Dan Cohen of Danny’s Macaroons and author of The Macaroon Bible, is one of the country’s—and probably the world’s—great macaroon makers. Beyond his grandmother’s plain and chocolate dipped, he’s brought macaroons into the new flavor age.

The cookies are made with kosher ingredients, but are not kosher for Passover. Still, those who observe the spirit of the law if not the letter of it, will enjoy every bite.
DANNY MACAROON FLAVORS

Just take a look at these choices:

Get the book and bake your own! Photo courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 
Get yours at DannyMacaroons.com.

THE HISTORY OF MACAROONS

“Macaroon” means different things to different people. To some, it’s a big ball of coconut, to others, a delicate, airy meringue. Both are delicious and neither is made with flour, making them options for gluten-free observers and for the Jewish holiday of Passover.

The first macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s Amaretti di Saronno, with a crisp crust and a soft interior. They were made from egg whites and almond paste.

Macaroons traveled to France in 1533 with the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, seeking asylum in the town of Nancy during the French Revolution (1789-1799), paid for their housing by baking and selling the macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the “Macaroon Sisters” (the French word is macaron, pronounced mah-kah-RONE).

Italian Jews adopted the cookie because it has no flour or leavening, the agent that raises and lightens a baked good, such as baking powder and baking soda (instead, macaroons are leavened by egg whites).

The recipe was introduced to other European Jews and became popular for Passover as well as a year-round sweet.Over time, coconut was added to the ground almonds in Jewish macaroons, and, in certain recipes, completely replaced them.

Coconut macaroons are more prevalent in the U.S. and the U.K.—and they’re a lot easier to make and transport than the fragile almond meringues that became the norm in France.

Here’s more macaroon history.

Boudin Bakery in San Francisco loves to make bread critters. The bakery cafe, which features salads, sandwiches, soups and sourdough, Original Sourdough French Bread, has designed special gifts for Easter that can be shipped fresh anywhere in the country.

Send bunny bread for Easter. Photo courtesy Boudin Bakery | San Francisco.

Great gift: 12 months of fun sourdough
loaves. Photo courtesy Boudin Bakery.

ABOUT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Sourdough is a method of baking using lactic-acid-producing bacteria (lactobacillus) that produce a characteristic sour taste and aroma. The sour taste comes from from the lactobacillus, which lives in symbiosis with the yeast, feeding on the byproducts of the yeast fermentation.

Until science uncovered the leavening process in the 19th century, all yeast-leavened breads were sourdough. Sourdough starter from a prior batch is used to create the new batch.

Sourdough starters are different from other starters; while regular starters can live for several years, sourdough starters can live for generations.

Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day, a blog by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, inspires people to make homemade bread, like these adorable brioche bunny rolls.

It’s a standard roll shape; some dough has been pushed up to make ears, up and holes have been poked for eyes.

Ah, such delicious creativity! We wish they had a bakery…but even if they did, it would be far from us, in Minneapolis.

Instead, we can buy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. Buy a copy for yourself, for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gifts, or to inspire someone who enjoys cooking to discover the joys of baking bread.

Jeff Hertzberg, an M.D., grew up eating great bread and pizza in New York City and parlayed his enthusiasm for them into a second career as an author.

Zoë François trained as a pastry chef at the Culinary Institute of America and is a teacher, recipe developer for The Cooking Channel, Fine Cooking Magazine and other outlets, plus her wonderful blog, ZoeBakes.com.

The perfect bread for Easter dinner. Photo courtesy ArtisanBreadInFive.com.

The Mineappolis-based authors met in their children’s music class in 2003 and have written two other bestselling cookbooks together.
  

Our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog has already made her Mother’s Day gift: which she calls climoncello (a rift on the lemon liqueur, limoncello).

You’ve got more than enough time to make your own liqueur for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, in any flavor you choose. It simply requires a base spirit—vodka—plus fruit and sugar.

You don’t even have to buy fruit: You can use citrus peels leftover from other recipes, which is what started Hannah on this journey. You can save them up in a freezer bag, and make a mixed citrus if you don’t have enough of any one variety. You’ll also need a large infusing jar and a funnel.

Then, just cook it up and let the fruit or peel infuse for a month or longer. Hannah went on vacation, forgot about the steeping peels and ended up with a three-month infusion.

Here’s her easy recipe:

RECIPE: CLIMONCELLO, CLEMENTINE LIQUEUR

Ingredients

Preparation

1. PLACE the peels, water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook just until the sugar has fully dissolved. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let cool to room temperature.

2. TAKE a pestle or other blunt instrument and muddle/mash the rinds, bruising them to release more of the essential oils.

3. ADD the vodka, give it a good stir and transfer the whole mixture, peels and all, into a large glass jar (be sure to save the vodka bottle for packaging the finished product, if you don’t want to buy a decorative bottle). Seal the lid tightly and stash it in a cool, dark place for 1-3 months. You’re likely to get even greater depth of flavor if you let it steep for an extra month or so. When the liqueur is ready, the liquid should be a golden orange color and smell of sweet oranges.

4. STRAIN out and discard the peels, and transfer the liquor to an attractive glass bottle. Store in a cool, dark place for however long you can make it last. It should keep indefinitely, but you’ll no doubt want to enjoy it before too long.

[1] How many different ways can you make a ham-and-egg breakfast sandwich? This version is from The Tuck Room Tavern in Los Angeles (photo © The Tuck Room).

[2] Go beyond the Egg McMuffin and create your fantasy breakfast sandwich like this one (recipe below—photo © Melissa’s Produce).

It was invented by a McDonald’s franchisee, Herb Peterson, in the late 1960s and introduced nationwide in 1972.

Before then, the term “breakfast sandwich” was not part of the vernacular.

And popular as it is, the Egg McMuffin has not exactly spawned a major food trend in breakfast sandwiches.

So today’s tip is: Create a signature breakfast sandwich and get your friends to do the same. Then, you can get together for breakfast sandwich brunches. We can’t wait!

Peruse this list to put together your dream ingredients.
 
 
BREAKFAST SANDWICH INGREDIENTS

 
You don’t need to include eggs or meat, as this recipe demonstrates:
 

This sandwich (photo above) will wake you up sweetly, with chile-infused honey.

If you don’t want the heat of the chiles, substitute a bit of fresh-ground black pepper for the ground cayenne, and don’t use the final chile garnish.

Prep time is 20 minutes, plus 4 hours to infuse the honey.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

1. COMBINE honey and half of the cayenne chile in a glass container. Seal tightly and let sit 4 hours or overnight. Wrap and reserve remaining chiles in the fridge.

2. TOAST bread; spread each slice with 1 teaspoon butter and 2 tablespoons goat cheese.

3. HEAT the remaining 2 teaspoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crack eggs into skillet; cook until yolks are set, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

4. DRIZZLE each slice of toast with 2 tablespoons cayenne honey. Top with a fried egg; drizzle evenly with the remaining honey and garnish with the remaining fresh cayenne chiles.
 
 
A related recipe is Toad In The Hole (photo #4), a British specialty that pan-fried day-old bread with an egg in the middle. The recipe’s colorful name no doubt appealed to children.

With the added crushed chiles, this toad sure is hoppin’! If you don’t like the heat, leave off the chiles.
 
 
RECIPE #2: HOPPIN’ TOAD IN THE HOLE

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

[4] Toad In The Hole is a British favorite (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

2. MELT 2 tablespoons butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add half of the crushed chile and cook until fragrant, stirring often, about 1 to 2 minutes.

3. INCREASE heat to medium; arrange 3 bread slices in the skillet. Crack 1 egg into the hole of each slice, taking care not to break the yolks. Cook until eggs are just firm but the yolk is slightly runny, about 5 to 8 minutes.

4. SPRINKLE evenly with cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Repeat procedure for the next three slices of bread.

5. SPRINKLE with salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Serve.