to escape.
Halfway through, swap oven racks and rotate the sheets for even baking. The
macarons are done when they are baked all the way through and the shells
are just hard. Take care to not underbake (insides will still be mushy) or
overbake (tops will begin to brown). Remove them from the oven, and cool on
baking sheet placed on a wire rack.
9. When fully cooled, assemble the macarons with your choice of filling. The
assembled macarons can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator
for up to one week.