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Every holiday party has a cheese ball. And if they don’t, they should. Decked out with anything from bacon and poppy seeds to cranberries and walnuts, cheese balls are easy to prepare, tasty and filling. A homemade version makes this tradition more impressive, and much better for you than preservative-laden, pre-made ones . Thankfully, Lucky’s Market offered a free class last week to teach the art of the cheese ball.
Make sure to watch for other classes on their Facebook page, their online events calendar and the chalkboard at the front of the store. From noon to 1 p.m. today they are teaching Turkey Carving 101, just in time for Thanksgiving.
And now, a few tips and a recipe:
Ingredients
- 198 grams powdered sugar
- 113 grams almond meal
- 113 grams egg whites
- 1 gram or a pinch of cream of tartar
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- Gel color such as Wilton or AmeriColor
- 2 or 3 drops vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line 2 or 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
- Layer the powdered sugar and almond meal in a food processor or mini processor.
- Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
- Place the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean.
- Starting on medium speed (4), whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam.
- The whites should not appear liquid.
- The foam will be light and should not have any structure.
- Slowly rain in the granulated sugar, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl.
- Turn the speed up to medium-high.
- Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny.
- It should look like marshmallow creme.
- Add the gel color and the vanilla.
- Staying at medium-high speed, whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue.
- Check the peak.
- Look at the angle supporting the peak.
- It should be at 11:30 (in Jackson more like 11:00).
- Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.
- Fold in the almond meal mixture in three increments.
- Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the at side of a spatula.
- Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl.
- Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl.
- Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with one of the tips listed above.
- Pipe on the prepared baking sheets.
- Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter.
- Then fist bump each end of the sheet’s underside twice.
- Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull, but not overly dry.
- Drying time depends on humidity.
- In a dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes.
- But I never let them dry for more than an hour.
- While the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 330 F.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack.
- Check in at 11 minutes.
- If the tops slide, then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes.
- The macarons should release without sticking.
- Check one or two.
- If they stick, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
Posted in Daily Dish, Recipes